Sylhet BNP leader held over stone looting scandal

Sylhet Bureau :

CompaniganjUpazila BNP President Sahab Uddin, who was suspended from his post in the stone looting incident in Sylhet, has been arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-9). He was arrested from Kumarpara area of Sylhet city around 11 pm on Saturday (September 13).

A notice sent by RAB said that in the last one year, a huge amount of stone was illegally extracted in Companiganj and Gowainghatupazilas. When the news about this incident was published in the media, there was a nationwide uproar. Later, RAB-9 intensified its detective activities to arrest those responsible for the white stone looting incident.

In continuation of this, based on secret information, an expedition team of RAB-9, CPSC, Sylhet conducted a drive in Kumarpara area around 11 pm on Saturday and arrested one of the main accused in the much-discussed Bholaganj white stone looting incident in Sylhet.

In this regard, RAB-9 Media Officer (Ext. Superintendent of Police) Shahidul Islam Sohag said that there are seven cases against Sahab Uddin in Companiganj and Kotwali police stations of Sylhet district. He has been transferred to Kotwali police station.

Earlier, all the posts of Sahab Uddin, the president of CompaniganjUpazila BNP in Sylhet, were suspended.

This information about the suspension of his post was given in a notification signed by Advocate RuhulKabir Rizvi, Senior Joint Secretary General of Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP, on August 11.

It is worth noting that the expelled president of CompaniganjUpazila BNP, who was discussed in the Bholaganj and Sadapathar looting and extortion incidents in Companiganj, has been accused of various controversial activities for many days, including occupying 150 acres of government land, renting out land for a stone quarry.

It is alleged that he was in possession of more than half of the 275 acres of government open land next to the Bholaganj stone quarry. He used to earn huge money by renting these lands to the owners of stone crushing machines.

On August 5, allegations were again made against Sahab Uddin for occupying more than a hundred government lands in the area of Site No. 10 in Bholaganj. When information about taking lakhs of taka in rent from there was published in the media, the attention of the party high command was drawn.