Grabbers attack land owner

A man from the minority Hindu community in Pirojpur town was injured in an attack by his rivals yesterday for arranging a press conference on Monday to protest their alleged bid to grab his land.

The victim, Santosh Kumar, a resident of Masimpur area in the town, is undergoing treatment for head injury at Pirojpur Sadar Hospital.

At the press conference, Santosh alleged that eight people, including Shah Alam, former assistant personal secretary (APS) of local lawmaker AKM Awal, are trying to grab his land forcibly by implicating him in a false case.

Quoting Santosh, Officer-in-Charge Masumur Rahman of Sadar Police Station said one Nazrul Islam and Kader Gazi attacked Santosh with bricks while he was going to a local hospital around 10:00am.

When asked, Shah Alam said his father-in-law's family bought the land from one of Santosh's brothers years ago and they hold all the legal papers.

He also said that none of his family members and relatives is involved in yesterday's attack on Santosh.

Instead, Shah Alam claimed that being influenced by some locals Santosh is harassing his family members.

The OC said although Santosh informed him of the matter verbally, he is yet to lodge any written complaint in this regard.