ASK condemns demolition of Patuakhali Awami League leader’s house

Rights watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra has condemned the attack in which miscreants allegedly demolished the house of a local Awami League leader with an excavator, looted valuables and set the property on fire in Mirzaganj upazila of Patuakhali.

In a statement issued on the day, ASK said that it believed that if there was a complaint against an individual or a group, the matter should be addressed only through legal and judicial processes.

‘Demolishing someone’s house, looting property or setting it on fire without due legal process is completely against the rule of law. It is the constitutional responsibility of the state to protect the life, property and security of every citizen, regardless of political identity or ideology,’ the statement said.

ASK also called on the authorities concerned to immediately ensure an impartial and effective investigation into the incident and take necessary steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.

According to media reports, the incident occurred early Saturday at the residence of Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, former president of Madhabkhali union AL and former chairman of the union parishad.

Quoting local people, police said that Mizanur Rahman left the area following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024 amid a student-led mass uprising.

Since then, his wife and elderly mother-in-law lived in the house and they had been out of the area for the past two months for treatment purposes, the police said.

Mirzaganj police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Touhidujjaman said that no written complaint had been received so far over the issue.

The police, however, were investigating the incident and efforts were on to identify the attackers and arrest them, he added.