Allegations have been raised that standing paddy crops on about one and a half bighas of land were burned in the darkness of night in Naogaon’s Raninagar Upazila.
The incident took place in the Ghatagan mouza field under Ekdala Union of the upazila.
According to the landowners, Mokhched Ali, son of Fayez Ali of Talimpur village, and Anichur Rahman, brother of Golam Rabbani (son of Nachir Ali), said they had cultivated paddy on the land in the Ghatagan mouza. The crops had already reached the stage of forming panicles.
On Sunday morning, when they went to the field, they found that unknown persons had set fire to the standing crops during the night, burning about one and a half bighas of land.
Among the damaged land, 14 decimals belonged to Mokhched Ali, and about 27 decimals belonged to Golam Rabbani’s brother Anichur Rahman.
They alleged that there has been a long-standing court dispute over the ownership of the land with several individuals from the same village, including Bulu Pramanik, son of Shafir Pramanik. They also claimed that similar incidents occurred in the previous Boro and Aman seasons, where crops were destroyed in the same manner.
The victim suspects that those involved in the land dispute may be behind the incident. They have demanded a proper investigation and justice.
However, denying the allegation, Bulu Pramanik said he had not been at home for the past 20–25 days due to illness and does not know who committed the act. He claimed that they had originally planted paddy on the land, but the current claimants removed those crops.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Raninagar Police Station, Abdul Latif, said that no formal complaint has yet been received. He added that legal action will be taken against those responsible after an investigation if a complaint is filed.
