"Abdul Jalil is a sick man, but why is he so greedy? Has he shortage of money?" Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik put questions during a hearing of a suomoto rule over occupation of temple's land after allegedly destroying it.
Abdul Jalil is a former general secretary of ruling Awami League, and chairman of Mercantile Bank Limited, which has allegedly destroyed 200-year-old Roghunath Temple at Dubol Hati Rajbari in Naogaon to construct a charitable hospital.
"We don't expect at all that Abdul Jalil, whose party believes in secularism, is involved in occupying the land of the temple," said Justice Manik, senior judge of an HC bench.
The judge came up with the observation when Nazmun Ara Khanam, the deputy commissioner of Naogaon, in her statement, told the court that she once talked to Abdul Jalil over phone and requested him to refrain from constructing the hospital on the temple's land.
The bench of Justice Manik and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore heard statement from DC Nazmun Ara following a suomoto rule issued after a Bangla daily on July 27 published a report on the allegation of constructing a hospital destructing the temple.
The bench said this court has not yet summoned Abdul Jalil for explaining allegations against him to show him respect.
"But we will summon him before us in future if we feel necessary," said Justice Manik.
Jalil could not be reached despite attempt through cell phone, as he was undertaking treatment at a hospital in the capital last night.
Nazmun Ara appeared before the court and told it that Mercantile Bank has no legal documents on ownership of the land where it has started constructing a hospital destructing the temple.
She said her office has recently taken steps to stop construction of the hospital, and now the construction work remains stopped.
The court directed the DC to immediately arrest those persons who will continue construction on the land of temple, and submit a report on the status of the temple and ownership of its land to this court on August 11.
Source : The Daily Star
