Fifteen laborers, boatmen, and drivers from two districts have been arrested for illegally extracting mineral sand from the Sumeshwari River. Police also seized five sand-laden steel-bodied trawlers during the operation. Two separate cases have been filed at Madhyanagar Police Station in Sunamganj against the arrestees.
The arrested individuals are: Nuruzzaman, son of Hafiz Uddin, Habi Mia, son of late Abdul Qadir, Kabul Mia, son of Shukkur Ali, Ferdous and his brother Habikul, sons of late Sayed Ali, Aazrul Islam, son of late Babar Ali, Mofazzal and his brother Khokon, sons of late Mosabber Ali and others.
According to police case details and local sources, the arrestees were allegedly extracting mineral-rich sand from the unleased portion of the Sumeshwari River, which flows past the Madhyanagar upazila in Sunamganj. With the help of a local sand-lifting syndicate, they loaded the sand into multiple steel trawlers early Friday morning and were preparing to transport it.
Acting on a tip-off, two teams from Madhyanagar Police Station conducted simultaneous raids and arrested the individuals. They also seized five sand-filled trawlers, estimating the value of the confiscated sand and vessels at approximately 1.45 million BDT.
On Saturday, OC Monibur Rahman confirmed the arrests and stated that two separate cases have been filed by the police. The arrestees were presented before the court on Friday afternoon.
