Nazmul Sunny:
As the trail of white stone looting in Sylhet continues, a man has been arrested and handed over to the police station while looting blocks of the Barisal city protection dam. On Wednesday (September 18) night, these government blocks were being looted from near the Kingjom Hotel in the Mahabaz (Ulalghuni) area of ​​Ward No. 4 of the City Corporation on the banks of the Kirtankhola River.
Based on a secret tip-off, Barisal Metropolitan Chhatra Dal’s former acting president and current senior vice-president Tariqul Islam Tariq arrived at the site of the block looting at around 11 pm that day with the help of local newsmen. Although those involved in the previous block looting of the city protection dam managed to escape, the Chhatra Dal leader arrested the trawler and its driver and handed them over to the police station. The arrested trawler driver, Shahe Alam Hawlader, is the son of Ismail Hawlader, a resident of Kawarchar village under Barisal Port Police Station.
On Thursday (September 18) morning, Kaunia Police Station OC Md. Nazmul Nishat said, “The detained trawler driver Shahe Alam is being interrogated to identify those involved in the looting of the state-owned city protection dam block. In addition, those involved in the incident will be arrested after filing a case in this incident.”
Local residents said that for several days, the blocks of the city protection dam in that area were being looted by trawlers in the dark of night. And an employee of the Water Development Board named Milon and some local influential people are directly involved in this looting. They also said that they never had the courage to open their mouths for fear of the influential people. On Wednesday (September 17) night, a group of 12/13 people came to loot the block. But before the Chhatra Dal leaders and newsmen reached the spot, everyone else mysteriously fled, leaving the trawler driver behind.
Senior Vice President of Barisal Metropolitan Chhatra Dal Tariqul Islam Tariq said – At first, when I heard about the block looting from the locals, I did not believe it. That is why I brought some journalists to see what the real incident was. He also said – Before we reached the spot, the people involved in the block looting managed to escape. But the driver of the trawler, Shahe Alam Howlader, could not escape. We arrested him and informed the Metropolitan Police Commissioner about the matter. Later, Kaunia Police Station OC Md. Nazmul Nishat came to the spot and took the trawler filled with blocks along with the arrested Shahe Alam into their custody.
Several residents of the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that with the help of some local people, Khokon, Milan and their other associates, residents of Palashpur area of ​​Ward No. 5 of the city, have been looting the blocks of the city protection dam by filling trawlers at night for a long time. They also said that Khokon and Milan are breaking the looted blocks with the help of machines and making stones and selling them.
It is worth noting that the city protection dam was built by a contractor named Confidence Group under the Water Development Board to protect Barisal city from the severe erosion of the Kirtankhola River. Within several years, the dam collapsed at several places, causing panic among the locals during natural disasters and monsoons. In the meantime, that panic has now turned into extreme panic after the block looting incident of the city protection dam. The locals have demanded that those involved in the block looting incident be identified and brought under the law and given strict punishment.
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