Around a dozen and a half offices of the Land Ministry came under arson attack yesterday across the country.
Officials said the ministry had received reports from deputy commissioners of 14 districts about arson attacks on land ministry establishments amid the ongoing anti-government campaign by the BNP-led 20-alliance.
The BNP-led political opposition has been waging a violent movement since January 6 marked by arson attacks.
At least 18 more arson incidents were reported from different areas including Mymensingh Sadar, Chagolnaiya upazila at Feni, Charghat and Bagha upazilas in Rajshahi, Lakshmipur Sadar, Noyakhali sadar and Faridpur Sadar.
Assailants could not be identified, but the police blamed pickets.
The prime minister said all lands belonging to the assailants would be seized.
Earlier on March 10, the land ministry had sent letters to the home ministry for ensuring security of its establishments.
The Home Ministry directive that followed ordered law enforcement agencies to provide necessary security. The government has already deployed paramilitary Ansars at hundreds of such vulnerable offices.
However, there is no security at 7,000 land offices, where the documents of lands and houses are preserved.
A land office at Ullapara in Sirajgonj was set afire part March 20 midnight. Another one in Jhalakathi was torched on March 14 and a Lakshmipur office on March 12.
Land ministry officials suspect that gangs of forgers might have targeted the land offices to create long-standing problems destroying land records.
Several Assistant Commissioners of Land said if the documents are burned, land owners will get in trouble. It will be difficult to settle land disputes for lack of documents.
Land disputes arise out of land surveys, land transfers, record keeping, registration, mutation, determination of successor, testamentary documents, lease, redemption of mortgaged properties, right to preemption, sales of land to several persons, multiplicity of ownership, administering government owned lands such as khas land and khas water bodies.
A citizens’ body on vested property said in a statement that it suspected a certain quarter, comprising of land grabbers and corrupt land officials, might have links to the attacks to destroy important documents and usurp lands with fake documents.
