A mobile court today sentenced a local Awami League leader and a businessman one-month jail each for misappropriating 1,440 kilogrammes of rice meant for relief in Singra upazila of Natore.

The two were jailed after they were arrested with around 48 sacks of the relief rice, our Natore correspondent reports.

The arrestees are Awal Hossain Swapan, science and technology affairs secretary of Sukash union parishad AL unit, and Rahmat Ali, a rice trader.

Both are from Sukash union in the upazila.

Singra Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nasrin Banu said that the rice was seized from a house of Rahmat's relative today.

During interrogation, Rahmat told them he had bought the rice from Swapan, she added.

Later, both Rahmat and Swapan were arrested and jailed for one month by a mobile court led by UNO and Executive Magistrate Nasrin Banu.

The rice was meant to be allocated for the poor and extreme poor and be sold at Tk 10 per kg as part of the government's social protection programmes.