e_Paper, Tuesday, October 18, 2016

6
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2016
DT
News
Market on railway land in Comilla
• Mohiuddin Molla, Comilla
Illegal structures on railway land at Daulatganj Railway Station in Laksham, Comilla
A section of leaders of the ruling
party Awami League have set up a
market illegally on railway property
at Laksham in Comilla after they
grabbed the land using power.
According to railway sources,
more than 200 shops were built
up between the main line and loop
line at Daulatganj Railway Station
on the Laksham-Noakhali Rail
route in the upazila.
Seeking anonymity, some railway
officials alleged that the AL
leaders have made the market
forcefully defying law.
This was the rare incident in the
history of railway in Bangladesh,
they added.
When this correspondent visited
the area recently, he found that
the place had been filled up with
the sand from the Dakadia River.
Daulatganj Railway Station Master
Abdul Mannan Chowdhury said
after filling up the land with the
sand between the two lines, train
plying the route is seriously hampered.
If the situation is going on, the
total system might collapse any
time, he added.
He claimed that the AL leaders
had set up the market with the help
DHAKA TRIBUNE
of Laksham municipality’s authorities
and they did not discuss with
the railway officials.
Some locals seeking anonymity
told the Dhaka Tribune that the AL
leaders and their people had set up
the market in the name of Hawkers’
31 fishermen jailed for
catching Ilish
• Tribune Desk
At least 31 fishermen were
sent to jail yesterday in three
districts for catching Ilish defying
the ban.
Our Faridpur correspondent
said a team led by executive
magistrate Mandip Ghorai
conducted a drive in the
Padma River, along different
areas of Sadar upazila and arrested
11 fishermen.
The team also seized 10
mounds of current nets and
four and half mounds of the
fish.
Later, the detained fishermen
were produced before
the mobile court of executive
magistrate Mandip Ghorai
which sentenced each of them
Market. But they took Tk50,000 in
advance for a shop.
When contacted, Mayor Abul
Khaer did not want to make any
comment about the incident.
He also asked this reporter at his
home.
Mostafizur Rahman, executive
engineer of Comilla Railway, said
he had informed the incident to the
higher authority.
“In my service life, I have never
seen such heinous incident,” he
said.
When contacted, Railway Minister
Mujibul Haque said: “No one
can grab the railway land.”
“Like another parts of the country,
the land grabbers at Daulatganj
Railway Station will be evicted
soon,” he said. •
to 15 days’ imprisonment.
In Manikganj, two separate
mobile courts sentenced
16 fishermen to one year
imprisonment for catching
Ilish from the Padma river
in Harirampur and Shibalaya
upazilas of the district, reports
our correspondent.
A mobile team led by
Harirampur Upazila Nirbahi
Officer (UNO) Rubina Ferdousi
conducted a drive in different
points of the river and
arrested seven fishermen
with current nets and Ilish
fish and convicted them.
Another team led by Shibalaya
Upazila Nirbahi Officer
(UNO) Kamal Mohammad
Rashed conducted a
drive in the river and arrested
nine fishermen.
Later, the mobile court
awarded each of them one
year imprisonment.
Besides, Fisheries Department
conducted a drive
in the Bishkhali River of
Rajapur upazila in Jhalokati
district and arrested four
fishermen, an official of the
department said.
Later, the detained fishermen
were produced before
the mobile court of executive
magistrate M Rafikul Islam
which sentenced each of them
to one year imprisonment.
The government has imposed
a ban on catching,
selling, transportation and
hoarding of Hilsa fish from
October 12 to November 2. •
Traders tortured in Faridpur
• Md Wali Newaz,
Faridpur
A section of local influential
tortured two poor traders,
demolished their business
centres and evicted them
from trade at Gazna Bazar
under Madhukhali upazila in
the district yesterday.
The victims were Nitta
Gopal Sarkar, son of Surendranath
Sarkar and Idris Molla,
son of Khorshed Molla in
the area.
According to police sources,
Idrish and Nitta had been
running their business on
khasland in the market for
many years taking permission
from AC land. But the
miscreants involved with
The miscreants
involved with
ruling party men
had been trying
to evict them
for grabbing the
land
ruling party men led by Toudur
Rahman Tazit, Abdur
Razzak and Maznu Sarkar
had been trying to evict
them for grabbing the land.
On the day, they attacked
the grocery shop of Nitta and
bicycle garrage of Idris. They
vandalised the shops, looted
valuables and tortured the
duo mercilessly.
On information, police officials
from Madhukhali police
station visited the spot.
When contacted, Sub-Inspector
Mostofa Kamal of
Madhukhali police station,
said a complaint was filed in
this regard.
Shah Kutubuzzaman, local
leader of Communist Party
of Bangladesh, said local
people protested the attack
and demanded immediate
arrest of the miscreants.
Motaleb Fakir, president
of the bazar committee, said
he was not present when the
incident took place. •