Joint forces have recovered about 43,000 cubic feet of stones looted from the popular tourist spot Sadapathar at Companiganj in Sylhet in two separate drives on Thursday.
With the latest recovery, about 6.32 lakh cft of stones looted from Sadapathar in Bholaganj area has so far been recovered in different drives since August 14.
According to environment rights activists and local people, more than 20 million cft of stones were looted by unscrupulous people having connections with different political parties from the Sadapathar tourist spot at Companiganj upazila and Jaflong area under Goainghat upazila in the district since the fall of authoritarian Hasina regime on August 5 past year in a mass uprising.
The committee formed to investigate looting of stones from Sadapathar submitted its report to the Sylhet deputy commissioner office on Wednesday, naming a number of people for their alleged involvement in the looting.
The newly appointed Sylhet deputy commissioner, Md Sarwoer Alam, inspected the Sadapathar area in the afternoon on Thursday, the first day after joining his office in the morning.
The interim government on Monday made a number of changes in the Sylhet administration amid allegations of the local administration鈥檚 inaction over the widespread looting of stones.
The public administration ministry on Monday appointed law adviser鈥檚 private secretary Md Sarwoer Alam as the Sylhet deputy commissioner, replacing Muhammad Sher Mahmud Murad.
Responding to reporters鈥� queries, Sarwoer said, 鈥楢n investigation will be conducted to find out who was involved in this looting, why and how it happened.鈥�
He also said that steps would be taken to ensure that no more stones were stolen from Sadapathar.
Sylhet sadar upazila nirbahi officer Khushnoor Rubaiyath told 抖阴精品 that a joint force team led by an executive magistrate of the district administration conducted a drive in Dhopagul area under the upazila in the evening and recovered about 6,000cft of stones looted from Sadapathar.
Rapid Action Battalion-9 media officer (additional superintendent of police) KM Shahidul Islam Sohag told 抖阴精品 that they in association with the district administration conducted another drive in the Dhopagul area at about 1:00pm and recovered 37,000cft of looted stones from five spots of the area.
The sadar upazila UNO Khushnoor told 抖阴精品 in the evening that the recovered stones were being put back at Sadapathar.
Local people alleged that unscrupulous people having political connections took advantage of fragile law and order situation in the country after the 2024 political changeover to loot stones and sand from the Sadapathar and Utma Chhara under Companiganj, Jaflong tourist spot at
Goainghat, Rangpani tourist spot at Shripur under Jaintapur, Lobha Chhara at Kanaighat聽upazila and the adjoining areas.
The 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 the Sadapathar.
Goainghat UNO Ratan Kumar Audhikari told 抖阴精品 on Thursday that they seized 1,500cft of stones looted from Jaflong, another popular tourist spot in Sylhet, and replaced them at Zero Point area of the scenic place.
Ratan Kumar said that joint forces led by executive magistrate Farhad Uddin Ovi conducted a drive in the Jaflong area at noon and sank sand-laden 10 large sized boats and 10 small boats into the Piyain River.
鈥楾he executive magistrate also sentenced three people to one-month non-rigorous imprisonment for their involvement in extracting sand illegally from the river,鈥� he added.聽聽