Move to demolish grave of freedom fighter foiled

Locals of Islampur Honumantola area in Rangpur city on Saturday thwarted a move by an influential person to dismantle a martyred freedom fighter’s grave, set up on a government land. They later demonstrated in the area demanding exemplary punishment of the grabber, retired engineer Rafiqul Islam, for his attempt to set up shops in the place. Kotwali police Sub-Inspector Shaheen said that they would take necessary steps to preserve the grave of Abdur Razzak, who had been killed by the Pakistan Army during a demonstration on March 24, 1971. Razzak’s brother Abdul Hyi Khokon alleged that Rafiq and his family members had been grabbing the land around the grave for several years. They demolished the wall around the concrete grave on Saturday morning and tried to construct a shop, triggering tension among the locals who later besieged the house of the perpetrator. A team of Kotwali police led by SI Shaheen later took control of the situation. Khokon demanded that police arrest Rafiq and his family members, and reconstruct the grave. Local Ward Councillor Hasna Banu deplored the reluctance of the authorities to preserve the grave. After the demonstration, Rafiq and his family members took position inside the house. When contacted over the phone, Rafiq’s daughter claimed that they had been constructing the shop on their land, and that it was an abandoned grave. “There are many such graves across the country. Why cannot we set up establishments there?”