Following two instances of looting and arson this month at the Gazi Tyres factory in Rupganj upazila, Narayanganj, questions have arisen regarding the legality of the vast factory land owned by former Awami League lawmaker Golam Dastagir Gazi, with local residents claiming that people were either driven out by fear of police cases or were forced to sell their land at nominal prices.
Dhaka Tribune recently spoke to several individuals whose land lies within the premises of the factory.
According to them and factory sources, Golam Dastagir Gazi, chairman of Gazi Group, established the tyre factory, which included 16 structures and three buildings, in 2006 on approximately 3.5 acres of land acquired through a tender.
Over time, he gradually expanded the factory by forcibly acquiring more land, evicting people from their homes or threatening them with cases.
The factory currently spans 42 acres, of which 24 were reportedly occupied by force.
He was allegedly aided in this by local leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliates, including middlemen Kabir Molla, Ruhul Amin, Sohel and Kuddus Ullah, who led the land purchases in the Khadun area for Golam Dastagir.
Dispossession
One of the affected individuals, Md Selim Mia, 50, a resident of Mollapara in the Khadun area, said his father, Amanullah, lost control of 13.5 decimal of land to Golam Dastagir about 15 years ago.
“After winning the national election, he and his men escalated their actions. About 5-6 months ago, they called me and offered to buy the land at Tk4 lakh per decimal, despite its actual value being over Tk10 lakh per decimal. I refused outright, telling them to keep the land without paying me. Despite this, they called me again, but I did not go there."
Selim added that right next to his land within the factory premises lay 15 decimals of land belonging to a mosque and madrasa, which Dastagir had forcibly taken over.
"There are many factories in this area, but why does this only happen to his factories? First, it was at Gazi Pipes in Kornogop, then at Gazi Tyres. It is the result of his misdeeds. No one benefits from devouring the properties of the poor."
Similar incidents happened to Selim’s uncle, Mojibuddin, as well.
During a visit, this correspondent saw that landowners and their heirs had placed signboards to demarcate their land on the north-south side of the factory.
Approximately 24 decimals of land are occupied by the factory, where Golam Dastagir Gazi established various structures, including rickshaw and autorickshaw tyre packaging areas.
Shah Ali, Mojibuddin’s son, said the factory authorities had long been wanting to buy their land at nominal prices. "If Gazi authorities pay the proper amount, we will give up the land. Otherwise, it will remain ours."
Another 6 decimals of land belonging to Md Kader are also occupied by the factory. Kader said land grabbing was nothing new for the locals. “In the last 15 years, they (Gazi) have ruined countless people like me. They have also taken my land. I never spoke up out of fear of police cases."
The visit revealed that a man named Mobarak Hossain, a resident of Mollapara, had fenced off approximately one bigha (30 decimals) of land on the northeast side of the factory, separating it from the factory premises.
Mobarak said for a long time, the factory authorities had used their power to forcibly occupy land and run their business. “They leveraged government power to intimidate people with cases and take their land. Whenever they liked a piece of land, they would first propose to buy it; if refused, they would forcibly occupy it.”
For the last 15 years, they were in power, so I could not do anything. Now that they are no longer in power, I am reclaiming my land," he added.
Furthermore, sources say Golam Dastagir forcibly took over approximately 20 bighas of land from Amjad Ali Bhuiyan, son of the once-influential Ayat Ali Bhuiyan of Rupganj.
He also took over four bighas from Abdul Hai and two to two-and-a-half bighas from Abdul Bari Bhuiyan. Other victims include Noor Mohammad, Ismail Khan, Sirajuddin Khan, Shah Alam, Julhas Uddin Bhuiyan, Apel Mahmud and Mobarak Hossain.
‘No one prospers by stealing from the poor’
Another victim, 60-year-old Md Awal Hossain, said Golam Dastagir Gazi and his men evicted him and his family from their homestead by threatening them with a case 15 years ago.
"I had just built a house (now a tin-shed canteen and packaging area) here. This was in 2005. It was our ancestral property, totalling 30 decimals (one bigha). By then, he had already started buying and filling up the farmland and some ditches here at low prices. During the filling, some sand fell onto my land, leading to a dispute. At one point, they sent men to ask me to sell the land. I had to let go of the small three-room house I had built with much care.
“At the time, I was earning Tk8,000 a month. I had no money. How could I fight a case in court against them? I was forced to leave my ancestral home in exchange for Tk12 lakh after putting my thumbprint on a paper."
Expressing frustration, he said: "An outsider (Golam Dastagir) came here and evicted the locals. He built a factory on our land but did not even give us jobs. He is the kind of person who would have sued or killed anyone who protested.”
Referring to the industrialist’s arrest after the fall of the Awami League government, Awal said he had seen both his rise and fall.
“No one prospers by stealing from the poor," he said.
When asked about the matter, a senior Gazi Tyres official, on condition of anonymity, said he was unaware of these issues.
He said even if these claims were true, the matter could have been resolved through discussion. “Gazi Sahib is receiving punishment according to existing laws… he has been arrested. But setting fire to the factory can never be a solution.”
Meanwhile, talking about the land-grabbing issue, Simon Sarkar, assistant commissioner (Land) in Rupganj upazila, told Dhaka Tribune: "We have received several complaints from locals whose land was forcibly taken for this factory. However, no one has approached us with the necessary documents.”
Appropriate measures would be taken to return the occupied land, he added.
