BARISHAL — A local gas-cylinder dealer in Banaripara upazila was fined 100,000 taka on Saturday for illegally stockpiling cylinders and selling them at inflated prices, the upazila administration said.
The dealer, Md. Shamsul Alam Shimu, was fined during a raid around 2 p.m. on April 11 at the home of a man known as Alam Commissioner in Ward 2 of the municipal town. He was ordered to serve three months in jail if he fails to pay the fine.
The operation was led by upazila nirbahi officer and executive magistrate Md. Bayezidur Rahman, acting on intelligence from the National Security Intelligence (NSI) office in Barishal district. NSI officers and members of Banaripara police were present, the administration said.
An investigation found that although Shimu had permission to stockpile up to 40 gas cylinders, he had been keeping about 2,000 to 2,500 filled cylinders at his home for a long time. He sold them at inflated prices from his shop “Boishakhi Plus,” near the ferry ghat in the upazila’s Bandar Bazar, according to the complaints, officials said.
After the NSI’s lengthy surveillance confirmed the complaints, the upazila administration raided his home and shop and imposed the fine. After the raid, the stockpiled cylinders were ordered released to the market and Shimu was directed to operate his business in line with his license. Md. Bayezidur Rahman, executive magistrate of the Barishal district administration, said such drives would continue in the future to protect consumers’ interests.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report