Eight arrested in Dewanganj with touchstone-like object, sent to jail through court

Police from the District Detective Branch (DB-2) have detained eight people in Dewanganj, Jamalpur, along with an object resembling a touchstone. The recovered object weighs 4 kilograms 850 grams, police said.

On Friday afternoon (October 23), the detainees were shown arrested in a case under the Special Powers Act and sent to jail through a court. The matter is now within the judicial process.

The detainees are Saidul Islam (41) of Chakpara village in Dewanganj upazila, Farhad Hossain (35) of Taratia Bazar, Babu Mia (42) of Madderchar village and Felu Mia (31) of Poravita village.

The list also includes Amjad Hossain (70) of Bagua village in Dhanbari upazila of Tangail, Sabuj Mia (44) of Mushuddi Dakshinpara village, Kamruzzaman alias Ripon (60), and Joaher (53) of Suti Gopalpur village in Gopalpur upazila. The detainees come from two districts.

According to DB-2 sources, the raid was carried out in a back room of a tin-built electric shop in the Taratia Bazar area of Dewanganj upazila, where the eight were detained. The touchstone-like object was recovered from that room.

Police said that if the recovered object were a genuine touchstone, its estimated value could be around 25 lakh taka. However, whether the object is genuine was not clarified in the information available for this report.

Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam of DB-2 filed the case under the Special Powers Act with Dewanganj Model Police Station as the complainant. The detainees were shown arrested in that case.

Sajibur Rahman, officer-in-charge of DB-2, said the raid was conducted on secret information and eight people were detained with the touchstone-like object weighing 4 kg 850 grams. They were later sent to jail through the court.

The raid, based on secret information, was a planned operation. After receiving information that several people had gathered in the back room of a shop, a detective police team went there.

Recoveries of touchstone-like objects are not new in the country; reports of raids and arrests over alleged trading or smuggling of such objects appear from time to time. In each case, however, the true nature of the object cannot be confirmed without testing.

In the next stage of this case, questions about testing the object, the role of the detainees and where the object came from are expected to arise in the investigation. For now, the eight are in jail and the investigation will continue.