Gaibandha Correspondent:

A Santal family in Gaibandha’s Gobindaganj has alleged that Union Parishad Chairman Rafiqul Islam and his brothers attacked them again over a land dispute, leaving three injured.

The incident took place on August 15 when the family went to plant paddy on a disputed piece of land in Rajahar union’s Raja Birat Adivasi village.

Victim Shambala Hembrom, 45, has filed a case at Gobindaganj Police Station against 15 people, accusing Rafiqul, his brothers, and their supporters of assaulting with bamboo sticks.

Shambala, along with her grandson Joyonto Hasda, 19, is now receiving treatment at Gobindaganj Upazila Health Complex.

Her elder son, Bishwanath Soren, 25, who suffered a serious head injury, has been admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

“Chairman Rafiqul’s father, Hakim Mondol, and his sons have been occupying more than three acres of land belonging to my father, Hopna Hembrom, and his elder brother, Nodo Hembrom, using forged documents,” Shambala told jouranlist.

She said they had earlier filed a case at the Gaibandha Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Court, which, on December 7, 2023, ruled that Rafiqul and his brothers occupied two acres of land with fraudulent deeds.

“Since then, we’ve been trying to cultivate the land, but they’ve been obstructing us in many ways. This year, they even cut off our irrigation for Boro paddy cultivation,” Shambala said.

On August 15, when the family attempted to plant paddy, Rafiqul and his brothers Shofiqul Islam and Mezbabul Islam allegedly led an attack.

“My eldest son suffered a severe head injury in the attack and is now in Rangpur Medical College Hospital,” she said.

Shambala also alleged that the attackers tore her clothes during the attack.

This is not the first allegation against Rafiqul. On January 3 this year, he was accused of beating a Santal woman, Filimona Hasda, 55, and setting her house on fire during a similar dispute.

Rafiqul was later arrested but is now out on bail. Following the case, he was expelled from the Gobindaganj Upazila BNP unit.

Attempts to reach Rafiqul for comment were unsuccessful, as he did not answer phone calls.

His brother Mezbabul, however, denied the allegations. “My father Hakim Mondol bought this land from Hopna Hembrom 35 years ago. Since then, we have been cultivating it. We have all the legitimate documents and submitted them to the court,” he said.

“On August 15, we heard the Santals were planting paddy on our land. We went to stop them, but they didn’t listen. A scuffle ensued, and my brother Shofiqul suffered a head injury and was admitted to the hospital,” Mezbabul added.

Bulbul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gobindaganj Police Station, said, “The Santals have filed a complaint. I received it at 2:30am last night. I will return to the station today and formally register the case.”

Philimon Baske, president of the Gobindaganj Bagda-Farm Bhumi Uddhar Sangram Committee, said local Bengalis have grabbed about 250 bighas of Santal land in Raja Birat Adivasi village at different times since independence in 1971, but none of it has been recovered.

In a statement today, the Jatiya Adivasi Parishad called for enhanced security for the indigenous community and urged the arrest and trial of those rinvolved, including land grabber Rafiqul.