RAB vehicle vandalized, two suspects snatched and handed over after 7 hours

Two suspects who were snatched after vandalizing a RAB vehicle in Dakop Upazila of Khulna, were handed over to RAB by some local BNP leaders approximately seven hours later.

Today, Saturday evening, after they were returned, the suspects were handed over to Dakop Police Station. The suspects are Mukund Mandal and Rasul Gazi. Around 11:00 AM, a group of agitated protesters had snatched them from the Achabhua Bazar area of the upazila.
According to police sources, Abdullah Fakir, Bablu Sana, and Sazzad Hossain Sardar had been farming fish for several years on approximately 40 bighas of land outside the embankment of the Water Development Board in the Khona area of Pankhali Union, Dakop Upazila. Recently, a dispute arose between them and local individuals including Mukund Mandal, Bachchu Fakir, and Rasul Gazi over the ownership of this fishery.

Following this, on May 16, around 7:00 PM, a group led by Bachchu Fakir, former joint convener of Upazila BNP, armed with local weapons, attempted to take control of the fishery. In connection with this incident, on Thursday, Akram Ali Fakir filed a case at Dakop Police Station against 11 individuals including Mukund Mandal, Rasul Gazi, and Bachchu Fakir's group.

After the case was filed, on Friday night around 10:00 PM, while Abdullah's men were fishing in the farm, 20-25 people led by Bachchu Fakir again attacked with local weapons. Jasim Molla, Hafizur Molla, Abu Musa Sheikh, Jafar Sardar, and Sazzad Hossain Sardar were seriously injured in the attack and were admitted to the Upazila Health Complex.

Meanwhile, protesting the case filed on Thursday, Bachchu Fakir's associates were preparing for a protest march in Chalna Bazaar around 11:00 AM on Saturday. At that time, members of RAB-6 arrested Mukund Mandal and Rasul Gazi, who were named as accused in the case.

As they were being taken away, supporters of Bachchu Fakir blocked the RAB vehicle and began protesting. At one point, they attacked and snatched the suspects. Immediately after this incident, the party's former member secretary Abdul Mannan Khan and former convener of Chalna Pour BNP Sheikh Mozaffar Hossain held an impromptu press conference at the Upazila BNP office.

In the press conference, they claimed that there had been an ongoing dispute between locals and Abdullah Fakir's group over the forcible occupation of that land, which is owned by some Hindu community people and government as well. They said they went to the spot upon hearing news that RAB had arrived in the vicinity and was taking people away from a protest march. However, they denied the incidents of vandalizing the RAB vehicle and snatching the suspects.

Regarding the overall situation, Dakop Police Station OC Khairul Basar said that the situation is currently calm. Additional police and joint forces have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, Commander of RAB-6 Lieutenant Colonel Nistar Ahmed confirmed the incident and said that after legal procedures, the suspects were handed over to the police station.