A group of miscreants allegedly took illegal possession of 49 decimals of land owned by the local Christian community at Padri Shibpur union in Bakerganj upazila, Barisal on Saturday.
Now around 2,000 Christians in the locality are living in fear of losing the property which is worth Tk3 crore.
Upon visiting the spot, this reporter found a tin-shed house on the land in question. There were also signboards saying “Southern Regional Office of the Weekly Crime Diary,” and a billboard with the photo of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman saying “Tribute to all the martyrs, including Bangabandhu and his family members, by the Weekly Crime Diary family.”
However, this reporter could not find any evidence that a mainstream publication by the name of the Weekly Crime Diary actually exists.
Armed with lethal weapons, the grabbers, led by Helaluddin, forcibly constructed a 100-foot long tin-shed house and erected the signboards and billboards on the property early on Saturday, said Basil Gomez, secretary of the Father Liu Gomez Welfare Trust.
Locals claimed that around 150-200 people built the house and put up the signboards and billboards overnight.
Helaluddin, a local influential person whose family has connections with the ruling party, claimed that Rizia Begum, the land’s owner, gave him a power of attorney for the land on May 20 last year, and he filed a case claiming its ownership with a lower court on May 23. The case has yet to be dissolved.
However, according to the land’s documents, Rizia sold the land to Father Liu Gomez, the then head of the local Catholic Church, on May 22, 1961.
Through a trustee deed on August 14, 1995, Father Liu formed a welfare trust which included the land property in question, said Martin C Gomez, vice-president of the trust.
The 49 decimals (0.49 acre) is a part of a total 21 acre land owned by the trust, surrounding the church, a historical site in Barisal.
The local Christian community had been using this land for their welfare for the past 53 years. The trust earns Tk18 lakh annually from the property – part of it is leased out, and the rest is used for farming.
The earnings are spent to support a secondary school which is run by the church, give scholarships to poor students, run a shelter for the disabled and a medical centre, and other welfare activities for the community, according to Father Lazarus Gomez, president of the trust.
The trust has been paying all legal and land taxes and has the relevant, up-to-date documents, Martin Gomez said.
The grabbers had been trying to take possession of the land for a while, claimed Father Lazarus, adding that the trust had filed two general diaries with Bakerganj police station in this regard.
When asked about the illegal possession of a sub judice property, Helaluddin claimed that the house had existed for a long time and he had only put up the billboard to mark the beginning of August, “the month of mourning.”
Rizia was not available for comment due to poor health. However, her son Tuhin Ahmed claimed that the church authorities had been occupying the land on the basis of fraudulent documents and that a case had been filed with a lower court in this connection.
However, Tuhin admitted that he did not have any tax related documents. He also said he did not know about the house being constructed and the signboards and billboards being put up.
Father Lazarus called for immediate demolition of the establishments and vowed to take legal action against the grabbers.
Nurul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bakerganj police, said he had visited the spot and advised the leaders of the Christian community to file a case for immediate legal action.
