A 2.5 acre land, worth aboutTk10 crore belonging to Haribari Forest Department in Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh district has been allegedly grabbed by local influential people.
Abu Sayed, a local, made a complaint to the forest officials that a group of 40-45 people led by local influential Kamrul Islam and Kamrul Huad grabbed the land on Saturday near the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway.
“The grabbers constucted a wall on the forest land including my ancentral homestedas,” he said.
On information, the forest officials went to the spot and demolished the wall. The miscreants also set up the wall again with RCC pillaar after the officials left the spot.
Loclas also claimed the grabbers were able to erect the wall as the forest officials were reluctant over the incident.
Sources said the government acquired 294 acre land in Haribari area in 1999. Of the land, the forest department got 201 acre. 64 acre had been alloted for the landless people. 20.70 acre had been provided to the poor who had applied for the land earlier.
When contacted, leader of the land-grabbing group Kamrul Islam asked the correspondent not to write about his involvement in this regard. He claimed that he had bought the land from one Shamsul Islam.
Additional Deputy Comissiner Farid Ahmed said there was no land of Shamsul Islam in the area.
Kamrul had gabbed the forest land forcefully, he said.
Saiful Islam, officer of the forest land said Kamrul Islam and Kamrul Huad had grabbed the land illegally.
When asked, Jamil Mohammad Khan, the forest range officer, said the wall was not constucted on the government land.
It was constructed on private land, he said. GM Rafiqul Islam, assistant chief of Mymensingh forest officer, said the land was owned by Abu Sayed.
The accused Kamrul Islam and Kamrul Huad had bought the land from Sayed, he said.
The divisionel forest officer Gobindra Chandra said that he had ordered Rafiqul to investigate the incident.
