Woman appears in court with calf : BNP leader takes away milk cow in Rajapur
Md. Naeem Hasan Emon, Rajapur (Jhalakathi)
A local BNP leader has allegedly taken away a woman’s lactating cow under the pretext of recovering a loan. The month-old calf, deprived of its mother’s milk, reportedly fell ill. The affected woman, Nargis Akter, appeared in court on Thursday (May 15) carrying the ailing calf in her arms.
Nargis, a resident of Shuktagarh Union in Rajapur upazila, said that her husband, Abu Bakar, an Awami League leader, has been missing since August last year. In his absence, she began working at a garment factory to support her family and recently bought a milk-giving cow with her savings. The cow also had a one-month-old calf.
Nargis alleged that Md. Belal Khan, the general secretary of the local BNP ward unit, forcefully took the cow on Wednesday (May 14), claiming her husband owed him Tk 20,000. The calf fell ill without its mother’s milk. Nargis then took shelter in court with the calf in her lap. She was seen feeding the calf milk from a bottle while sitting in the court premises.
In response, Belal Khan said, “Nine years ago, I gave Abu Bakar a Tk 20,000 loan under the 'Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar' (One House One Farm) project. With interest, the amount now stands at Tk 30,000. Since I wasn’t repaid, I took the cow.”
No formal case has been filed yet, but local intervention has temporarily calmed the situation. Later, Nargis was sent to Belal Khan’s house to reunite the cow with its calf.
Locals expressed concern that both humanitarian and legal principles have been questioned in this incident. They demanded justice for Nargis and a fair resolution of the matter.
