“They abuse us every day. Whenever we try to go near our home or factory, they chase us away with weapons. They tell us to leave Bangladesh and go to India. Where shall we go? What shall we do ?” – Wife of Businessman Nilkantha Mondal
For the Mondal family, home is no longer a place they can return to. Their factory, built as their livelihood and future, has become a place they cannot even approach without fear.
The Mondal family had purchased 34.5 shatak of land from S. Sheikh in 2003. The property was initially registered in the name of the Nilkantha’s mother. Following her death, ownership passed to her three sons. Nilkantha says the mutation was properly completed and taxes were regularly paid.
Accompanied by an armed mob, Hasina Begum had forcibly entered their property in the village of Bara Bhatra under Muksudpur upazila of Gopalganj and took control of their factory on 12th September.
The factory, Nayan Enterprise, produces City Gold, a GI-recognised product. The family says the facility was vandalised and machinery, generators, raw materials, chemicals, furniture and other goods were taken away. They estimate the value of the looted property at more than 25 lakh BDT.
Nilkantha Mondal filed a case at Muksedpur Police Station naming ten individuals. Police subsequently arrested three people during an operation on the night of September 20. Investigating Officer SI Mobarak Hossain confirmed that a case had been filed and that three suspects had been arrested and sent through the legal process to court, while efforts to arrest the remaining accused were continuing.
A Family Uprooted
For the Mondal family, a police case does not restore a home, a factory or a livelihood. The family says that when they recently tried to return, they were severely beaten and chased away with weapons. Without a roof over their head or money to buy food, they are struggling to survive.
“I do not seek justice,” the matriarch says. “I merely seek compensation for the massive losses that we have suffered so that we can survive.”
Home has become unreachable. Work has been taken away. And survival has become the only demand left.
(The article was published on hinduvoice.in on September 24 and has been reproduced here)
