The police on Tuesday arrested a local leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in Noakhali鈥檚 Kabirhat for allegedly selling government-subsidised rice on the open market.
Ozi Ullah, former joint convener of Kabirhat upazila BNP, was arrested from Ghoshbag area of Kabirhat at about 11:00am.
The rice, intended to be sold to low-income individuals at Tk 15 per kilogram, was reportedly being misused, said the police.
Kabirhat police officer-in-charge Shahin Mia said that a case was filed, and the accused was arrested during a raid.
According to the police and local people, Ozi Ullah was appointed as a Food-Friendly Programme dealer in Dhanshi union after the fall of the Awami League regime amid a mass uprising on August 5 past year.
On Saturday afternoon, residents allegedly caught him red-handed attempting to sell three sacks of subsidised rice on the open market.
Later, officials from the upazila food controller office seized 43 sacks of rice.
Local people also alleged that Ozi Ullah had shifted the official distribution point and was conducting sales in violation of the programme regulations.
Upazila sub-food inspector Md Saleh Uddin filed a case under the Special Powers Act with the Kabirhat police on Monday in the incident.