The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Police seized 138 sacks of government rice for Open Market Sale (OMS) from Madartek road crossing under Sabujbagh in the city yesterday.

Source said on information police raided the godown and seized the rice in sacks. Police arrested the manager of the godown, Sharif Ahmad, from the spot. Sharif confessed to the police that someone had sold the rice from Tejgaon area Thursday night. Police also seized 50 sacks of Nazirshail rice and sealed the godown.

RAB also arrested the owner of the godown, Jashim, in this connection.

The officer in charge of Sabujbagh Police Station, Rauf Ahmed, told the New Nation that the government began sale of coarse rice at Tk 28 per kg from the OMS centers across the country from August 20 ahead of the holy Ramzan with the objective to keep the prices stable. But black marketers sold the rice in the open market in high rates of Tk 35 to Tk 38 per kg.

OMS dealers source said the daily allotment of 765 kg of rice each is too small compared to the large number of people who crowd their shops. The dealers were selling the rice in the open market at a high rate depriving the poor people and subverting government effort to provide rice to them in cheap rates.

One person can buy a maximum of 3 kg rice per day under the OMS programme, a ceiling that came as a disappointment to the people of lower income group.

A case was filed in this connection with Sabujbagh Police Station.