A Sherpur court has sent 15 fertilizer dealers to jail among 20 accused in a Special Powers Act case filed over the alleged black-market sale of government-allocated fertilizers worth approximately Tk 14 crore in Sadar upazila.
On Tuesday (September 22) at noon, 16 of the accused appeared before the Sherpur District and Sessions Judge Court to pray for bail. Judge Mohammad Zahirul Kabir granted bail to one accused whose previous high court bail term remained valid while ordering the remaining 15 to be sent to jail as their higher court bail had expired.
The dealers sent to jail are Sufia Begum, Md. Rafiqul Islam, Subarna Saha Roy, Mariam Akter Munni, Md. Farhad Ali, Tapas Nandi, Sirajul Islam, Samidul Islam Farazi, Borhan Uddin, Mazaharul Islam, Anwar Hossain, Moniruzzaman Monir, Prashanta Saha, Md. Ratan Mia, and Md. Badsha Mia.
The case was filed on July 22 by Sherpur Sadar Upazila Agriculture Extension Officer Md. Anwar Hossain. According to the case statement, a team led by Upazila Agriculture Officer Nusrat Jahan inspected various fertilizer dealerships across Sadar upazila on June 24, finding severe irregularities under the Fertilizer Management Act, 2006. Verification of seized registers and cash memos revealed that driven by excessive profit motives, the dealers illegally sold 4,412 tons of urea (valued at approx. Tk 11.91 crore), 821 tons of DAP (approx. Tk 1.72 crore), 134 tons of TSP (approx. Tk 36.18 million), and other fertilizers worth around Tk 34.4 million on the black market. Public Prosecutor Abdul Mannan confirmed that the 15 accused were sent to jail following the expiration of their Supreme Court bail terms.
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by Hafizur Rahman Lavlu, Sherpur • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
