Three former Prabartak Sangha leaders fined Tk 200,000 each in Chattogram hill-cutting case

A court has fined three former leaders of Prabartak Sangha Tk 200,000 each for cutting a hill in Chattogram city to construct a building. They were fined for violating environmental law.

Judge Farzana Yasmin of Chattogram's Environment Court delivered the verdict on Monday (26 October). Court bench assistant Alauddin and the convicts' lawyer Muhit Mohammad Mohiuddin confirmed the verdict.

The convicted men are Subhash Chandra Lala, former president of Prabartak Sangha's management committee, Ranjit Kumar De, its former vice-president, and Tinkri Chakrabarty, its former general secretary.

According to court sources, a hill owned by Prabartak Sangha near Prabartak Mor in the city's Panchlaish area was cut to construct a building. The Department of Environment inspected the area and found initial evidence of hill cutting.

Sangjukta Dasgupta, then an assistant director of the Department of Environment, filed a case over the incident in 2016. The verdict in that case was delivered on Monday.

Bench assistant Alauddin said the three accused were fined Tk 200,000 each for violating section 6(b) of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995. If they fail to pay the fine, each will have to serve one year in prison.

He added that the court delivered the verdict after recording the testimony of three witnesses. Because the Environment Conservation Act is a special law, those convicted under it must pay the fine before they can appeal.

The convicts' lawyer Muhit Mohammad Mohiuddin said his clients believe they did not receive justice. They have decided to appeal against the verdict. None of the three convicted men was present in court when the verdict was announced.