Sons of Kuakata BNP president close 10 shops

Two sons of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s Kuakata unit president Aziz Musulli closed 10 shops in the Kuakata tourist town in Patuakhali claiming ownership of the land on Thursday night.

The incident took place at Shutki Market adjacent to the beach in Kuakata.

Kalapara upazila nirbahi officer Rabiul Islam said that measures would be taken after investigating the matter.

According to shopkeepers and local sources, they rented the shops from a person named Bellal Molla about six years ago.

At that time, each shopkeeper paid Tk eight to 10 lakh in advance to Bellal Molla.

After the August 5 student-led mass uprising, three people, Kuakata municipal BNP president Aziz Musulli, Rashedul Aftab and Bellal Molla, allegedly claimed the land.

Local shopkeepers said that they requested the parties concerned to resolve the issue.

As the issue was not resolved, the son of the municipal BNP president, Latachapali Union Juba Dal joint secretary Riaz Musulli, pressured the shopkeepers to sign a new rental agreement with them.

When they denied, the sons of the BNP leader closed the shops on Thursday night.

‘There has been no sale in the month of Ramadan, and we have been losing money,’ one of the shopkeepers said, adding that if they can’t open the shop before Eid-ul-Fitr, their business will suffer hugely.

Bellal Mollah, the reported landowner, said, ‘I purchased this land from Umme Salma, wife of Patuakhali municipality commissioner Milan Mia in 1996.’

Kuakata unit BNP president Aziz Musulli said that he had the legal ownership documents of that land.

He said that Bellal Molla occupied that land with the power of the Awami League, built a market and rented it.

New Age