Sylhet
Another Bangladeshi worker, Rajab Ali, has been killed after a quarry collapsed while he was trying to bring smuggled coal deep in the hills of Meghalaya, India.
The deceased, Rajab, was the son of the deceased Samsher Ali of Lakma Paschimpara, a border village in Tahirpur, Sunamganj. The worker was killed on the Meghalaya Hills, across the Charagaon BOP of the Tekerghat Company headquarters in Tahirpur, Sunamganj, of the 28th Border Guard Battalion of the BGB Sylhet Sector, sometime after 12 noon on Wednesday.
Residents of the 2 IC, Lakma, and Charagaon border villages of the Tekerghat temporary police camp of Tahirpur police station and local UP members confirmed the matter on Wednesday afternoon.
On Wednesday afternoon, the 2nd IC of the Tekerghat temporary police camp of Tahirpur police station said, "I came to know from the deceased's house in Lakma Paschim Para of the upazila that Rajab Ali was killed in a quarry collapse while trying to bring coal to India. The process of sending the body to the District Sadar Hospital morgue is underway."
Border residents said that in the last 7-8 months, at least 16 workers, including Rajab Ali, have been killed while trying to bring smuggled coal deep into the Meghalaya hills.
It is learned that Awal Mia of Charagaon Border in the upazila, Habibur Rahman Habi, the alleged leader of the Union Jubo Dal of Sansar Par (accused in the case), Shafiqul Islam Bhairabya (accused in the case), Naomuslim Deepak (accused in the case), and several others, along with more than a hundred workers from several border villages, crossed the zero line of the border on Tuesday midnight and went to Lakma Paschimpara to bring smuggled coal.
Several workers were injured when a quarry collapsed while they were taking turns extracting coal from the night to 12 noon on Wednesday in a quarry deep in the hills of Meghalaya, India. At that time, Rajab Ali was killed inside the quarry when the quarry collapsed. The other workers managed to evade the attention of the Border Guard Battalion Bangladesh (BGB) and the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) after 4 pm on Wednesday and took the body to their village home in Lakma Paschim Para.
On Tuesday, from 3 am onwards, hundreds of battery-powered autorickshaws loaded with one and a half to two hundred metric tons of smuggled coal were taken to the Pathar Ghata via Kalagaon Bazar from Charagaon BOP's Charagaon Maihhati intersection, loaded onto engine-powered trawlers and removed to various brick kilns and coal sales points in the country. It is alleged that on that night, the regular patrol team of GBG stood nearby and secretly assisted in safely removing the smuggled coal brought in by evading customs.
At the same time, the alleged sources of the coal smugglers that night, including police, BGB, alleged journalists, and public representatives, were busy demonstrating activity at the border, collecting bribes, and collecting satellites in exchange for removing the smuggled coal. The alleged sources were Awal, Habibur Rahman Habi, Shafiqul Islam Bhairabya, and Naomuslim Deepak.
Several workers confirmed this information on Wednesday afternoon. When asked about the smuggling of coal, they said, "Awal, Habibur Rahman Habi, Shafiqul Islam Bhairabya, and Naomuslim Deepak, who are managing everything, are smuggling coal."
When asked about the allegations of involvement in coal smuggling, including the death of a worker across the Charagaon border in the upazila, Habibur Rahman Habi alias Patlwa Habi, vice-president of the North Sreepur Union Jubo Dal in the upazila, said, "Coal smuggling happened during the Awami League era and is still happening, but I am not involved in these things. Chan Mia Sohag, Awal, Deepak, Sohag are involved in these things."
On Wednesday afternoon, 28- When a call was made to the official mobile phone of the Naib Subedar of BGB's Charagaon BOP to inquire about the death of a worker named Rajab Ali in a coal quarry collapse across the border, a BGB Sepoy named Asad received the phone call and said, "Sir (Naib Subedar Billal) is outside."
When asked about the allegations of involvement of some officers of the police station and Tekerghat temporary police camp in coal smuggling and the death of coal worker Rajab Ali in the coal quarry collapse, SI Abir Das, in-charge (IC) of the Tekerghat temporary police camp of Tahirpur police station, said, "I am on leave."
When asked about the same matter, ASI Kartik, 2nd IC of Tekerghat temporary police camp, who was staying at the house of the deceased Rajab Ali, said, "Rajab Ali was killed while trying to bring coal, but the story of police involvement in coal smuggling is not true."
Sylhet:-12-02-25
