A Dhaka court has convicted four people in a case linked to river encroachment, highlighting ongoing legal actions to protect waterways around the capital.
Four people, including two managers of PRAN-RFL Group, have been sentenced to jail for filling part of the Balu River with sand, with a court finding them responsible for filling around 12,000 square feet of the riverbank and riverbed area.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rounak Jahan Taki delivered the verdict on Wednesday.
PRAN-RFL Group managers (Admin) Md Faisal Mahmud and Sarwar Jahan were each sentenced to three years in prison.
Muktar Hossain and Nazmul Alam Nahid, the owner and an associate of an organisation called “Madinar Path”, which was involved in transporting sand, were each sentenced to one year in prison.
Court Bench Assistant Abu Abdullah said Faisal Mahmud and Sarwar Jahan were also fined 10,000 taka each, with an additional 30 days of imprisonment if they fail to pay the fine.
Muktar Hossain and Nazmul Alam were fined 5,000 taka each, with an additional 15 days of imprisonment if they fail to pay the penalty.
The accused were not present in court when the verdict was announced. Abu Abdullah said their bail had been cancelled and arrest warrants were issued against them along with warrants for carrying out their sentences.
According to case documents, the High Court has issued directives to stop encroachment and pollution of the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakkhya rivers surrounding Dhaka and to protect the waterways. Following the directives, relevant government agencies have conducted operations at different times to remove illegal occupation of rivers.
As part of those efforts, officials from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and police inspected the Balu River on October 24, 2021, at Patira mouza under Khilkhet Police Station, an area under the control of Tongi River Port.
The inspection found that an area of around 12,000 square feet of the riverbank and riverbed had been filled with sand through PRAN-RFL Group, according to the case documents. The case also stated that information about the filling was obtained after speaking with local residents.
On the same day, Rezaul Karim, then assistant director of Tongi River Port, filed a case with Khilkhet Police Station.
After an investigation, Khilkhet Police Station sub-inspector Sohorab Hossain submitted a charge sheet to the court on May 31, 2022, naming the four people as accused.
The trial began on August 16, 2023, after charges were framed against the accused. The judge delivered the verdict on Wednesday after hearing testimony from three of the eight witnesses in the case.
After the verdict, lawyer Habibur Rahman, who represented Faisal Mahmud, Sarwar Jahan and Muktar, said, “The way the verdict has been given was unexpected. Such a big incident, the river was filled, yet no public witness was kept in the case. Neither the complainant nor the investigating officer said that they were present at the scene.”
He added, “The second witness, Khilkhet Police Station ASI Ahsan Habib, enthusiastically said that he saw them at the scene. During cross-examination, we were able to prove that they were not present at the scene. Even then, they were sentenced. We will appeal against the verdict.”
