Landless people on their vandalised homesteads at Bhaluka Kandi village in Kalama union of Tanore upazila in Rajshahi. Photo: STAR

Twelve landless families have been living miserably under the open sky at Bhaluka Kandor village in Tanore upazila of the district since hired goons of influential landlords with the help of police ruined and looted their houses in an eviction bid on Monday.

The victim families, now living on the bank of a government pond near the landless people's neighbourhood, described atrocities on them as a group of newsmen visited the scene, some 50 kilometres from Rajshahi city, yesterday.

A gang of over 100 people armed with sticks attacked the village. As landless people tried to resist the criminals, they roughed them up. The criminals damaged their houses and looted households, poultry, domestic animals, crops and fruits from trees of the landless people.

The victims said a large number of policemen escorted the attackers to the village and the rampage continued for three hours in the presence of law enforcers.

Without any prior notice, the attackers asked the dwellers to leave their homes showing a court's eviction order that asked them to leave within November 23.

The police and the attackers ignored the landless people's objection even when they produced an order from the higher court staying the eviction order, the victims said.

The 12 landless families had been living on a piece of 1.64 acres of government khas land for seven years, said locals, police and victims.

In 2004, local influential Mashiur Rahman, and his brothers Habibur and Matiur lodged a case with a Rajshahi court claiming ownership of the land and the court passed an order in favour of the landlords on November 5.

On the same day, the landless people challenged the court order with a higher court that stayed the eviction order until November 18.

Nurul Amin, officer-in-charge (OC) of Tanore Police Station, told newsmen that they assisted the landlords to occupy the land following a court order. “We were not aware of the stay on eviction. In fact, we received the stay order today [Wednesday],” he said.

The OC, however, did not reply to questions about the landless people's producing the higher court's stay order prior to the rampage.

The victimised families are of Zaved Ali, Zalal, Shihab, Ekramul, Shahidul, Asia, Afsar Ali, Kheru, Sawkat Ara, Manjur and Azad Khalifa.

A police officer beat up several of their women and took part in the looting, a 60-year-old man said.