In a brazen act of sabotage, miscreants hacked down nearly 300 fruit-bearing guava trees belonging to a farmer in Jibon Nagar, Chuadanga, under the cover of darkness on Saturday night. The incident has left the farmer devastated, with an estimated loss of around five lakh taka.
The victim, Jalal Uddin (48), son of Mahiuddin Mollah from Hariharnagar village, had planted the saplings on his 25 katha of land two years ago. The trees were currently laden with fruit and were just weeks away from being harvested for sale.
A heartbroken Jalal Uddin stated, "I had invested about three lakh taka to create this garden. I nurtured these trees like my own children. I was hoping for a good profit this year, but now everything is finished. I am a poor man; my family's survival and my children's education depend on this income."
The farmer pointed to an ongoing land dispute with a local man named Alamgir (25), son of Samad, as the motive behind the attack. "He has been troubling me over this land for a long time, damaging parts of it and even threatening my son's life. Given the history, I have no doubt he is behind this," Jalal alleged.
His son, Akib Hossen, corroborated the claims, saying, "Alamgir has assaulted me multiple times over the land and had threatened to cut down our trees. We were too afraid to speak up because he is a drug addict and influential."
Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Mamun Hossain Biswas of Jibon Nagar Police Station confirmed that they have received the complaint. "Police have visited the spot for investigation. The matter is being looked into, and necessary legal action will be taken accordingly," the OC assured.
