Chhatra Dal leader among 7 accused of cutting rented cargo vessel for scrap in Sonargaon; 1 held
The vessel was dismantled at a Sonargaon shipyard over 15 days, causing an estimated Tk1.60 crore loss to the owner
Seven people, including Shahadat Hossain, former vice-president of the Narayanganj district unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), have been accused of renting a cargo vessel in Sonargaon and cutting it up for sale as scrap. The vessel was allegedly dismantled over the past 15 days at the HB Harun & Brothers Meghna Shipyard on the banks of the Meghna River in Kadirganj area under Pirojpur union.
Police yesterday (26 November) arrested BNP activist Nazrul Islam over the incident. He was sent to jail in the afternoon through the court.
Earlier, on 24 November, vessel owner Rakesh Sharma filed a case with Sonargaon Police Station over the alleged cutting and sale of the ship. The accused are Jafar, 42, Shahadat, 35, Iqbal, 42, Nazrul Islam, 47, Emdadul Haque, Jafar, 45, and Hossain, 33.
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Among the accused, Shahadat is a former vice-president of the district JCD. He is also the vice-president of Sonargaon upazila BNP and the son of shipyard owner Rafiqul Islam.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sonargaon Police Station, Rashedul Hasan, said, "A case has been filed over cutting and selling the cargo vessel. One person has been arrested for involvement in the incident. Efforts are underway to arrest the remaining accused."
According to police sources, Shahadat and the case's prime accused Jafar rented a vessel called DB (Dumb Barge) from Chattogram on 1 November. They made a one-month agreement for around Tk7.20 lakh with the vessel's owner, Rakesh Sharma.
They then took the vessel to the HB Harun & Brothers Meghna Shipyard on the Meghna riverbank in Sonargaon and cut it down to sell the plates. When an employee secretly informed the owner, Rakesh Sharma went to the spot and found his vessel being dismantled. He later filed a case with Sonargaon Police Station, claiming losses of around Tk1.60 crore.
Rakesh said, "Jafar rented the vessel for one month to transport goods, but a group of BNP leaders formed a syndicate and cut it down at a Sonargaon BNP leader's shipyard."
Attempts to contact the accused JCD leader Shahadat Hossain went unanswered as his phone was switched off.
Shahadat's father and shipyard owner Rafiqul Islam said they had stopped cutting the vessel after learning about the matter. He added that discussions were underway to reach a settlement with the owner.
