Khorshed Alam, Sherpur

Cases have been filed against 20 fertilizer dealers in Sherpur on charges of black-market trading, creating artificial crises, and causing financial losses to the government under the Special Powers Act of 1974.

The cases were lodged by Sherpur Sadar Upazila Agriculture Extension Officer Md. Anwar Hossain. According to the case details, on June 24, Agriculture Extension Officer Md. Anwar Hossain and Agriculture Officer Nusrat Jahan inspected various fertilizer shops across Sherpur town, including New Market, Raghunath Bazar, and the New Bus Stand area. During the inspection, multiple irregularities were uncovered in violation of Section 9(2) of the Fertilizer Management Act, 2006. Subsequent scrutiny of the accused dealers' registers and sales cash memos revealed widespread discrepancies.

The charges state that the accused dealers illegally sold allocated government quotas—including 4,412 metric tons of urea fertilizer (valued at approximately BDT 11.91 crore), 821 metric tons of DAP fertilizer (valued at approximately BDT 1.72 crore), 134 metric tons of TSP fertilizer (valued at approximately BDT 36.18 lakh), and other fertilizers worth approximately Tk 34.40 lakh—on the black market for exorbitant profits. This illicit activity created an artificial market shortage, forcing local farmers to purchase fertilizers at prices well above government-mandated rates.

The lawsuits further note that the actions of the accused caused immense suffering to farmers across various unions of Sherpur Sadar upazila while inflicting multi-million-taka financial losses on the state exchequer.

The accused dealers named in the case are: Md. Rasedul Islam, Sufia Begum, Md. Rafiqul Islam, Subarna Saha Roy, Mir Delwar Hossain, Moriyam Akter Munni, Md. Farhad Ali, Iliyas Ali, Tapas Nandi, Kamrun Nahar Hashem, Sirajul Islam, Samidul Islam Faraji, Borhan Uddin, Rezaul Karim, Mazaharul Islam, Anwar Hossain, Moniruzzaman Monir, Prashanta Saha, Md. Ratan Mia, and Md. Badsha Mia.

The cases were registered at Sherpur Sadar Police Station under the Special Powers Act of 1974 (Case No. 25(1), dated July 22, 2026). Confirming the authenticity of the filings, Sherpur Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Sohel Rana stated that an investigation is currently underway.