Those involved in stone looting in Jaflong still out of touch
Md. Dulal Hossain Raju, Jaintapur (Sylhet)
All those involved in the stone looting incident at Jaflong Zero Point in Sylhet still remain at large.
No visible action is being taken by the local administration against the people who involved. Athough a handful of influential BNP affiliates and Awami League leaders and activists in Jaflong are involved in this heinous looting, no legal action is being taken against them.
Meanwhile, after the administration's joint operation to recover the looted stones, the work of replacing the seized stones in the Tikli area of Zero Point is underway.
Recently, due to the collusion of the local administration with illegal stone and sand looters in Jaflong, the stone looters have remained at large, resulting in panic among ordinary businessmen and workers. They allege that the administration is conducting an eyewash operation. They have raised the question, whose stones are they seizing? Various traders and stone crusher owners said that the barki workers extract stones using the traditional method and sell them to small traders. The stone crusher owners buy from these traders.
Then, the stones are gradually broken using crusher machines and sold to various buyers in the country. The affected traders say that they are not at all aware that these stones were stolen or looted. There are also traders who had piled up the stones by renting other people's land. And the administration is trying to seize these stones in the name of the operation. Several traders who did not want to be named said that instead of arresting or detaining Raghav Bowal, who was involved in the stone looting at Ballaghat Zero Point in Jaflong, the administration has seized stones purchased by ordinary traders. Local people and traders of Jaflong said that whenever the talk of stone looting comes up, the administration is not arresting any of the names whose names come first.
The local people of Jaflong, civil society, intelligence agencies, journalists, environmental activists, everyone knows that 20/25 leaders of the influential BNP and its affiliates are involved in this looting. Their names have appeared in various media outlets. But none of them are being caught in the administration's campaign. The media is also busy promoting the success story of the administration's 'Mahabharata (stone) rescue'. The media is no longer talking about the administration's failure to prevent stone looting. The media is also heavily promoting the 'Amuker Pukurghat' (pond in Amuk) and the 'buried next to Tamuker's house' stones being recovered, causing an uproar in various media outlets. However, the police administration, various intelligence agencies, the upazila administration and the district administration have started separate investigations against the stone thieves. The High Court has also directed the submission of a list of the looters within 7 days.
Meanwhile, since the influential people involved in the stone looting and theves have not been arrested, local residents believe that this is an 'eyewash' operation by the police. The common people of Jaflong are saying with anger, 'So-and-so leaders involved in stone looting' have not been arrested so far. Yet no journalist is raising any questions about this.
The administration has failed to prevent stone theft. No television or newspaper is showing the administration's failure. The 'journalists' of Jaflong are highlighting the administration's show-off campaign.
After the Awami League government was ousted in the mass uprising of students and the public on August 5-July 2024, a few leaders of the BNP affiliate organization and the Awami League took control of the Jaflong stone quarry in Sylhet, and with their help, stone looting began openly. The local administration conducted some raids during the stone looting. In those raids, nothing was done except vandalizing or sinking the sand boats of the Barki workers. However, there are allegations that despite multiple reports in the 'Daily Kanti Today' newspaper against illegal stone extraction and looters in the environmentally critical areas of Jaflong Temple's Zoompar, West Lakher Par, Babul Zoom, and Ballaghat Picnic Center, the administration has not taken any effective action. Media workers have been subjected to threats, lawsuits and attacks by looters while publishing a pictorial report on stone looting in Jaflong. In the stone looting at Zero Point in Jaflong, expelled Jaflong BNP leader Shah Alam Swapan, expelled leader Md. Rafiqul Islam Shahparan, East Jaflong Union BNP President Amjad Baksh, East Jaflong Union BNP General Secretary Masud Rana, former President Abdul Hamid's nephew Humayun Ahmed and at least 25 people from Awami League-BNP are directly involved in the sand and stone looting in Jaflong.
Although organizational action has been taken against several BNP leaders in this incident, the local administration has not taken legal action against the looters. Gowainghat Police Station OC Sarkar Tofail Ahmed said that no separate case has been filed by the police station in the incident of sand and stone looting since August 5 last year.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, August 18, Gowainghat Union Land Officer Abdul Monayem filed a case with Gowainghat Police Station accusing 100/150 stone looters. Case No. 29.
Sylhet Environment Department Assistant Director Md. Badrul Huda said that since August 5 last year, they have filed 10 cases on charges of illegal extraction of sand and stones in Balihaor, Naindar Haor in Gowainghat and Dauki River in Jaflong.
There are 228 accused in these cases. Six cases are under trial and four cases are under investigation.
In this regard, Sylhet Police Superintendent Md. Mahbubur Rahman said, the stone looters are under surveillance and will be brought under the law.
