The Forest Department has filed a case against 25 named individuals, including five women, and 40 unidentified others in connection with an attack on joint forces during an eviction drive in Sreepur, Gazipur.
The incident took place on Tuesday in the Rajabari union's Kafilatoli and Izzatpur villages.
KBM Ferdous, the Rajendrapur East Beat Officer under the Dhaka Forest Division, lodged the case at Sreepur Police Station on Thursday.
The case lists Sirajul Islam, 47, his son Masud, 27, and other individuals from the Kafilatoli area as key accused.
The joint forces were conducting a daylong eviction drive to clear illegal structures built on forest land. Around 3:30pm, as the team approached Izzatpur Bazaar, the accused, led by Sirajul Islam, allegedly launched an attack with makeshift weapons.
The attack left several people injured, including excavator operator Russel Mokami, 22, his assistant Hakim Molla, 20, sanitation worker Arafat Hossain Arfan, gardener Liton, and Upazila Women Affairs Department President Mehedi Hasan Ashiq.
The attackers also vandalized vehicles belonging to the Sreepur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and the Assistant Commissioner (Land).
The injured were evacuated with assistance from the army, RAB, and police, and received treatment at Sreepur Upazila Health Complex.
Sreepur police station Officer-in-Charge Zainal Abedin Mondal said that two separate cases have been filed—one under the Forest Act and another under the Penal Code—against the individuals involved in the attack.
The eviction drive targeted illegal structures that had been built on forest land following August 5. The Forest Department, along with other forces, carried out the operation throughout the day to reclaim the land.
