Around 328 metric tonnes of fertiliser have allegedly gone missing from a government warehouse operated by the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) in Dinajpur, with police detaining the warehouse custodian in connection with the reported stock shortage.
Md Aktarul Islam, 40, was detained on Monday night, 24 August, from the BADC fertiliser warehouse in the Nashipur area of Dinajpur Sadar upazila. BADC Dinajpur Assistant Director (Fertiliser) Md Khursheed Alam filed a complaint with Kotwali Police Station over the alleged disappearance of the fertiliser.
Aktarul is the son of Md Afsar Ali of Araji village in Khansama upazila of Dinajpur.
Police and local sources said the administration received information that a large quantity of fertiliser was allegedly being sold from the government warehouse without the required approval or documentation. Following the report, a team led by Dinajpur Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer, BADC Dinajpur Regional Joint Director (Fertiliser) Md Jahangir Alam and other BADC officials, along with police officers led by Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Nur Nabi, went to the warehouse to investigate.
During an inspection on Monday, officials checked the physical stock against the warehouse records and found a substantial discrepancy. The complaint filed by Khursheed Alam states that the shortage involved two major types of fertiliser.
The reported shortage comprised 227.45 metric tonnes of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), equivalent to 4,549 sacks, and 100.45 metric tonnes of muriate of potash (MOP), equivalent to 2,009 sacks. Together, the missing stock amounts to 327.90 metric tonnes, or nearly 328 tonnes. The estimated value of the fertiliser is Tk 67,85,450.
Officials questioned Aktarul about the discrepancy and asked him to provide documents supporting the distribution or removal of the fertiliser. According to the complaint, he was unable to produce valid paperwork, delivery challans, distribution registers or other acceptable records to account for the missing stock.
The complaint further states that, during questioning, Aktarul admitted that part of the fertiliser identified as missing had been handed over to two fertiliser dealers without valid documentation. He was subsequently handed over to police.
The alleged stock discrepancy has brought the management of the government fertiliser warehouse under scrutiny. Government warehouses are responsible for maintaining records of fertiliser received, stored and distributed through authorised channels. Any unexplained difference between recorded and physical stock requires verification to establish how the shortage occurred and whether others were involved.
Dinajpur Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Nur Nabi said one person had been detained in connection with the incident and that legal proceedings were under way.
According to BADC officials, the Nashipur area has two BADC warehouses, known as Kanchan and Steel. The facilities have a combined storage capacity of around 18,000 metric tonnes. They store several types of agricultural fertiliser, including MOP, DAP and triple superphosphate (TSP).
The case will now proceed through the relevant legal process, while the reported stock shortage is expected to be examined further to establish how the fertiliser went missing and whether additional individuals were involved.
