The Anti-Corruption Commission has launched a full inquiry into the looting of stones from Sadapathar, a popular tourist spot at Companiganj in Sylhet.
The commission made the decision on the launch of the inquiry at a meeting held at its headquarters in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday.
ACC director general (prevention) Akhtar Hossain on Wednesday said, 鈥楾he commission will conduct the inquiry into allegations of corruption and bring the involved persons to law.鈥�
Earlier, on August 20, the ACC Sylhet office sent an initial report to its headquarters over the looting of stones from Sadapathar, reportedly naming 42 individuals, including leaders of different political parties, administrative officials and businesses.
Home adviser retired Lieutenant General Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Monday warned that if the probe report was proved true, legal action would be taken against those involved in the stone looting.
But, if the report is probed wrong, action will also be taken against the ACC officials concerned, he added.
Amid a public outcry over the looting of the stones, the ACC鈥檚 Sylhet district office started the initial inquiry while the government also took several measures in this regard.
On August 20, the cabinet division formed a five-member high-level committee to investigate the looting of stones from the Sadapathar tourist spot in Bholaganj area.
Bureau of Mineral Resources director general Mohammad Anwarul Habib filed a case with the Companiganj police station against 1,500 unnamed people on August 15 on charge of widespread looting of stones from Sadapathar.
On August 18, the government withdrew Sylhet deputy commissioner Muhammad Sher Mahbub Murad and attached him to the public administration ministry as an officer on special duty.
Sher Mahbub was replaced by Md Sarwoer Alam, who was serving as the private secretary to adviser Asif Nazrul at the expatriates鈥� welfare and overseas employment ministry.
However, about 28,00,000 cubic feet of stones looted from the Sadapathar were recovered in different drives since July 13, according to the district administration.
Local environment rights activists and local people claimed that over 0.2 crore cubic feet of stones were looted from Sadapathar and nearby Railway bunker area since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5 past year.
They said that within about half a kilometre of the tourist spot, a railway bunker was built many years ago to send stone raw materials to now-closed Chhatak cement factory.
Stones were stored there to send to the cement factory through a ropeway system, they said.
After the factory was closed down, the ropeway also fell out of use and the stones that were stored at the bunker and adjacent areas were left there.
But after the August 5, 2024 political changeover, almost the entire lot of the stones with a volume of 0.1鈥�0.15 crore cubic feet was looted along with those at the tourist spot, they alleged.
The activists and local people alleged that unscrupulous people having political connections took advantage of the fragile law and order situation after the regime fall to loot the stones and sand from several areas, including Sadapathar and Utma Chhara at Companiganj upazila, Jaflong tourist spot at Goainghat upazila, Rangpani tourist spot at Shripur at Jaintapur upazila, Lobha Chhara at Kanaighat upazila, in Sylhet district.
They also alleged that the local administration remained silent during the looting.
