Chapainawabganj Correspondent

The court has ordered an investigation into the illegal soil extraction incident from the area adjacent to Dam No. 6 of the Padma River in Sundarpur Union of Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila.

The order was given by Senior Judicial Magistrate of Chapainawabganj Sadar Administrative Court Md. Ashraful Islam on Monday.

RAB has been given the responsibility of investigating the crimes. The order has directed to submit the report on March 10.

The order mentions that on January 15, a news item titled 'Padma soil looting' published in the local daily Chapai Chitra came to the attention of the magistrate of this administrative court.

Analyzing the news item, it is seen that an unplanned soil extraction festival is going on and the upazila administration is managing it. Locals said that soil is being extracted just 150 meters away from the dam. Due to this, the flood control dam is under threat. Locals told reporters that Md. Zafrul Islam and Md. Amin are doing this work by managing the upazila administration.

According to that description, the court took cognizance of the matter on its own initiative under the provisions of Section 190(1)(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, considering the local people and the safety of the embankment adjacent to the river. Thus, illegal extraction of soil and sand is a clear violation of Sections 4 and 5 of the Sand and Sand Management Act, 2010 and is a punishable offense under Section 15 of the same act, the maximum punishment of which is two years imprisonment and a fine of Tk 10 lakh. In addition, the magistrate found that the crime under Section 427 of the Penal Code was committed by destroying agricultural land in the char and constructing a road for transporting sand, the punishment of which is 2 years imprisonment or a fine.

The order further stated that it is necessary to determine through a preliminary investigation who is committing the crime and it is necessary to identify the accused through investigation. The investigating officer will identify the accused during the investigation, record the statements of the witnesses, prepare a draft map and index of the scene and seize the equipment used for illegal sand extraction, if found. In addition, if any other cognizable crimes have been committed while extracting illegal soil, they will also be determined through investigation.

In view of the overall consideration, the Commanding Officer, CPC-1, RAB Camp Chapainawabganj, RAB-5, Rajshahi have been instructed to investigate the said crimes. At the same time, the concerned have been instructed to take necessary legal measures to stop the extraction of soil from any other river or area in the area of Dam No. 6 of Sundarpur Union of Sadar Upazila of Chapainawabganj district.