Sugar 'hoarding' in Jessore, Jhalakathi
The district administration yesterday started probing alleged hoarding of sugar by two importers as 74,340 sacks of sugar were seized from their warehouses in Jessore on Saturday night.
A three-member probe body headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner Safina Begum visited the three warehouses which have been sealed off, and began looking into the import documents. It is to complete its task within 72 hours.
Earlier, a joint team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), police and National Security Intelligence (NSI) led by NSI Assistant Director Tofazzal Hossain raided the three warehouses belonging to Joint Trading Corporation and Sheikh Brothers in Nawapara at about midnight on Saturday. It seized 74,340 sacks of sugar each containing 50 kg and sealed off the godowns.
Meantime, two more warehouses were sealed in Jhalakathi for hoarding sugar.
Following the drives, wholesalers in the capital increased sugar prices up to Tk 52 a kg cutting down its supply to the retail market.
During Ramadan sugar prices went up to Tk 58 a kg on the wholesale market but came down to Tk 48 a kg after Eid.
Wholesalers in the capital's Moulvibazar market rejected the mill owners' claim that they had supplied wholesalers with 1.15 lakh tonnes of sugar during Ramadan.
A top wholesaler at the market said they could buy only 2,500 tonnes of sugar at Tk 39 a kg from mill owners during Ramadan.
On the probe of sugar hoarding in Jessore, the district's Additional Deputy Commissioner Safina Begum told reporters, “We want to find out if the importers stocked sugar for market manipulation.”
Two other members of the probe body are Additional Superintendent of Police Zakir Hossain and District Marketing Officer Sujat H Khan.
Contacted, Tofazzal Hossain said, “ Sugar was stored in the three godowns around one and a half years ago. But it was not sold despite the recent crisis of it in the market.”
Rafiqul Islam, one of the owners of Sheikh Brothers, said, “We imported sugar (now seized) about a year ago at a price of Tk 38 a kg but its price at the time was only Tk 27-28 a kg in domestic market. So, we had to stock it for a certain period. But we have already sold our stock at a price of Tk 42-45 a kg as allowed by the authorities.”
Officer-in-Charge of Abhoynagar police station in Jessore Humayun Kabir, when contacted by our staff correspondent in Khulna, said the three warehouses were raided when hundreds of sacks of sugar were being loaded in trucks for dispatch to different destinations. He mentioned that 1,200 sacks were sold out to Asha Traders in Khulna.
Asked about this, owner of Asha Traders Sirajul Islam denied buying sugar from the Jessore importers.
Meanwhile, police with the help of National Security Intelligence personnel raided two warehouses of Iqbal Brothers and Dulal Brothers at Aratdar Potti in Jhalakathi town and sealed those for hoarding sugar.
NSI field officer Mizanur Rahman said a large quantity of sugar was found in the two warehouses. He said they would measure it today and take necessary steps.
Intelligence sources said over 150,000 sacks of sugar imported from India were hoarded in the godowns prior to the month of Ramadan. And the importers started selling it in the market in the wake of the government order for arrest of eight alleged members of the syndicate for manipulating sugar market.
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