Upazila authorities recovered 72 sacks of fertilizer from the home of former union parishad chairman Shaheen Sarkar in Sadullapur, Gaibandha, and fined him. Assistant Commissioner (Land) Jasim Uddin conducted the raid on Tuesday morning at Sarkar’s residence in North Mondwar area. Sarkar, 60, is a former chairman of Bongram Union Parishad.

The administration said the fertilizer had been stored illegally. The recovered stock included 13 sacks of urea, 28 sacks of gypsum, 16 sacks of DAP, 13 sacks of TSP and two sacks of potash fertilizer. Authorities put the market value of the seized fertilizer at about Tk56,700.

Shaheen Sarkar said his family were marginal farmers and that the fertilizer was neither intended for sale nor illegally stockpiled. He said it had been kept for use on transplanted Aman paddy land. Jasim Uddin said strict legal action would be taken against anyone who illegally hoards fertilizer allocated for farmers or attempts to sell it at higher prices.