It was decided at a meeting with the deputy commissioner in the chair on November 16 that government receiver would harvest and keep the crop of disputed 25 acres until the case is settled. Both the parties present at the meeting had agreed to the decision, officials said.

Accordingly, Assistant Commi-ssioner (land) Manzurul Alam as government receiver along with employees and police came to harvest the paddy at 11:00am. About 300 villagers attacked them with lethal weapons and at one stage attempted to snatch away rifles from the police defying repeated warnings, eyewitness said.

Police opened fire in self-defence leaving Nanda Mohan,55, dead on the spot. Those who were wounded by bullet are Samesh Chandra, Aminul, Sahidullah, Kalmoni, Bimal, Sri Proshad, Pankaj, Biplab and Sadequl.

Of them, Biplab, Pankaj, Samesh, Aminul and Sahidullah were rushed to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

Villagers claimed that about a score people were wounded in police firing, some of them taken to private clinics.

Havilder Abul Hossain, constables Javed Ali, Anwar Hossain and Tahshilders Khairul Alam, Sattar and Rezaul were also injured in the attack of the villagers who had virtually gheraoed them.

The ownership of the land is long disputed between Joydev Barman and Fazle Rabbi. Rabbi got decree from the court but Barman filed another case.

Deputy Commissioner Gazi Mizanur Rahman said a group of unruly villagers attacked the government receiver and beat him when he went to harvest the paddy. Police super Khandker Golam Faruq said the attackers attempted to snatch away arms from the police who opened fire in self-defence.

Advocate Indranath Roy, general secretary of district Hindu-Christian-Bouddha Oikya Parishad, said the villagers were angry as the government receiver began harvesting paddy of a different land that Joydev Barman inherited from his maternal grandfather. He demanded impartial judicial inquiry into the police firing.