Rongdhanu Group Chairman Rafiqul Islam has established a ‘reign of terror’ in Kayetpara union of Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj district, committing murder and rape, and grabbing land of numerous people.

Rafiq and his cohorts have encroached on land and homesteads of around 200 families and they do not hesitate to commit murder and rape if anyone stands in their way, said victims.

However, the criminals have got off scot-free even after committing such crimes with law enforcers allegedly turning a blind eye to the matter.

Faruk, Rubel, Billal, Mozammel, Dulal, Alauddin and Shahin are among 50-60 armed cadres of controversial businessman Rafiq through who he commits all the crimes.

They are wanted in several criminal cases and some of them face arrest warrants.

Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Kazi Reazul Hoque said it is like the voice of justice cries in the lonely silence.

“Human rights are still violated in our country.

People are being assaulted and their land is being grabbed forcibly. In the country, many influential people get off scot-free even after committing heinous crimes. If the practice is not stopped, crimes will continue to rise. The state must establish the rule of law bringing criminals to justice,” he said.

Contacted, Jubayer Hossain, inspector (investigation) of Rupganj Police Station, said there is no room for criminals in Rupganj and police will bring them to book whenever any crime is committed.

However, the victims said the Rafiq-led gang is committing murder and rape as a weapon to forcibly displace the inhabitants of the area only to grab their land.

Rupganj shivers as Rongdhanu’s  Rafiq establishes ‘reign of terror’The land of about 200 families has been grabbed by the Rongdhanu Group chairman, leaving them homeless, they said.

Among the land-grabbing incidents, the encroachment on 89.5 decimals of land of graveyard, mosque and madrasah in Nawra village under Kayetpara is the talk of the town. The Rongdhanu Group chairman constructed a huge palace on the land.

Osman Goni Swadhin, 9, son of Shahinur Rahman Shahin of the village, was suspected to have been a victim of an attempt to grab land.

According to the victim’s family, Rafiq wanted to buy over 35 decimals of land owned by Rezaul Karim, the grandfather of Swadhin. Rezaul refused to sell the land, infuriating Rafiq.

Shahin, the ill-fated father of the innocent boy, said, “Two months ago, Rafiq sent his younger sister to our house when she asked us to sell our ancestral land to the Rongdhanu Group chairman. But my father refused to do this.”

“To take the land under their control, Rafiq’s younger brother Mizan and their cohorts started to threaten us. They carried out attacks on our house and shop several times in the last two months,” he said.

“Finally, Mizan threatened us with dire consequences if we didn’t agree to sell the land. Just a week after the threat, my son went missing on 1 December. His body was recovered from the Balu River at Khilgaon in the capital three days later,” Shahin said.

He alleged that Rafiq and Mizan with the help of their cohorts killed Swadhin to give a message to all about consequences for refusal to sell land to them.

The people who saw the floating body of the boy said the head and face of the victim bore injury marks.

Boatman Zakir Hossain, one of them, said, “I brought police with my boat to recover the body. There were injury marks on the head and face of the victim. The face was mutilated.” He suspected that it was a murder.

A woman and a man who saw the body floating in the river echoed Zakir.

Another eyewitness said he saw injury marks on the head and face. “It seemed the boy was killed.”

Despite the injury marks on the body, Khilgaon police recorded an unnatural death case instead of a murder one. Now, River Police is looking into the case.

Superintendent of Police of Dhaka District River Police Goutam Kumar Biswas said they are waiting for the autopsy report. “After getting the report, we’ll be sure whether the boy was killed or not,” he said.

“But we’re investigating how the body made it to the river and how his body floated at the spot of recovery,” he added.

Deputy Inspector General of police (Dhaka Range) Syed Nurul Islam said the bodies of people are often recovered from rivers as the criminals are using those as zones for dumping bodies.

He said they are investigating the death of Swadhin.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Habibur Rahman said the River Police is looking into the incident and the investigation is going on.

More land-grabbing incidents

Elderly Kabir Hossain along with his family members was living in his house on one decimal of land at Nawra village.

Kabir said Rafiq asked him to give the land to him, which he refused. “Later, a group of goons, led by Mizan, began to torture us in different ways. One day, they carried out an attack on our house and we left it to save our lives. We’ve been living here and there for the last seven months,” he said.

“Rafiq has a gang of armed cadres, numbering 50-60. With the help of the cohorts, he grabbed land of many people. About 100 families have been displaced from their ancestral houses,” he said.

Kabir said the cohorts of Rafiq looted his six goats and two cows among other valuables.

Joynal Mia said, “Rafiq through Dulal and Alauddin sends offer for buying land. If anyone refuses the offer, the duo along with other gangsters, equipped with firearms, start torturing the victims. However, police don’t arrest them. Many can’t claim their houses as their property in fear of reprisal.”

A woman of the area said Rafiq’s men attacked their house several months back, forcing her and her daughter to flee. “The cohorts of Rafiq took a number of girls and young women to a nearby sand field and abused them at different times,” she said.

Razia Khatun alleged that the cohorts of Rafiq grabbed their land and looted everything from their house.

Her son suffered serious injuries as they hacked him in the head, she said, adding that they attacked their house one day and tried to kidnap her granddaughter. “After that we left the house.”

Afroza Begum said, “Rafiq grabbed our house. Now, I’m living in my father’s house along with my family. I can’t send my children to educational institutions for financial crisis.”

Fazlu Mia said, “The cohorts of Rafiq march in groups. They ask us to hand over our young girls to them. They’re committing crimes they way the Pakistani forces did during the War of Liberation.”

An elderly man said the cadres of Rafiq put his son in a sack and tired to kill him. “They released my son only when agreed to sell our land to Rafiq.”

All the victims alleged that Rupganj police did not record their complaints against Rafiq and his cohorts.

BDST: 1530 HRS, DEC 22, 2023