Monday, February 27, 2012

Section 144 in Sarail as villagers, BGB clash



BRAHMAN BARIA 

Brahmanbaria, Feb 27 A clash between villagers and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members left at least 30 people injured at Sarail upazila in Brahmanbaria on Monday, leading the local authorities to ban all sorts of public gathering.

The clash over ownership of a piece of land took place around 9:30am when villagers tore down a tent set up on the disputed land at Kalikachchha Bazar by members of BGB-12 headquarters on Sunday night, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) A S M Shahedul Islam Say

The authorities imposed Section 144, banning public assembly, to control the situation, the UNO said.

Witnesses said freedom fighter Abdul Hamid had a longstanding dispute with BGB-12 over the ownership of the 16-decimal land adjacent to the paramilitary force's local headquarters. A court issued status quo on the matter when a case had been filed.

Sarail Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Gias Uddin told bdnews24.com that the BGB set up tent on the land to take control of it.

Witnesses said nearly 500 villagers pulled down the tent in the morning and clashed with the BGB personnel there. They hurled brickbats and the BGB members charged baton, leaving at least 30 injured, the OC said.

Hamid, 65, said the dispute had originated during his grandfather's time. "The villagers broke the tent as it was set up defying the court's status quo," he added.

Bengali daily Prothom Alo's local correspondent Badar Uddin Badu said daily Manabjamin's correspondent Mahbub Khan Babul, Banglabazar's Masud Rana and Ittefaq's Julkarnaine were assaulted by BGB personnel.

Badu also said the members of the paramilitary force confined three journalists until noon.

BGB-12 commander Lt Col Mustafizur Rahman could not be reached for comment.

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