Park on railway land

Rakibuzzaman Ahmed, son of former Social Welfare Minister Nuruzzaman Ahmed, has allegedly occupied around 70 decimals of Bangladesh Railway land in Kaliganj upazila, Lalmonirhat, to build an entertainment park.
The land, located near Tushbhandar Railway Station on the Lalmonirhat-Burimari rail route, was previously used as a temporary village market. According to locals, the site remained open until April 2022 when Rakibuzzaman allegedly seized the land, erected a brick wall around it, and constructed the park, which includes a lake and other structures, reportedly for personal enjoyment with friends.
Rakibuzzaman, organising secretary of Lalmonirhat district Awami League and former chairman of Kaliganj Upazila Parishad, is also accused of misappropriating Tk 1.5 crore from district and upazila councils and the office of the Project Implementation Officer.
He allegedly siphoned off the funds through 20 development projects under various names to build the park, sources from the three departments claim.
Both Rakibuzzaman and Nuruzzaman Ahmed have been absconding since the ouster of the Awami League government on August 5. Separate murder cases have also been filed against them.
Sources at the railway's divisional estate office in Lalmonirhat said a letter was sent to Rakibuzzaman, instructing him to halt the construction and vacate the premises.
However, he ignored the directive.
Attempts to evict the park last year were reportedly thwarted by the influence of his father, the then-minister. Preparations are now underway to demolish the illegal structures this month, said Purnendu Dey, divisional estate officer of railway in Lalmonirhat.
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