Petition filed at HC seeking action over stone looting at Sada Pathor in Bholaganj

A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking directives for legal action against those responsible for the large-scale looting of stones from Sada Pathor Bholaganj in Sylhet's Companiganj upazila.

The petition, filed by Supreme Court lawyer Mir AKM Nurun Nabi, also requested the court to order the deployment of additional law enforcement personnel in the area to prevent further illegal extraction.

The petitioner told the media today (14 August) that the writ also sought a rule asking why the inaction of government officials in preventing the looting from Bholaganj should not be declared illegal.

He also said the High Court bench of Justice Fahmida Kader and Justice Syed Zahid Mansur may hear the petition on Sunday (17 August).

The writ petition also sought a directive to investigate the incident and submit a report within 15 days. In addition to the home secretary, the respondents include the environment zecretary, the inspector general of police (IGP), the deputy commissioner of Sylhet, the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Companiganj, and eight others.

According to the petition, over the past year, vast amounts of stones have been illegally extracted from Companiganj and Gowainghat upazilas, often in broad daylight and in full view of local administration officials, without any effective action being taken. The matter came to the fore recently as the area became almost bare of the white stones.