A ruling Awami League lawmaker of Cox's Bazar allegedly led his men to take away various goods a mobile court seized yesterday from illegal occupants at Himchari, a popular tourist spot in Ramu upazila.

Shaimum Sarwar Kamal of Cox's Bazar-3 constituency and his men scolded a forest official for carrying out the drive. Some 40 to 50 of his supporters also vandalised several establishments of the forest department at Himchari and a truck used for the drive and beat up its driver, a forest official said.

The Daily Star phoned Kamal several times and also sent him an SMS for his comments, but he neither received the phone calls nor responded to the text message.

Ali Kabir, divisional forest officer of Cox's Bazar forest department (South), said some people with the help of Abdul Mabud, a local AL leader and chairman of Khuniapalang union in Ramu, set up nine to 10 illegal shops on the forest department land near Himchari tourist spot a week ago.

A mobile court, led by Mozammel Haque Russell, executive magistrate of Cox's Bazar district administration, and assisted by police and staff of the forest department, evicted the illegal structures around 2:00pm, Kabir said.

When they along with the seized materials, including corrugated iron sheets, in two trucks were returning to the depot of the department in Cox's Bazar town, the team was intercepted at Darianagar around 4:00pm, he said. 

Kamal, who was on his way to Himchari, stopped there and asked Kabir who took down the structures and why, he added.

At one stage, Kamal asked his men to take the goods to Himchari and they did that, said Kabir.

Besides scolding him, followers of the lawmaker vandalised several establishments of the forest department and one of the two trucks used in the drive and beat up a truck driver, Kabir said.

Law enforcers later rescued one of the five staffers of the forest department who took shelter under a nearby bridge after being attacked by the MP's men, he added.

The magistrate said no one obstructed their drive, but the "unfortunate incident" took place when they were returning from the spot.

Kabir said he informed the secretary of the environment and forest ministry, the chief conservator of forests and the deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar of the incident.

Ali Hossain, the deputy commissioner, said police and magistrate helped the forest department demolish the illegal structures from the land of the forest department.

Chief Conservator of Forests Yunus Ali said the lawmaker took the law into his own hands and obstructed the government officials from discharging their duties. "He did not do the right thing," Yunus told The Daily Star last night over the phone.

Meanwhile, a rally was held near Himchari tourist spot around 4:30pm, protesting the drive. The rally was attended, among others, by the MP and Riaz-ul Alam, chairman of Ramu upazila, also president of the upazila unit Jubo League.

They demanded removal of and punitive action against Kabir.

Contacted, Mabud told The Daily Star that the drive was "illegal".

He claimed the land where the shops were set up was not owned by the forest department; rather it is government Khas land.