Manipuri family under threat over land dispute

A Manipuri family in Sylhet's Shibganj Adityapara area has been spending time in constant fear, after they came under repeated attacks by miscreants who want to grab its ancestral land.

A property-ownership trial regarding 44 decimals of land is underway at court. Meanwhile, a group of local influentials is allegedly trying to grab the land by force, claims the family.

On Sunday morning, around a hundred people with local weapons attacked their house.

A case has been filed with Shahporan Police Station, accusing one Ezaz Ahmed and several other named and unnamed persons.

Meanwhile, a group of people again tried to grab the land yesterday afternoon. Police detained one attacker and sent him to a Sylhet court after showing him arrested in the case.

Ajanta Amrit Sinha of the family said her mother Rina Debi became the rightful owner of the land after her father Amrit Sinha's death in 1999.

Contacted, Ezaz Ahmed said, "Amrit Sinha sold the property in 1988. My expatriate cousin Abdul Aziz bought the land in 2012. Since we bought the land, we have been paying all the taxes along with electricity and gas bills. The Manipuri family has no legal papers."

"A Sylhet court in 2020 declared the ownership of the land in our favour but they have not filed any appeal to a higher court yet. We will be filing a case against them for accusing us for the attacks," he said.

Contacted, Indranil Bhattacharjee, inspector (investigation) of Shahporan Police Station, said, "We have taken increased security measures for the family."