"Baluka Mustafa family on top of minority land grab"

 

 

Former Chairman of Bhaluka Upazila Parishad Golam Mostafa and his family are at the top of minority land grab in Mymensingh's Bhaluka.


Local minorities and families of the victims have alleged that the Mustafa family has become addicted to taking the land of the minorities hostage in various ways. He does not hesitate to grab the land of not only the minorities but also the political workers and leaders of his party when he gets the chance.

Besides, there are many allegations against the former upazila chairman Golam Mostafa of embezzling lakhs of taka from poor families in the name of providing government jobs. Gholam Mostafa is the son-in-law of the daughter of Sirajuddin Khan alias Suruj Khan, a registered Razaka of Bhaluka Upazila.

Allegedly, Gholam Mustafar Bhagane Ward Awami League General Secretary Kalicharan's ancestral land did not stop under the leadership of Monir and Akram. He seized the land of his party people including many minorities in Chamiyadi, Kanthali Barchala, Hajir Bazar area. There are hundreds of allegations that they are basically Gholam Mustafa's own forces and are roaming around doing terrorist activities.

Meanwhile, Golam Mostafa, who is discussed as a minority land grabber, has declared himself a candidate for the president of Upazila Awami League. The tribal families of Bhaluka are holding several rounds of human chain and protest against him against land grabbing, cheating the tribal community with false cases. Last Monday, 500 tribal families formed a human chain demanding the Prime Minister's intervention and punishment for his misdeeds.

According to surface land investigation, Harendra, Amrilya Chandra, Jitendra, Makhan, Nakul and Rajindra, a minority of Narangi area of the upazila, said to buy 2 acres and 59 percent of the land (the market value of which is Tk 67 lakh) by paying Tk 3 lakh twice and the land Without paying the rest of the fixed price, he held the partners of that land hostage. Later, there are allegations of writing in the name of former upazila chairman's wife Najma Khanam.

It is also known that there is a hundred year old cremation ghat of tribal community in Narangi area on that land. Even that cremation ground was not spared from the possession of Golam Mustafa family. The cremation ground was taken over by attacking and beating the tribals in the afternoon. After that, he filed a case in the police station in the name of the minorities by misusing the power.

At that time, they could not rescue the crematorium ghat and their seized land by protesting at various offices including the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Mymensingh.

In Chameyadi area of upazila, Aktar and Moktar took 6 acres of land by holding several families hostage at gunpoint. There are also allegations of evicting innocent people from the area by filing false cases against the local Jubo League leader, who prevented land acquisition. In addition, if someone creates an obstacle in the seizure of land, he attacks with his forces. The victims said that they are not coming to the land because they are not able to live and buy the land of the former upazila chairman in Chameyadi area.

Also, during the tenure of upazila chairman in the name of Chairman's wife Nazma Khanam and brother Monir in Kanthali Barchala area of Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, a little more than two acres of land belonging to a helpless minority family was occupied by building a boundary wall around it. This family is still living in fear of Golam Mustafa. Grandfather cannot go to land despite having registered property. They said to this reporter in fear, we don't need land, let us die healthy. Talking to a journalist about this land, Golam Mostafa and his sister-in-law Arif said that if they find out, they will make us leave the area and they will leave us with false cases one after another.

According to local sources, apart from Narangi, Chamiyadi and Mamarishpur, Kalicharanvarta, Kanthali Barchala, Hamid Haji Bazar, there are several lands that have been seized in the name of Golam Mostafa and his family members. Bajendra Barman, a poor native of Naringi area of Valuka, did not accept the job despite taking a bribe of Tk 1 lakh from the family in the name of giving him a job as a peon in a local primary school. Regarding his son's job, tribal Bajendra Burman told Jugantar, Golam Mostafa took 1 lakh cash from me and gave BNP leader Emdad Master's son a job in my son's place after telling him to give my son Biplab a job as a peon. Golam Mustafa went to their house and asked him to give 1 lakh taka to his daughter for the job of his son Biblab. I gave one lakh taka to his daughter hoping to get a job. He has not returned the money till now. However, despite the recommendation of the late minister Pramod Mankin and MP Aman Ullah to give his son a job in the tribal quota, he did not give the job and complained that he did not get back the lakhs of rupees he took as bribe. He was harassed several times while asking for the return of bribe money.

 

 Achintya Barman, a local resident, said about the expropriation of their land, "We filed a case in the court because the land was expropriated by force. Golam Mustafa family offered local compromise after filing the case. Later, on October 10, 2007, we settled the price of the land at 67 lakh taka subject to negotiation. Later, he started struggling to pay the remaining money with the earnest money of 3 lakhs. Leader Golam Mustafa forcibly occupied our land with tenants without paying our dues. Besides, we are minority, Mustafa and his people brutally torture us with his niece Arif. They beat us if we interfered when we seized the land. Later, on the contrary, we were harassed with false cases in our name. Requesting the Prime Minister's intervention to rescue and get back the lands of the minorities.

Makhan, Rajindra, Amulya Chandra and Jitendra, the local residents of Narangi who share the land according to paternal sources, said that in the name of buying 2 acres and 59 percent of the land obtained from our paternal sources, we are paying 3 lakh taka for earnest money and the remaining 64 (sixty four lakh) taka have not been given by Golam Mustafa. Instead of paying the money for the land, he threatened us with death and forcibly registered the land in the name of his wife Nazma Khanam. Due to non-payment of the remaining amount of the land, the land registry has not yet been completed. The deed of that land is also in our name but our land has been forcibly occupied by Golam Mustafa Chairman. Because of Ghulam Mustafa, we in the tribal community are no better off. He seized the property of the tribals wherever he saw it. If we do not get this land back, we will give it to the Prime Minister free of charge. However, we want freedom from the oppression of Golam Mustafa family, the tribal community of Baluka. Our only hope now is the Prime Minister. We want to meet the Prime Minister to save us.

Besides, the victim Gopal said that he took possession of the land with only earnest money in the name of buying the land from his uncle. Now if you ask for money to sell land, you don't even give money and don't let you go to the land. It is not just that our land has been taken over. You look around and see that there are many tribal victims like us in Valuka who do not dare to speak out for fear of Mustafa.

Mahendra Burman, chairman of the tribal community of Bhaluka police station, said that Golam Mostafa, during his intervention as upazila chairman, gave 3 lakh taka twice as earnest money against the value of 67 lakh taka for 2 acres and 59 percent land of Atul Barman Gang. They have taken possession of the land without paying the remaining amount. The incident does not end here. 22 percent of this land, which includes the cremation ground, has also been forcibly occupied by Ghulam Mustafa. They keep the crematorium locked all the time. Because of that, the body cannot be cremated.

In this regard, Bhaluka Upazila Awami League general editor Golam Mostafa could not be contacted by mobile phone several times. Later, he could not be contacted even by sending small messages to his mobile phone.