215 tonnes seized food was not for OMS: Dealers' assoc

The 215 tonnes of rice, flour and wheat that was seized by Rab on September 8 and 9 did not belong to Open Market Sale (OMS) programme, Dhaka City OMS Dealers' Association claimed today.

Addressing a press conference, Harun Ur Rashid, member secretary of the association, said the food items that were seized by Rab do not belong to OMS.

A Rab-3 team seized eight trucks carrying 115 Open Market Sale (OMS) rice and flour when they were just heading for Gazipur, Chuadanga and Sreemangal from the Tejgaon Central Storage Depot (CSD) on September 8, the elite force said.

The same team seized 100 more tonnes of rice and flour from eleven private warehouses in Mohammadpur Krishi Market on the following day. The items ended up there from the Tejgaon CSD.

Meanwhile, Rashid said the association have investigated and found that the seized goods were rationed food items for various government forces.   

However, Rab Executive Magistrate Sarwoer Alam, who led the operations that seized the food items, denied the OMS dealers' association claims.

Rab had a substantial amount of proof that the seized goods were supposed to be for OMS, the Rab magistrate told The Daily Star.

The type of sacks and the writings on the sacks of food items seized also matches with the kind used for OMS goods, he added.