Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested a former officer of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in connection with hoarding 512 litres of edible oil illegally to make profit by selling those at higher rates in the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
Deputy commissioner of DMP ( Tejgaon Division) Biplob Kumar Sarkar at a press conference on Saturday confirmed it.
The arrestee was identified as former deputy assistant agricultural officer of DAE Layekuzzaman. He was arrested from the capital’s Mohammadpur on Friday night and 512 litres of edible oil were seized from his possession.
Layekuzzaman collected the oil from different shops in last six days.
Biplob Kumar Sarkar said that a team of Mohammadpur police, based on a tip-off, arrested Layekuzzaman along with the oil. A case under the special power act was filed against him with the police station.
Layekuzzaman lives in an apartment in Lalmatia area and also takes care of his father-in-law's house next to it. The oil was stored in his in-law's house.
DC Biplob suspected that Layekuzzaman might have planned to hoard more edible oil for making fat profit.
During primary interrogation, Layekuzzaman showed a receipt of Surya Enterprises of Mohammadpur Krishi market from where he bought 40 litres of oil at Tk 159 per litre.
The receipt showed that he brought 40 litres of oil with Tk 6,360.
Layekuzzaman manipulated the receipt and added some more litres there.
Police primarily talked with the Surya Enterprises owner and salesman as they admitted of selling 40 litres of oil to Layekuzzaman.
DC Biplob said that they would quiz the Surya Enterprises owner and salesman why they had sold the 40 litres of oil to a person when there is scarcity of oil in the market.
Police also suspected that some oil might have collected from Trading Corporation of Bangladesh at a reduced price.
Biplob Kumar Sarkar said that they were constantly monitoring the market so that none could hoard cooking oil to create further crisis.