Row over fish enclosure: One beaten to death in Satkhira

An individual was beaten to death over taking control of a fish enclosure at Debhata Upazila in Satkhira this morning.
Witnesses said locals caught Kamrul Islam, 50, of Khalishakhali village and beat him to death after the army raided the enclosure, where two groups were locked in an altercation over taking its control.
When an army team conducted a raid at around 5:00am, a group of people exploded bombs in the area. At that time, the locals caught Kamrul and beat him up severely, they said.
During the raid, the army detained six people and recovered 54 hand grenades, five machetes, 800 grammes of gunpowder, four mobile phones, and various locally made weapons from their possessions.
The detainees are Md Nuruzzaman, Md Meherab, Hasibul Hasan, Rabiul Awal, Md Sohel, and Hosain Fakir.
Deceased Kamrul’s wife Marjina Khatun claimed that around 4,000 landless families, including them, had been living on the 1,318 bighas of land at Khalishakhali for a long time.
On the other hand, many people, including Golam Kazi, Iqbal Masud, and Nazrul Islam of Debhata Upazila, were claiming ownership of the land.
In the last few months, there have been several altercations between the claimants and the landless, she said.
She claimed that during the army’s raid, associates of Azizul Islam, chairman of Nalta Union Parishad, picked up her husband and beat him to death.
Azizul denied that his men went to Khalishakhali but said he heard that a person was killed in a mob beating.
Noor Mohammad, officer-in-charge of Debhata Police Station, said, “The army told me that some people, including Kamrul, were injured in a mob beating. Kamrul was rescued and sent to Debhata Health Complex, where he died later.”
No case was filed till this afternoon.
Satkhira Army camp sources said the army raided the area on the information that a robber gang was possessing arms.
During the raid, criminals, including Kamrul, blasted a few bombs targeting the army vehicles when over 150 people caught Kamrul and beat him.
Army rescued injured Kamrul and sent him to the health complex, they added.