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Two Islamists, Mahmud Khan and Luftar Khan have been trying to forcefully occupy the ancestral land of a Hindu family in Barishal District of Bangladesh. The victim was identified as Titu Saha, a resident of the Ward No:5 of Bakerganj Upazila municipality. Saha has been fighting a legal case over his land against Luftar Khan in the High Court. The Islamist along with his accomplice bypassed the court proceedings and began to construct a wall on the Hindu family’s land on February 18, 2024.
Luftar Khan reportedly directed some men to cut down trees on Saha’s ancestral property and build a permanent brick wall. He and Mahmud also threatened the Hindu family and attempted to attack their house. Forced by circumstances, Saha’s wife Nupur Das filed a written complaint with the officer in charge of the Bakerganj police station Afzal Hossein. It was only then that thr police interfered and stopped the construction. A probe has been initiated into the matter.
While speaking to a local newspaper, Titu Saha said “The matter was decided to be sorted out through local arbitration on February 18, 2024. But they all flouted that and began constructing a boundary wall.” His mother Geeta Rani Saha broke down into tears and informed, “They are illegally occupying the house of my husband. We Hindus belong to this country? Can’t we live here peacefully. I demand strong action from the local administration against the culprits.”
In the meantime, the accused Luftar Khan told the local newspaper that he had purchased the land and is now the owner of the property. This is not the first time that Islamists have tried to forcibly encroach upon the land of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Earlier an Indian media agency reported that several Hindu families have been forced to vacate their houses in the Shailkupa Upazila in the Khulna division of Bangladesh and sell them at giveaway prices to avoid religious persecution.
According to a report by another local media of Bangladesh published in November 2023, the minority community is facing threats from Islamists and hence many Hindu families are migrating to other parts of the country. For instance, the residence of a deceased Hindu man named Satyendranath Saha was encroached and four storey building was constructed in its place.
Jubo League Chairman Shamim Hossain Mollah and his father Sabdar Hossain Mollah were accused of infringing upon the property of the Hindu family. It must be mentioned that the Jubo League is the youth wing of the ruling Shiekh Hasina led Bangladesh Awami Party. While speaking about the matter, the daughter in-law of Satyendranath Saha informed that the Jubo League leader had taken their house and a Kali Mandir by force.
Despite complaints to the MP Mohammed Abdul Hyee, no action has been taken. Interestingly, Hyee is also a leader of the Awami Party from the Jhenaidah constituency and according to the Bangladesh local media, the case of Satyendranath Saha os one of the countless cases of minority Hindu families who have lost their property encroachment to local influential Muslim leaders.
Everyone involved in this organised from of Land Jihad are politicians and political workers. In order to intimidate the Hindu residents of Shailkupa into selling their homes, the Islamists have resorted to threats, assaults, and even vandalism of Hindu temples. Previously, the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance informed that a whopping 89,990 acres of land belonging to religious minorities in the country remain occupied. Between January and December 2022, around 572 Hindu families were evicted from their homes and 445 had to leave the country altogether.
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