There have been allegations of harassment in Tetulia village of Krittipur union in Naogaon Sadar upazila over a dispute over pond land, with false cases filed against them. Tension is prevailing in the area over the incident.
The complaint states that the families of Abdul Khalek and Delwar Hossain Shahin of Barshail (Jamatpara) village have been in a dispute over pond land for a long time with Delwar Hossain Shahin, son of the deceased Abu Taleb of the same village.
On June 6, Delwar Hossain Shahin planted about 200 mango trees of different species on the banks of the pond. It is alleged that that afternoon, Abdul Khalek’s wife, Bilkis Banu Chumki, and her sister-in-law, Shirin Begum, took local axes and cut and uprooted the trees. At that time, Shahin left without getting into any argument with them.
Later, he learned that a case had been filed against him at the police station.
In this regard, Delwar Hossain Shahin said, “I planted trees on the banks of the pond in public. The trees were cut down in front of the locals. Now, on the contrary, a false case has been filed against me. None of the beatings mentioned in the complaint happened. Let the truth be revealed through an investigation.”
He further said, “The statement says that I and my associates beat Bilkis Banu Chumki, hit her on the head – which is completely baseless. There are many houses around the scene, people live there every day. If something like this had happened, someone would have definitely seen it.”
Meanwhile, local residents Nazma Akhter and Maleka Begum, claiming to be eyewitnesses to the incident, said, “That afternoon, we were on the bank of the pond. Shahin was standing there planting trees. Then Bilkis Banu Chumki and her sister-in-law came and cut down the trees. Shahin just said not to cut down the trees and to remove them, then he left. No fight took place.”
On the other hand, the plaintiff in the case, Abdul Khalek, said, “A case regarding the pond is already pending in the court. I was not present at the time of the incident. Later, I heard that my wife had been beaten and had been hit three times on the head. So I filed a case at the police station.”
Mocha: Bilkis Banu Chumki complained, “When trees were forcibly planted on the banks of our pond, they beat me up when I tried to stop them. At one point, they hit me on the head with a small, sharp object and I became unconscious.”
In this regard, several local residents said that it is not right to harass someone by filing false cases and taking the lead in a land dispute. They demanded a speedy investigation to uncover the real facts and find a fair solution.
According to locals, there is a risk of major conflict at any time if the matter is not resolved through an impartial investigation.