Case filed over death of workers at illegal stone pit

A case was filed yesterday in connection with the deaths of two workers at an illegal stone pit in Shah Arefin Tila area of Sylhet's Companiganj upazila on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, police recovered the bodies of the workers in the morning. The deceased are Selim Miah, 25 and Nurul Haque, 30, of Sunamganj.

Selim's wife filed the case with Companiganj Police Station accusing Abdur Rahim, owner of the illegal quarry, and others, said Tajul Islam, officer-in-charge of the police station.

The bodies were sent to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College for autopsies, he added.

Yesterday, another case was filed with the police station, accusing 23 named stone traders and 500 unnamed workers for carrying out an attack on a taskforce, comprising of the administration, police and Border Guard Bangladesh, during a drive against illegal stone extraction on Monday afternoon, said the OC.

Masud Rana, assistant commissioner (land) of Companiganj, said he along with the taskforce was conducting the drive in Lilai Bazar area when some stone traders and workers attacked them.

Fifteen persons including members of BGB, Railway Security Force and upazila administration were injured in the attack, he said. The taskforce has been formed to stop illegal stone extraction in Companiganj and Gowainghat upazilas.

Influential and unscrupulous traders continue to extract stone illegally in the district, defying repeated ruling of the High Court and drives of taskforce. So far, 54 workers have been killed in such stone pits from January 2018 till present.