Sylhet Bureau

After being postponed three times, the auction for sand and stone worth Tk 110 cr  plundered from the Jadukata border river in Tahirpur, Sunamganj, was held in Dhaka, a change in strategy.

The auction was held in complete secrecy on Tuesday in the conference room of the Bangladesh Mineral Development Bureau (BMD).

However, as of Tuesday evening, the Tahirpur UNO and Assistant Commissioner (Land) could not provide details about the auction, including the number of participants, the highest bid, and who won the auction.

When asked, Tahirpur UNO Mehedi Hasan Manik told The Country Today that the Assistant Commissioner (Land) was connected to the BMD's online for the auction.

Tahirpur Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md. Shahrukh Alam Shantanu said, "I joined the BMD's auction call much later than the scheduled time. The auction is over, but the BMD's people can provide the details."

Multiple attempts to contact Azizul Islam, the Assistant Director of the Mineral Development Bureau (BMD) and the auction convener, via phone and WhatsApp messages on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

On-site investigation revealed that the main orchestrator of this syndicate, hidden behind the BMD's rigged auction in Dhaka, is Awami League leader Motaleb, also known as 'Patthor Motaleb,' a close associate of former Sunamganj-1 Member of Parliament Ranjit Chandra Sarkar, who is now a fugitive in the UK. Motaleb is the son of the late Mohar Ali from the village of Chharar Par, located on the banks of the Jadukata river in Tahirpur.

It is alleged that some corrupt officials from the Mineral Development Bureau (BMD), district and upazila administrations, and the police are involved in this festival of corruption, taking advantage of prohibitions from the High Court and relevant ministries.

A field survey of several villages on the banks of the Jadukata river in Tahirpur, including the northern, southern, and eastern parts of Lauragarh Bazar, Banrakona Haor along the Lauragarh-Sunamganj border road, and the nearby Dhalar Par, Chharar Par, and Jangalhati villages, showed large piles of sand, stone, singles, boulders, and gravel stored in and around houses, near Lauragarh High School, along roads, and in bushes and forests. The reporter has multiple photos and video footage of these dumped mineral resources.

Investigation reveals that after the fall of the fascist Awami League government, the lease for the Jadukata River Sand Quarries 1 and 2 expired in the Bengali year 1431. Subsequently, the High Court issued a prohibition on both sand quarries. In the past few years, no separate mineral stone quarries were leased out in the Jadukata River. Awami League leader 'Patthor Motaleb' capitalized on this opportunity.

Local sources indicate that Motaleb, who once sold betel nuts from a shack to make a living, is now worth almost half a billion taka after getting involved in the illegal sand and stone trade.

Motaleb, the self-proclaimed president of the stone association, used local sand and stone traders to smuggle boulders from India, which is the source of the Jadukata River.

After the lease for Jadukata Sand Quarries 1 and 2 expired, with the help of some corrupt officials from the district and upazila administrations, police, and others, including the former Superintendent of Police of Sunamganj (now reported to the police headquarters after withdrawal) A. F. M. Anwar Hossain Khan, Tahirpur Police Station OC  Delowar Hossain, and others, Motaleb and his associates used dredgers, bombs, and excavators to illegally mine the Jadukata River. They extracted and hoarded about 110 crore taka worth of sand, stone, singles, and boulders from government-owned land near the villages on the riverbanks and through smuggling from India.

Facing public outrage, the Motaleb syndicate, on August 3, arranged for an auction through BMD's Deputy Director (transferred) Md. Mamunur Rashid, by showing 10,743 cubic feet of stone as seized. The third-round auction was scheduled for August 7 at the Sunamganj District Administration Hall but was postponed following public criticism.

However, on Tuesday,  the auction was secretly completed in the conference room of the Mineral Development Bureau (BMD) in Dhaka. Participants joined the bidding on an online platform (Zoom). A fourth-round open auction notice was discreetly issued by the BMD on September 9.

When asked, Motaleb claimed to be the president of the Jadukata Boulder Stone Small Traders' Cooperative Association and denied any involvement in extorting money or being part of a sand and stone syndicate. He also claimed that he does not have stone boulders or crushing machines at his home.

Earlier on Monday, Azizul Haque, the Assistant Director of  BMD said,  regarding the seized minerals and the auction, "The BMD's magistrate seized 10,743 cubic feet of stone in two separate instances, and that stone will be auctioned off. A bKash/Nagad number has been provided for purchasing the auction schedule/tender document. After the Tahirpur UNO confirms the purchase, a link to the online platform (Zoom) will be provided to participate in the auction. The entry time for the auction is from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM on Tuesday, and the auction time has been set for 4:00 PM on Tuesday." When asked why more stone, singles, and boulders were not seized, Azizul Haque avoided the question.

Allegations found  that, as in the past, a few BMD officials, along with corrupt officials from the district and upazila administrations and police, are facilitating the opportunity for the Motaleb syndicate to move the 110 crore taka worth of sand and stone through a multi-crore taka bribe, hidden under the guise of this auction.

Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner Dr. Mohammad Elias Mia said, "The Tahirpur UNO has been instructed to seize all illegally extracted sand and stone on the eastern bank of the Jadukata river."