Former Union Parishad Chairman’s Ancestral Home Demolished by Miscreants

PATUAKHALI — A gang of unidentified miscreants has allegedly used an excavator to demolish the ancestral home of a local politician and former elected official in Patuakhali’s Mirzaganj upazila. The targeted property belongs to Kazi Mizanur Rahman Lovelu, the President of the Madhabkhali Union unit of the Awami League and the former Chairman of the Madhabkhali Union Parishad.

The incident took place during the early hours of Saturday, 18 July, in the Kathaltali area of Madhabkhali union. According to the victim’s family, the attackers did not stop at structural destruction; they also looted valuable furniture, gold ornaments, and a substantial amount of cash before setting the remnants of the property on fire.

Exploiting an Empty Property

Local sources revealed that Kazi Mizanur Rahman Lovelu had left the area following the recent fall of the Awami League-led central government, amid shifting political dynamics across the country. In his absence, his wife, Shilpi Begum, and his elderly mother continued to reside in the village home. However, by a stroke of coincidence, the residence was entirely unoccupied at the time of the assault, as both women had travelled to Dhaka to seek medical treatment.

Taking advantage of the vacant property under the cover of darkness, the perpetrators arrived at the site with a heavy excavator, locally referred to as a veku machine. Speaking over the telephone, a distraught Shilpi Begum recounted the harrowing details of the attack that she learned from neighbours.

“We were away in Dhaka for medical reasons, and they chose that exact window to strike,” Shilpi Begum stated. “A coordinated group of men arrived in the dead of night and initially disconnected the main electricity lines to plunge the area into total darkness. They then deployed the excavator to systematically bring down the entire house. Everything we owned—valuable household furniture, family gold, and cash reserves—was looted. To ensure our complete ruin, they set the wreckage ablaze.”

Upon noticing the sudden fire, alarmed local residents alerted the emergency services. A team from the Fire Service and Civil Defence subsequently arrived at the scene and managed to bring the flames under control, preventing the fire from spreading to adjacent homesteads. “I returned from the capital only to find that everything we built has been reduced to ashes and rubble,” the former chairman’s wife added.

Police Investigation and Legal Steps

The family has formally brought the matter to the attention of the local Kathaltali police outpost. Attempts by journalists to contact Kazi Mizanur Rahman Lovelu directly via his mobile phone proved unsuccessful, as his handset remained switched off.

Commenting on the structural attack, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mirzaganj Police Station, Mohammad Towhiduzzaman, confirmed that the violence occurred late at night. “We dispatched a police contingent to inspect the spot immediately after receiving reports of the vandalism and arson,” the head of local law enforcement noted.

The police administration has assured the public that a thorough criminal investigation will be launched to identify the perpetrators. The OC emphasized that formal legal proceedings and retaliatory raids to apprehend the culprits will commence as soon as the affected family submits a written complaint detailing the sequence of events and estimating the financial losses. Meanwhile, the incident has sparked widespread anxiety among local residents regarding security standards in the upazila.