Tied and tortured

All she had was the 60 decimals of land to call her own. Kanon Bala, 50, a widow, lived there with her son and daughter-in-law at Purbo Alipur village under Dashmina upazila in Patuakhali.

The son worked as a night guard and the wife a cleaner. Life went on for the family amid hope of a better one.

But everything changed on Monday. Around 7:30am, a gang of land grabbers, led by one Abul Hossain, an influential local, came to her land and started building a house there.

When she tried to protest, they tied her legs and hands with ropes and beat her mercilessly. At one point, they forcibly took off her clothes and continued beating her.

She was later rescued by locals and police. She is undergoing treatment at Patuakhali General Hospital.

Her son filed a case with Dashmina Police Station on Thursday accusing 14 persons, including Abul Hossain. No one was arrested till filling of the report yesterday.

“We got the land from the government as a landless family,” said Asim, her son.

He said Abul Hossain tried to grab the land, claiming that it belonged to him. “My wife and I were at work on Monday. Abul Hossain along with 18/20 persons came to our land and started building a house there.”

“When my mother tried to resist them, they beat her brutally, tying her legs and hands,” he said.

Kanon Bala said, “They not only tortured me, but also forcibly took my clothes off.”

Asim also alleged that when he was taking his mother to the upazila health complex some of the land grabbers tried to stop them. “Later at night, I took her to Patuakhali General Hospital,” he said.

Hiron Chandra, assistant sub-inspector of Dashmina Police Station, said, “When we rescued Kanon Bala, her body was covered with nothing but a scarf.”

He said he stopped the construction work, but “the grabbers fled the scene.”

Contacted, Abul Hossain said, “The land belongs to me. I bought it.” But he could not show any valid documents in this regard.

“An investigation is underway,” said Eunus Ali, officer-in-charge of Dashmina Police Station.

Saheb Ali Pathan, additional police superintendent of Patuakhali, said, “We are taking necessary steps to arrest the accused.”