Sonagazi (Feni) Correspondent

An allegation has been raised against Awami League leader Zafar Ullah Nayon (48) for forcibly grabbing land belonging to a follower of the Sanatan Hindu religion at Sonagazi. 

 He is the General Secretary of Ward No. 2 of the Sonagazi Municipality Awami League and the son of the late Mostafizur Rahman of Bara Bari in Uttar Char Chandia village.

According to the complaint, Nayon had long occupied 17 decimals and 9 decimals of land owned by Uttam Kumar Das, a resident of Ward No. 2 of Char Chandia Union, located in Char Chandia Mouza. On May 14, when Uttam went to work on his land, Nayon allegedly threatened to kill him using hired goons and drove him away. Uttam has since been fleeing his home in fear for his life. He has lodged a written complaint at the local police station.

Uttam Das stated, “This land is recorded in the CS record in the name of my late father, Usha Ranjan Das. However, Nayon deceitfully got it recorded in his name in the BS record, though he has failed to produce any valid documents. Whenever I approach the land, he threatens to kill me. On May 13, Nayon and his brother Abdul Halim attacked me with local weapons (machetes and cleavers).”

Local resident Mominul Haque said, “Nayon has forcibly occupied Uttam’s ancestral property. As a local Awami League leader and follower of Sonagazi Upazila Awami League General Secretary and Mayor Rafiqul Islam Khokon, no one dares speak out against him. Using political influence, he has repeatedly threatened and seized land from people.”

Another neighbor, Abdul Mannan, added, “When Usha Das was alive, he tried to reclaim the land from Nayon and his father Mostafizur Rahman but failed. In front of local mosque worshipers, he even offered to buy it back with money, but they refused, showing off their power.”

A local resident, under condition of anonymity, said that in the previous government’s term, Nayon—with the help of another Awami League leader Rafique and Rafique’s brother-in-law, a judge—used political and judicial influence to harass various people from different walks of life through attacks and false cases.

Currently, as Nayon is in jail in connection with an attack case related to the July Movement in Feni, his statement could not be obtained.