5 arrested over stone looting in Sada Pathor

Police have arrested five people in connection with stone looting from the Sada Pathor quarry in Sylhet's Companiganj upazila last night (15 August). 

The arrestees are identified as Mohammad Kamal Mia alias Picchi Kamal, 45, Md Abu Sayeed, 21 and Md Abul Kalam, 32 were detained from their homes in Companiganj. Meanwhile, Imam Ali, 28 and Jahangir Alam, 35, were arrested at a checkpoint along with a truck loaded with crushed white stones.

Companiganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Uzair Al Mahmud Adnan said the five will be produced before the court tomorrow (17 August) in a case filed by the Bureau of Mineral Resources.

Earlier, an unidentified 2,000 people were accused in a case filed over the stone looting at Sada Pathor yesterday. The case was lodged by the Bureau of Mineral Development Director General Mohammad Anwarul Habib. 

According to the case statement, miscreants have been illegally extracting stones worth crores of taka from the gazetted Bholaganj stone quarry since 5 August last year. Their identities have not yet been confirmed.

The case statement further mentions that such looting from a government-gazetted quarry is a clear violation of Section 4(2)(j) of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1992, and Rule 93(1) of the Mines and Minerals Rules, 2012. It also constitutes offences under Sections 379 and 431 of the Penal Code, 1860. Authorities have been urged to investigate and identify those involved.

In the past three days, the administration has seized nearly 100,000 cubic feet of looted stones in raids. However, it has not provided an estimate of the total quantity stolen.

The large-scale looting in Sada Pathor began after the political changeover on 5 August last year. 

Allegations suggest leaders of all major political parties were involved. Massive quantities of stones stored at the mouth of the Dhalai river were transported openly by boat during the day, with hundreds of boats carrying stones daily. Sand was also extracted from the riverbank.

Local investigations revealed that 16 BNP leaders were directly involved in the looting, while several Awami League leaders were also implicated. West Islampur Union Chairman and BNP leader Alamgir Hossain has already been arrested, and Companiganj upazila BNP President Shahab Uddin's post has been suspended.

On Thursday (14 August), the High Court directed authorities to recover the looted stones within seven days and return them to their original site. The court also ordered the submission of a list of those involved in the looting. The writ petition was filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) through Sarwar Ahad, with Advocate Manzill Morshed appearing for the hearing.