Mintu Biswas, a resident of Char Sreeramkandi village in Tungipara Upazila of Gopalganj  alleged in a recent press conference that he and his family are being harassed due to a land dispute. 

He claimed that Shafik Shikder of the same village and his associate Haidar Sheikh are trying to implicate him in false cases.

Mintu Biswas stated that during the last Ramadan, just before Eid, Haidar Sheikh planted drugs near his tea shop in front of the Gimadanga Youth Development center and had the police harass him. Similarly, drugs were planted in his elder brother Poltu Biswas’s auto-rickshaw to harass them in the same manner.

He further said, “I run a small tea shop. Not long ago, Shafik Shikder orchestrated a theft at my shop through his men, causing me great financial loss. Shafik’s father, Kasem Ali Shikder, told me, ‘Leave your homestead, and you’ll have no more problems or legal trouble.’” Mintu added that Shafik is both his cousin and brother-in-law, as he (Mintu) is married to Shafik's younger sister. He has three children. “They don’t want me to stay married to his sister,” he said.

Mintu also alleged that Shafik Shikder was involved in various criminal activities during the Awami League government under the patronage of a Member of Parliament from Mohammadpur, Dhaka. These included extortion, looting, and even being accused in a murder case. He further claimed that Shafik and Haidar are ruining the youth by making them addicted to drugs.

Monir Biswas, a neighboring shopkeeper, said, “We run our shops together. Mintu Bhai comes from a quiet, decent, and harmless family. He is being harassed in many ways by Shafik and Haidar.”

As of now, there has been no response from the local administration. Mintu Biswas has appealed to the law enforcement authorities to let him live peacefully and to take legal action against Shafik Shikder and Haidar Sheikh.