Local police have been accused of procrastination over the recording of a case relating to skirmishes around a land dispute. The clashes left 14 people severely injured over two weeks ago in Rampal upazila of Bagerhat.
Tensions between the two sides remain high since the clashes on May 30 between two rival groups over ownership of 24 decimals of allegedly government khas land in Maniknagar of Rampal upazila.
Kamal Hossain, a partial claimant of the land, said that he had inherited 18 decimals of the 24 decimal-land from his ancestors.
But, over the years, Kamal’s rival Babu Morol, occupant of the remaining 6 decimals, has been forcibly trying to take possession of Kamal’s portion of the land.
The recent clashes broke out between the two parties on May 30, when Babu tried to erect a fence on Kamal’s land and was met with resistance from his men.
When contacted, Babu Morol was found unavailable to speak on the matter. But when his mother picked up the phone she claimed their family was the sole owner of the 24-decimal land.
Wishing to remain anonymous, one of Babu Morol’s associates said the disputed 24-decimal land was khas land, meaning it was government-owned fallow land, over which nobody had property rights. The claimants’ families had been laying claim to the land for generations.
Speaking on the matter, Kamal Hossain said: “I have legal records of the 18-decimal land I inherited from my ancestors. Babu Morol had previously filed a lawsuit over the ownership of the land with the Bagerhat Additional District Magistrate’s Court in 2013. The court gave its verdict in my favour.”
He added that despite having the land documents in his possession police were not cooperating with him over the filing of a case on the issue.
However, Rampal police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Lutfar Rahman confirmed that there had been skirmishes over a land dispute in Maniknagar on May 30. “But no formal complaint was filed over the incident and as a result, no case has been filed as of yet.”