Over 13,000kg of govt rice seized from BNP leader’s Netrokona warehouse

The army has seized 304 sacks of illegally hoarded government rice from a warehouse owned by Md Khokon Ahmed, president of the BNP's Kendua municipal unit in Netrokona.

The confiscated rice weighs approximately 13,515 kilogrammes and has an estimated market value of around Tk 5.67 lakh.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of army personnel carried out a late-night raid yesterday at the Messrs. Nahar Traders' warehouse in the Bade Atharobari area of Kendua municipality.

During the operation, an attempt was made to remove some of the rice using a hand trolley.

The trolley was intercepted at Bongania Mor and brought back to the warehouse, where a total of 304 sacks of government rice were recovered from both the trolley and the storage facility.

Lt Jamiul Islam Sakib, commander of the temporary army camp in Madan, confirmed the incident this afternoon.

"Most of the seized rice was allocated under the VGF programme for distribution among the poor during Eid. The hand trolley carried government rice sacks marked by the Directorate of Food at the bottom, with plastic sacks of different colors stacked on top. It was a clear attempt to smuggle the rice out secretly," he said.

Despite multiple attempts to reach him during the raid, Khokon could not be contacted.

His phone was found switched off, and the army reported that he had managed to evade arrest.

Kendua Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mizanur Rahman said, "The confiscated rice is currently in the custody of the upazila administration. If a formal complaint is filed, appropriate legal action will be taken."