AL leader, UP chairman, secretary held as rice theft on

Police arrested ruling Awami League-backed chairman and secretary of Arshinagar union parishad in Bhedarganj of Shariatpur for government rice theft and seized 35 sacks of theft rice from their possession.

The arrestee are Sakhipur thana unit AL joint general secretary and Arshinagar union parishad chairman Shamsuddoha Ratan and Arshinagar union parishad secretary Jahangir Alam, said Sakhipur police station officer-in-charge Enamul Huq.

Locals and two members of the union parishad said that the chairman and secretary on Thursday distributed rice among 324 fishermen under the government’s vulnerable group feeding programme.

Each of the beneficiaries was eligible to get 40 kilograms of rice but they gave them lesser amount.

The duo save 35 sacks of rice with such fraudulence and stored those a warehouse.

On information Bhedarganj upazila nirbahi officer Tanvir Al Nasif and Sakhipur police conducted a drive, seized the rice and arrested Shamsuddoha and Jahangir Thursday night for thieving the rice.

Enamul said that upazila fisheries officer Abdus Samad lodged a case with Sakhipur police station under Special Powers Act and the duo was produced before a Shariatpur court and the court sent them to jail.

Sakhipur thana Awami League general secretary Atique Rahman Manik Sarkar in a statement on Friday said that they relived Shamsuddoha from the party post for thieving government rice meant for the poor fishermen.

Earlier, at least 60 people, many of them are local leaders of ruling AL, were arrested since coronavirus outbreak in the country for rice theft.

Besides, the government had suspended a total of 52 elected local government representatives — 19 UP chairmen, 31 UP members, one district council member and one municipal councilor—since the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net