Roushan Ara Ruby, organising secretary of the Satkhira district unit of the Awami League-affiliated women’s wing, has been accused of holding secret meetings with members of the banned Awami League, using political influence to grab land and exerting control over the local area.
Local BNP activists alleged that Roushan Ara Ruby continues to move around openly in the area. They also claimed that Awami League leaders and activists regularly hold meetings at her residence and at a fish enclosure in Bilshimulia area of Satkhira Sadar.
Swapan Das of Shimulbaria village alleged that his family owns 47 decimals of land in the Bilshimulia mouza. He claimed that Roushan Ara Ruby occupied the land by using her political influence during the Awami League government. Despite repeated attempts, he said, they have been unable to recover possession of the property.
Meanwhile, expatriate Shariful Islam, Ruby’s cousin by marriage, alleged that his family owns 8.15 acres of ancestral and recorded land in the Dhapar Gher area of Balitha mouza under Debhata police station. He alleged that in 2018, Ruby, her son Zayed Bin Kader and their associates used political influence to occupy the land and subsequently began fish farming there.
Shariful Islam said he submitted a written complaint to the police superintendent over the alleged land occupation.
Roushan Ara Ruby denied the allegations. “There are no secret meetings at my house. I do not even stay at home; I live in Dhaka,” she said. She also described the allegations of land grabbing as false and baseless.
Masudur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station, said police had no information regarding any secret meetings allegedly organised by Roushan Ara Ruby.
