Bidhan Mandal Faridpur Representative:
Mandar Molla (47) of Chandivardi village, Ballabhdi union, Saltha upazila, Faridpur died of cardiac arrest on August 4, 2023 in Dhaka (according to locals). Later that night, his body was brought from Dhaka to his village home and buried at 10 am the next day. And almost eleven months after this death, the deceased's wife, Hena Begum, filed a case in the Dhaka court on September 17, 2024. This is like a story of two deaths in one death!
And this issue has created a huge stir and sensational situation across the district. Although Mandar Molla died almost nine months before the incident, his wife filed a case by pretending to have died during the anti-discrimination student movement. Why and for what reason did she file such a case regarding the natural death of her husband is now the question of many in the area. It is being believed that he may have done this to take immoral benefits. There is a gang involved in this.
In the case statement, Hena Begum, the wife of the deceased Mandar Molya, the plaintiff in the case, mentioned that her husband was beaten to death in front of Mirpur Gol Chattar in Dhaka on July 18 during an anti-discrimination student movement. She filed the murder case in the Dhaka court, naming 11 people and leaving 10/15 others anonymous. The case was later recorded at Mirpur Model Police Station on September 26 of that month.
The case statement further states that on the instructions of the first accused in the case, Mohammad Russell alias Sarwar Jamal Russell (25), they confirmed the residence of Mandar Molla. Then, on July 18, the victim was taken to a procession of the anti-discrimination student movement. On the way home at night after the movement in the Mirpur 10th Gol Chattar area, the accused, who were on the road at the scene, forcibly took the victim to the area between the local Mirpur 2nd Swimming Pool and 2nd Stadium. The first accused, along with others who were already at the scene, found Mandar Molla in front of them, pushed him to the ground, strangled him and beat him to death. After confirming his death, the accused left Mandar Molla's body there and fled.
And when I went to the house of the plaintiff Hena Begum in Salthar village recently to talk directly about the filing of this murder case, she said, "No one ever wants to file a murder case. However, the murder case was filed because there was a reason. If you could have produced one of the accused, then there was one thing, I also have children. No one in this world wants to put anyone in danger. I feel great pain, there are many reasons. Those people from Dhaka have put me in danger. They have a guardian and asked them to come to my house so that a verbal compromise can be reached." She said, "The case has been resolved, what more can I say to you now?" She asked the accused in the case to come to me. Let them talk to me and then the solution will be reached.
Then he said, "Write down what you heard from the locals about the date of death."
Mandar Molla's neighbor, Md. Bablu Molla, said that Mandar Molla died in Dhaka on August 4, 2023. He had been out of the area for 12 years before that. He said that we heard that he used to drive a rickshaw in Dhaka. He died of a heart attack while driving a rickshaw in Dhaka. Those who came with the body told us. He was surprised to hear about the incident of Mandar Molla's death during the last anti-discrimination student movement. He referred to the matter as a hoax.
Another resident of the area, Mohammad Nasir, said, "When Mandar Molla died, we attended his funeral. His death never seemed unusual, we knew it was a natural death. He said that his death occurred several months before the anti-discrimination student movement."
On August 4, 2023, Md. Aliur Rahman, the panel chairman of Ballabhdi Union Parishad, posted a post on Facebook after the funeral of Mandar Molla. Regarding this death, he said, "Mandar Molla died one to one and a half years ago. I myself also attended that funeral." However, he mentioned that he did not die during the last anti-discrimination student movement. He said that he died long before the anti-discrimination student movement. A lot of water has been muddied on this issue. Many people came to us from Dhaka. We told the truth there too. We do not want anyone to be in danger.
Bijoy Dutta, an accused in the case and working for a national daily, said, "A party was unhappy with one of my news stories. And because of this, that party framed me in this case."
Witness No. 1 in the case, Md. Asaduzzaman, said, "I don't know anything about this case. I came to know when the notice of the case came."
Meanwhile, on the spot, it was found that Mandar Molla's grave was laid a quarter mile away from his house. The picture of the grave inside a garden suggests that the grave was laid a long time ago. Locals around the grave said that this grave was laid here one to one and a half years ago. At that time, the situation in the country was normal and the Sheikh Hasina government was in power. However, the residents of that area repeatedly told journalists that Mandar Molla did not die during the student movement.
There is widespread criticism across the district about such fraudulent litigants in Saltha. In cases where unethical opportunists from the Saltha area file cases against innocent wealthy businessmen and people not involved in the incident, the plaintiffs then send copies of the cases to the accused on WhatsApp and try to demand money, it is alleged.
Also, a few days ago, a case was filed in Saltha area accusing innocent people of the area of a murder at a fair. Later, the victims filed a case against the plaintiff in that case.
Thus, in the Saltha area, fraudulent groups have been committing these crimes at various times to trap each other and take immoral benefits.
Prominent figures in the upazila claim that they expect the government to take appropriate legal action against the litigants and unethical profiteers who are behind these misdeeds.
