At least 400 trees were allegedly cut down over a land dispute in Diara Kochua village of Baufal upazila, Patuakhali district.
According to family members and locals, Abul Hashem Matubbar, Abul Kashem Matubbar, and Abdul Hakim Matubbar jointly owned 21.36 acres of land in the area. The sons of Hakim and Kashem claimed that although Abul Hashem’s heirs had sold off their share of the land, his grandson, Sakib Hasan alias Caesar Matubbar, forcibly occupied around 14.24 acres belonging to the other two families, reports UNB.
On Saturday and Sunday, Sakib Hasan and his hired workers allegedly cut down nearly 400 trees—including mahogany, chambul, and rain trees—on approximately 62 decimals of land claimed by the other families.
Babul Matubbar, son of Abdul Hakim, and Shamsul Haque Matubbar, eldest son of Abul Kashem, said they filed complaints with the police, but no legal action has been taken so far.
Hundreds of logs stacked beside a road and loaded on a boat for transport, describes UNB. Local timber trader Ibrahim estimated the value of the felled trees at around Tk 8 lakh.
One of the workers, Riaz Sardar, 25, admitted they cut the trees using petrol-run chainsaws under instructions from Sakib Hasan.
Village police member Habibur Rahman and Dafadar Mohammad Kovid Hossain confirmed they visited the scene as directed by the Officer-in-Charge (OC) to stop the felling, but their orders were ignored, and cutting resumed the following day.
Sakib Hasan, however, claimed the trees were on land he inherited. “I cut down trees on my own land. Police cannot stop me,” he said.
Bauphal Police Station OC Mohammad Aktaruzzaman Sarkar said police were sent to stop the activity and both parties were instructed not to remove the felled trees until the dispute is resolved legally. “If they don’t comply, they have been advised to seek remedy through the court,” he added.