A criminal case has been filed against Abdul Halim, father of reserved-seat Member of Parliament and National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Nusrat Tabassum, over allegations of land grabbing, assault, vandalism, and looting in Kushtia.
Idris Ali, a 67-year-old resident of the Bagoan Tension Mor area in Mathurapur Union under Daulatpur upazila, lodged the complaint with Daulatpur Police Station on Saturday, 14 November. Abdul Halim has been named as the sole identified accused, alongside eight to ten unnamed associates.
Kushtia District Police spokesperson and Additional Superintendent of Police Faisal Mahmud confirmed the development at around 6:00 pm on Saturday. He stated that Sub-Inspector (SI) Mohsin Chowdhury of Daulatpur Police Station has been assigned to investigate the matter. SI Chowdhury also confirmed that he had formally received the investigation docket.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the dispute dates back roughly five years, when Idris Ali purchased 4.25 kathas of land from two of Abdul Halim’s brothers. After taking lawful possession of the plot, Idris built a house and began living there with his family. Trouble reportedly began later when Abdul Halim attempted to seize control of the property.
The FIR alleges that this simmering dispute boiled over on the morning of 13 September last year. Armed with locally made weapons, Abdul Halim and his associates allegedly stormed Idris Ali’s residence. The attackers vandalised the home’s fencing, doors, windows, corrugated tin roof, and furniture, causing damage estimated at Tk 250,000 (2.5 lakh). When Idris and his wife, Mina Khatun, tried to stop them, they were beaten with sticks. The assailants also allegedly looted valuables worth roughly Tk 150,000 (1.5 lakh), including three wooden beds and ten bundles of corrugated tin.
Seeking redress, Idris approached local community leaders following the incident. Instead of receiving justice, he found himself facing a counter-case filed by Abdul Halim at Daulatpur Police Station just three days later, on 16 September. Idris was subsequently arrested and sent to jail in connection with that case.
Upon securing bail, Idris discovered that Abdul Halim had allegedly used his daughter MP Nusrat Tabassum’s political influence to occupy the disputed plot. According to the complaint, Idris was warned that any further protest would result in him being framed in a fabricated arms case. Fearing for his family’s safety, he fled the village and took refuge at his in-laws’ home.
Fear kept him silent for over a year. Idris explained in his complaint that he finally decided to approach the police after learning of alleged moves to implicate him and his family in a recent arson case filed over a fire at Abdul Halim’s house on 12 November. Anxious to protect himself from fresh harassment, he formally reported last year’s attack. Speaking to reporters, Idris reiterated that the disputed plot—situated in a bamboo grove just below Halim’s residence—had been legitimately bought from Halim’s own brothers.
Abdul Halim, however, claimed he was entirely unaware of the new case against him. Dismissing the accusations, he stated that Idris no longer resides in the locality, has ongoing disputes with several neighbours, and has been absconding since 5 August 2024. While acknowledging that there had been an old issue surrounding his brothers’ land sale, Halim suggested that Idris might have lodged the complaint now at the instigation of political rivals.
The legal battle unfolds against the backdrop of a fierce controversy surrounding a fire at MP Nusrat Tabassum’s ancestral home late on the night of 11 November. Following the blaze, Nusrat and senior NCP leaders alleged that the property had been targeted in a petrol bomb attack.
The next day, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed addressed the incident in the Jatiya Sangsad, stating that preliminary assessments found no evidence of petrol bombs being used at the scene. He noted that an electrical short circuit caused by ageing wiring appeared to be the more probable cause, though he assured Parliament that strict action would be taken if investigations uncovered any proof of sabotage.
That official theory was soon challenged by local power authorities. On Friday, Tozammel Haque, Assistant General Manager (Operations and Maintenance) of the Pragpur Palli Bidyut Sub-Zone Office in Kushtia, inspected the damaged house. Following his technical assessment, he reported that the electricity meter, wiring, main switch, and transformer fuse were all found completely intact—ruling out, in his view, any possibility that a short circuit sparked the fire.
