Naogaon Correspondent

A house in Naogaon's Manda upazila was set on fire following an attack, vandalism, and looting over a long-standing land dispute.

The incident took place at  around 10:30 PM on Wednesday night in Biluthrail village of the Barsho Union.

The victim has been identified as Ataur Rahman (60), son of the late Fojer Ali of Biluthrail village. Ataur had been in a prolonged dispute with residents of Biluthrail's Paschimpara area regarding ownership of a piece of land.

Upon receiving news of the incident, a joint team of the army and police launched an operation that night and arrested nine individuals in connection with the attack. They were sent to Naogaon jail on Thursday (April 3). The arrested individuals are: Tuhin Ali (40), Bulbul Ahmed Sumon (32), Mainul Islam (40), Maruf Hossain (19), Piyas Ahmed (19), Firoz Hossain (26), Abu Said Mondal (45), Bidyut Hossain Gain (36), and Emaj Uddin Mondal (55).

Ataur Rahman said, “The people from Paschimpara have forcefully occupied my registered property for a long time. Even after a court ruling in my favor, I haven’t been able to access the land. Despite multiple efforts to resolve the matter, the police have failed to take effective action.”

He further alleged that, due to the ongoing land dispute, the residents of Paschimpara launched a coordinated attack on his home using locally-made weapons. They looted and vandalized his property, then set fire to his house with the intention of killing his entire family. The fire destroyed the tin roof of the house, two motorcycles, land documents, and all furniture. With the help of local residents, the family narrowly escaped with their lives.

OC  of Manda Police Station, Monsur Rahman, confirmed that Ataur Rahman’s house was burned down by opponents due to the land conflict.

Ataur Rahman filed a case against 26 named individuals and another 30 to 35 unidentified persons. That night, a joint operation led to the arrest of 9 suspects, who were later sent to jail.