Late Awami League leader's house attacked, vandalised in Natore

The house of former Awami League minister Abdul Kuddus was attacked and vandalised in Gurudaspur, Natore, on Sunday, August 9. The incident took place around 2pm at his residence in the Kacharipara area of Gurudaspur municipality.

CCTV footage from the time shows a group of people arriving on 25-30 motorcycles in front of the main gate. They then threw bricks and stones at the gate and the windows and doors of the residence, breaking windowpanes and CCTV cameras. After about 10 minutes, they left the scene. Broken glass shards were also seen scattered in front of the house.

Party sources said Abdul Kuddus served as State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock during the Awami League government from 1996 to 2001. He also served as president of Natore district Awami League for a long time. He died on August 31, 2023. The house in Gurudaspur has been locked since after August 5, 2024.

Abdul Kuddus's son Asif Abdullah Bin Kuddus said he had been posting on Facebook about the power crisis over the past few days. He believes BNP activists may have been angered by this and attacked the house. He described the incident as condemnable.

Earlier, on Saturday late at night, the house of Rezaul Karim alias Sabuj Fakir, joint general secretary of the municipal Awami League who is currently in jail in a sabotage case, was also reportedly looted. The family claimed miscreants took approximately seven bhori of gold ornaments and Tk 1.5 lakh from the house.

Gurudaspur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Riaz Hasan said he heard that an attempt was made to attack the former minister's house while a procession was passing by. However, no one has filed a written complaint with the police station yet. Legal action will be taken upon receiving a complaint.