Shahadat Babu, Noakhali correspondent
Miscreants locked a farmer in his house in Kabirhat, Noakhali, late at night and set fire to his cow farm by pouring petrol. Eight cows in the farm were burnt, one calf died in the fire, and two were slaughtered. The owner of the affected farm claimed that the farm suffered a loss of about 30-35 lakh taka in the fire.
Kabirhat Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Shahin Mia confirmed the matter on Monday (February 24) afternoon. Earlier, the incident took place at the house of Kala Mia member of Ward No. 6 of Sundalpur Union of the upazila around 2 am on Sunday.
The affected farmer, Shahjahan, said that for the past 20 years, he has been earning a living through a cattle farm. Currently, his farm has 6 large cows and 2 calves. On Sunday, around 1 am, after milking the cows, he closed the farm and went home to sleep. At around 2 am, he heard the lowing of cows from the farm and looked out the window to see that the farm was on fire.
He further said, "When I tried to leave the house after seeing the cows on fire in the farm, I saw that the door was locked from outside. The doors of his other two brothers' houses next to him were similarly locked. Later, when we shouted, the people around came forward and opened the locked door from outside, and with the help of the neighbors, the fire was brought under control. Earlier, 8 cows and cow fodder in the farm were burnt."
He alleged that they have been threatening him for the past few days due to a dispute over land at home with a party. He suspects that they may set fire to the farm with petrol as a result.
Kabirhat Upazila Animal Resources Officer Shahjalal Mohammad Yunus said, "One-third and one-half of all the cows have been burned. Of which two have been slaughtered. We are providing primary treatment to the rest. However, it does not seem possible to save the cows. Even then, our team is continuing to try."
Kabirhat Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahin Mia said that the police visited the scene after receiving the information. Legal action will be taken after investigating the matter.
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Shahadat Babu, Noakhali correspondent
