A mobile court in Chittagong today jailed a trader for one month on charge of forcing the retailers to buy its mustard oil with sugar. 

Executive Magistrate of Chittagong District Administration Tahmilur Rahman conducted the drive at Khatunganj in the port city and sent Mir Mohammad Hossain, owner of Ibnat Traders, a sister concern of Mir Group of which he is also the director, to jail for one month and fined him Tk one lakh, reports our Chittagong correspondent.

Moreover, Jane Alam, manager of Mir Group, was also fined Tk 20 lakh and two staff of Ibnat Traders -- Kanchan Majumder and Abul Kashem -- were fined Tk 50,000 each on the same charges, the magistrate said.

If the retailers bought 5 sacks (each containing 50 kilograms) of sugar from the Ibnat Traders, they had to purchase 32 litres of mustard oil mandatorily too, otherwise they could not buy sugar from the business organisation, Tahmilur Rahman added.

Citing documents, he said Ibnat Traders have sold about 56,000 litres of mustard oil of their own to the retailers in this way for last seven days.

As people do not buy the oil for not being popular, the retailers hike the sugar price in the market to get back their money spent on oil, he further said.

Owner Hossain claimed that they did not ask the staff to sell the oil with sugar "forcibly".

"They [staff] were asked to sell the oil only to those who will want to buy, but not forcefully," he added. 

Officials of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (Cab), police and Ansar men assisted the mobile court during the drive.

Earlier, on June 8, owner and manager of Mir Ahmed Sawdagar Traders, another concern of Mir Group, was fined a total of  Tk 20 lakh on charges of doing excessive benefit by selling sugar.

At that time they were selling per kg sugar at Tk 58.02 after buying at Tk 46.08 from the mill of S Alam Group.

20 medicine shops fined Tk 44 lakh

Meanwhile, another mobile court today fined 20 medicine shops at Hazari Lane, a major wholesale hub of medicine in Chittagong city, a total of Tk 44 lakh on different charges.

Executive Magistrate of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) Sarwar Alam led the mobile court drive where representatives of Drug Administration, Chittagong, were also present. 

During the drive, fake, adulterated and unauthorised medicines were found at the shops at Hazari Lane, said the magistrate, adding that on these charges the shops were fined a total of Tk 44 lakh.

Moreover, three of the shops were also sealed off, he added. 

The drive was being continued till the filing of this report.