BNP leader permanently expelled for occupying AL leader’s house

A BNP leader has been permanently expelled from the party for occupying the house of Belal Hossain, general secretary of the banned Raykali Union unit of the Awami League in Akkelpur of Joypurhat. 

The expelled mmeber is Md Mizanur Rahman Babu, joint general secretary of Raykali Union BNP.

On Sunday night, a letter signed by Akkelpur Upazila BNP president Kamruzzaman Kamal, general secretary Md Arif Iftekhar Rana, organising secretary Md Samiul Hasan Emon and Ahmed Mosharraf communicated the decision to expel Mizanur Rahman Babu. 

The expulsion was announced by loudspeaker throughout the area on Monday.

The letter states that Mizanur Rahman had engaged in various activities detrimental to the organisation, including the occupation of another person’s property. On July 21 Raykali Union BNP had given him seven days to vacate the house; when he failed to comply he was permanently removed from all BNP positions, including that of joint general secretary, in order to safeguard the party’s image. 

Party leaders and activists, together with those of affiliated bodies, were instructed to cease all contact with him.

Earlier, Belal Hossain’s wife, Shahnaz Begum, had lodged a written complaint at the police station alleging unlawful occupation of the house. 

Police visited the premises and directed Mizanur Rahman to leave.

According to the complaint and local accounts, Belal Hossain constructed a two-storey concrete house on four hundred acres of land in Raykali village between 10 and 12 years ago. Approximately four years ago he mortgaged the property and obtained a loan of Tk12 lakh  from the Zianagar branch of Agrani Bank. After August 5 2024, he left the house and went into hiding; his wife, who had remained there, departed with him about five months later.

The complaint alleges that Mizanur Rahman Babu took advantage of the vacancy to seize possession of the house. He later promised to pay rent but never did so, and at one stage claimed that the land on which the house stood was ancestral property belonging to his family, thereby refusing to vacate.

On inspection it was found that Mizanur Rahman was living in the house with his family and had rented several rooms on the upper floor to relatives. 

A person present identified himself as Mizanur Rahman’s brother; a child later said he was the son of Mizanur Rahman and that his father had gone to Raykali Bazar.

Mizanur Rahman Babu denied the allegation of encroachment, asserting: “The place belongs to my grandfather. Belal Hossain occupied it and built the house 10 to 13 years ago. At that time the Awami League was in power and Belal Hossain was general secretary of the Raykali Union Awami League. He seized our land and constructed the house. I did not occupy the house; I simply reclaimed my own property.”

Concerning the expulsion he stated: “I have heard that I have been expelled from the party, although I have not yet received any formal letter. The Upazila BNP contacted me. Nevertheless, on Monday morning, I removed all furniture and belongings from the house and left.”

Akkelpur Upazila BNP general secretary Md Arif Iftekhar Rana remarked: “Occupying another person’s house constitutes a serious offence. We instructed him to vacate the premises; when he still refused to leave he was permanently expelled in order to protect the party’s image.”