Habib Sarwar Azad, Sylhet

A syndicate has been allegedly trying to remove mineral sand and stones worth nearly 11 billion taka without government price or income tax under the cover of auction at Tahirpur in Sunamganj 

The main conspirator of this syndicate is Motaleb, also known as Patthar Motaleb, a close associate of fugitive former MP Ranjit Chandra Sarker of Sunamganj-1 constituency who is currently in the UK. Motaleb is the son of the late Mohor Ali from Charpara village near the Jadukata riverbank in Tahirpur, Sunamganj.

It is also alleged that some dishonest and irresponsible officials of the Bureau of Mineral  Development  (BMD) are involved in this corruption scandal, taking advantage of High Court and related ministry bans.

On Wednesday, during a field visit, mineral sand and Nuri stones were seen dumped in rows at several locations including the Jadukata riverbank area of Tahirpur, northern, southern and eastern parts of Laurgarh market, nearby Dhalarpara, Charpara villages, by the roadside, bushes, and forest.

Photos and video footage of these dumped mineral sand and stones have been preserved by this reporter.

Investigation revealed that after the fall of the fascist Awami League government, the leases for Jadukata River’s sand areas Mahals-1 and 2 expired. Following this, the High Court issued injunctions on those sand Mahals. For several years, no separate mineral stone leases have been granted for the Jadukata river.

Taking advantage of this situation, Awami League leader Motaleb, aka Patthar Motaleb, got involved. Locals say Motaleb used to run a betel leaf and liquor shop in the Laurgarh market of Tahirpur to support his family. Alongside illegal sand and stone trading, Motaleb and some corrupt police officers from Tahirpur, Bishambharpur, and Sadar Model Police Stations, along with environmental department and administration officials, received a significant share of extortion money from traders.

Later, he illegally occupied government khas land, acquired land by the haor area after “care”, and built vehicles and houses. He has crores of taka in various banks under benami accounts and is currently worth around 5 billion taka.

Under the shadow of fugitive former MP Ranjit Chandra Sarker, Motaleb uses local sand and stone traders to smuggle stones (boulders) from India through the mouth of the Jadukata river. Simultaneously, he conducts quarrying with hundreds of dredgers, bombs, sieve machines extracting mineral single stones (Nuri stones), boulder stones, and sand from the Jadukata river chars, banks, and government khas sand lands.

Approximately 600,000 to 700,000 cubic feet of single (Nuri stones), 900,000 to 1,000,000 cubic feet of boulder stones, and 10 million cubic feet of mineral sand are illegally dumped near villages, riverbanks, schools, roadsides, inside and outside residential areas, bushes, and forests.

The market value of these illegally collected mineral sands, excluding VAT and income tax, is estimated between 10 to 11 billion taka.

To pressure the administration for the covert removal of mineral sand and stones, Motaleb’s syndicate organized a human chain involving traders and workers a few months ago, which was reported in the media.

As a second strategy, Motaleb circulated videos on social media claiming increased theft, robbery, and extortion due to lack of work and spread rumors demanding the opening of the Jadukata river channel.

Despite these efforts, Motaleb and his sand-stone mafia failed.

Sources say Motaleb then managed a few dishonest BMD officers through bribes with the help of his followers and intermediaries from both Awami League and BNP trader groups.

According to Motaleb’s syndicate’s prior plan, a BMD magistrate seized about 5,493 cubic feet of stone from a poor trader near Laurgarh market on the banks of the Jadukata river (southwest).

 Later on July 23, BMD’s joint deputy director Mamunur Rashid organized an open auction in the Tahirpur Upazila Executive Officer’s hall. Syndicate members purchased the schedule. Under this auction’s cover, they plotted to remove mineral sand and stones worth 11 billion taka. When the matter became public, that day’s auction was suspended.

Later, another BMD magistrate was sent to seize 5,250 cubic feet of stones from another trader at Laurgarh market.

At that time, locals requested the magistrate to seize the huge amounts of mineral sand and stones stored in Motaleb’s house, the house of Awami League leader Billal Hossain in Dhalarpara, BNP leader Rahis Mia’s house in the same village, and other nearby villages, roadsides, bushes, and forests. However, the magistrate ignored their requests.

Allegedly, the magistrate pocketed several thousand taka as travel allowance from Motaleb’s group before leaving.

This incident sparked public anger. Under local pressure, on August 3, Motaleb’s group showed seizure of 10,743 cubic feet of stones and organized another auction by BMD’s joint deputy director Mamunur Rashid in the Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner’s hall. That auction was also suspended.

Afterward, Mamunur Rashid announced another auction showing the seizure of several lakh takas worth of stones. The auction is scheduled for Thursday (August 7) at the Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner’s office hall.

Local traders allege that Motaleb’s syndicate will extend the auction process by showing fake auction papers, charging several crores of taka as extortion fees on all the sand and stones in the area over several months, then transport mineral sand and stones worth 11 billion taka by road and river routes without government price, VAT, or income tax.

Further allegations say Motaleb installed hundreds of stone-breaking machines on the riverbank and inside villages, extorting more money by threatening police stations and administration while using the traders’ association as a cover.

When asked on Wednesday at Motaleb’s house in Charpara village about these matters, he claimed to be the president of the Jadukata Boulder Stone Small Traders’ Cooperative Society and a local Awami League leader. He said he never ran a betel leaf shop but had a grocery shop in Laurgarh market and worked as a rural doctor. He denied involvement in extortion or the sand-stone syndicate but admitted that on August 7, an auction of seized stones by BMD will be held at the DC office. He also claimed he had no stone-breaking machines or boulders at home and that the four-wheeler vehicle was a gift from his son-in-law’s family.

Motaleb is a close associate of fugitive former MP Ranjit Chandra Sarker of Sunamganj-1 constituency.

It is alleged that through the auction, Motaleb’s syndicate, along with some dishonest BMD officers including Mamunur Rashid, plans to legitimize several crore taka bribe money and execute the scheme to remove mineral sand and stones worth 11 billion taka.

When asked about the seized mineral stones and auction scandal on Wednesday, BMD Joint Deputy Director Mamunur Rashid said their DG Sir and Director Sharwar Hossain are aware of the matter.  BMD magistrates have seized 10,743 cubic feet of stones twice.

When asked why more stones and singles were not seized, he avoided the question.

Repeated calls to BMD Director General Mohammad Anwarul Kabir were unanswered as his phone was switched off.