Consignment of wheat brings sand and stone instead

Twenty-eight sacks of sand and stones were found in a truck -- instead of wheat -- while unloading a wheat consignment at the government food warehouse in Chuadanga.

The food warehouse authority has formed a three-member inquiry committee to probe the incident.

Nazrul Islam, officer-in-charge of the warehouse, confirmed this to our Kushtia correspondent.

According to the district food controller's office sources, a total of 300 tonnes of wheat was supposed to be delivered to the warehouse as per the agreement through the transport contracts with Khulna's Sarkar Enterprise, Jonaki Enterprise, and Sunrise Enterprise.

On Friday, 100 tonnes of wheat was delivered in the first shipment.

On Sunday morning, 100 tonnes of wheat in the second shipment arrived at the Chuadanga food warehouse. While unloading the sacks, seven sacks filled with sand and stone were found. Later, a total of 28 sacks full of sand and stone were found one by one.

Nazrul Islam said, "We think there is an attempt to steal wheat from the truck and maintain the weight with sand and stones."

District Food Controller AKM Shahidul Islam told The Daily Star, "Wheat was loaded in trucks from Ghat No 4 of Khulna. There is no scope to change the sacks there. The sacks were changed on the road."

A three-member committee headed by Alamdanga Upazila Food Controller Officer Abdul Hamid has been formed to investigate the incident, he added.

Maksud Alam Khwaja, president of Khulna Divisional Food Contractor Transport Association, told The Daily Star that he was in charge of transporting the wheat coming from abroad to Chuadanga's government food warehouse. This wheat was sent to the destination as per the rules.

Each sack was loaded and sealed and then picked up.

Shahidul Islam, additional divisional commissioner (revenue) of Khulna division, told The Daily Star that instructions have been issued at the district level to investigate the incident. An inquiry committee has also been formed at the Directorate General of Food in Dhaka.

Chuadanga Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge, Mahbub Hossain, said no case has been filed in this regard yet.

It was not possible to contact anyone from Sarkar Enterprise in this regard.