Four jailed and fined for illegal sand extraction in Kushtia

A mobile court in Kushtia's Kumarkhali upazila has sentenced two people to one month in jail and fined two others for illegally extracting sand from the Padma river.

The mobile court, led by Kumarkhali Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Bijoy Kumar Joarder, conducted the drive in the Majgram and Kalyanpur areas in Shelaidah union this afternoon.

Nazir of the land office, Shahidul Islam, and members of law enforcement agencies assisted in the drive, conducted under the Balumahal and Soil Management Act.

According to upazila administration sources, a group had been illegally extracting sand from the Padma river in the Majgram and Kalyanpur areas of Shelaidah Union.

Acting on a tip-off, the administration conducted the raid.

During the operation, Md Jihad and Selim Reza were fined Tk 50,000 each, while Biplob Hossain, 32, and Ripon Hossain, 30, both residents of Shelaidah area, were sentenced to one month in jail each under the Balumahal and Soil Management Act.

Confirming the matter, AC Land Bijoy Kumar Joarder said, "Two individuals have been fined for illegally extracting sand from the Padma river. Such drives in the public interest will continue."