UNB :
Police have arrested 14 people on charges of illegally extracting sand from the Garai river in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia.
The arrested are Md. Billal Hossain, 40, Md. Shakib Khan, 30, Md. Sajjad Hossain, 20, Russell Hossain, 28, Md. Mehdi Islam, 28, Sohag Hossain, 23, Md. Sagar Biswas, 31, Md. Kalam Ali, 19, Feroz Islam, 22, Shamim Hossain, 27, Raju Ahmed, 30, Ismail Hossain, 32, Md. Kajal Hossain, and Sabuj Biswas, 20.
Tipped-off, a team of police conducted an operation to prevent illegal sand extraction in Zainabad Mouza of the area and arrested them, said Md. Mohsin Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kumarkhali Police Station.
The law enforcers also seized five trucks and two locally made vehicles during the drive, he added.
Later, a case was filed against the arrestees under the Balumahal and Soil Management Act and sent them to jail on Saturday afternoon.
However, denying the allegations, Md. Masud Rana, the lessee of Zainabad Mouza’s Balumahal, said that he was excavating sand with a lease of about 6 crores from the district administration. But he doesn’t understand why police arrested his men.
When contacted, Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Amirul Arafat said that the administration gave the lease on April 14. But on April 27, the High Court issued a writ petition banning sand extraction in four mouzas, including Zainabad.
“Efforts are on to resolve the issue,” he added.