An old syndicate of contractors and government officials has been stealing wheat from the Narayanganj Silo for years, costing the country crores of taka.
The food grain, imported with hard-earned foreign currency, is being stolen with the collusion of several senior silo officers, who are part of the syndicate.
Documents and sources inside the country’s third largest silo say the stealing takes place regularly through manipulation of CCTV cameras and counting machines, but remains secret because silo officers are involved.
However, the latest theft of 270 sacks of wheat could not be concealed.
On 17 October, syndicate members took 270 sacks in addition to the approved 4,000, yet the bag counting meter showed only the approved number.
Some silo staff, who not part of the syndicate, grew suspicious and thoroughly reviewed CCTV footage of the bagging machine, detecting the additional sacks. The 270 sacks weigh 13.5 tonnes and are worth roughly Tk4-5 lakh.
According to silo sources, the matter was brought to the attention of silo Superintendent Md Reajul Alam, but he remained silent.
He and two contractors, Md Sohag and Badaruddin, are the main actors behind the theft, the sources alleged.
Badaruddin has denied involvement, although he admitted to some silo officials that he took the additional sacks.
“When we contacted the contractor with proof, he admitted to it but declined to return the stolen sacks to the warehouse,” a silo source told TIMES, requesting anonymity.
Reajul has avoided talking to TIMES, while Sohag, known as the most powerful person in the syndicate, has not responded to calls or text messages. Both Sohag and Badaruddin also maintain political connections and have got away with the embezzlement, the sources said.
After the theft was evidently proved, it caused a hue and cry inside the silo. Yet the syndicate members, as in the past, are trying to cover it up and save themselves by shifting the blame to two operators.
How stealing takes place
A review of the silo’s own records and monitoring data shows that on 24 September 2026, a contract was in place to transfer a total of 200 tonnes, or 4,000 sacks, of wheat onto a vessel named M.B. Al Miraj. Of this consignment, 165 tonnes (3,300 sacks) were allocated to M/S Baba Enayetpuri (Rah.) Enterprise and 35 tonnes (700 sacks) to M/S Doa Enterprise, both run by Badaruddin.
On 17 October, the wheat was loaded onto the vessel through the silo’s bagging machine between 10:05am and 5:55pm.
After loading was complete, monitoring officials responsible for record-keeping noticed discrepancies while reviewing CCTV footage. The bag counter meter showed a reading of 4,000 sacks, yet an additional 270 sacks had in fact been loaded onto the vessel.
Upon identifying the irregularity, they immediately informed the superintendent and the contractor. Contractor Badaruddin admitted to the excess output but refused to return the sacks.
The matter was then brought to Superintendent Reajul’s attention, but he took no legal or administrative action.
On 25 October, Assistant Maintenance Engineer Tanvir Adnan Asif issued show-cause notices to two operators for negligence of duty, in what sources describe as an attempt to save the real culprits.
Md Abdul Malek, who was in charge of the bagging house that day, and Md Dulal, who was supervising boat loading, have been asked to reply within 10 days on how the extra sacks were loaded onto the vessel.
According to sources in the silo and the Food Directorate, wheat is being stolen in both small and large amounts but it remains secret as several silo officials are aligned with contractors Badaruddin and Sohag.
A 2018 inquiry report stated that wheat had been stolen from the Narayanganj Silo every year, owing to gross negligence by the officials in-charge.
Real masterminds get away
The silo’s records reveal that the real masterminds are never identified.
In 2018, the syndicate stored 1,011 tonnes of wheat at the Narayanganj Silo in a bid to sell it. The Food Directorate’s Movement, Storage and Silo Division identified the massive amount of wheat, which was missing from government records. The syndicate sold the wheat without showing it in official accounts, but could not transport it out of the silo after the detection.
Several silo sources claim the same three individuals were involved in that attempt too.
Although the name of Reajul, the then Assistant Maintenance Engineer of the silo, surfaced, Sohag and Badaruddin were not held responsible.
In a letter on 31 May 2018, signed by Food Directorate Director General Md Arifur Rahman Apu, a move was made to initiate departmental proceedings against Reajul Alam, over the excess wheat. But later, hopper scale in-charge Abdul Malek was shown as the accused.
This time, he has been show-caused.
Reajul was then transferred to the Government Modern Flour Mill in Postagola.
He returned to the Narayanganj Silo as superintendent on 28 September 2025, after which the old syndicate became active, one silo operator said, preferring anonymity.
Badaruddin claimed he was innocent and refuted his involvement in any syndicate or misappropriation of wheat. He said he did not visit the silo, but sources there confirmed that he pays regular visits as his house is close to the silo, situated on the bank of the Sitalakhya river in Siddhirganj.
Badaruddin, who primarily maintains transportation of wheat from the Narayanganj Silo on behalf of Sohag and other contractors, has been part of the syndicate since the 2018 incident, the sources said, adding that Sohag has been involved with the silo for over a decade as an OMS dealer and transport contractor.
Sohag neither received calls nor responded to texts for comments.
Superintendent Reajul took a call on 26 October and said he was in a meeting. Shortly after, Md Akram Hossain, the silo’s supervisor, phoned back to say the superintendent would call once the meeting was over, which he did not.
The next day, TIMES tried to reach him again, but he did not answer repeated calls.
However, Tanvir Adnan Asif called back on his behalf. “Sir told me that someone from TIMES was calling. He told me to inform you that he would not talk,” Tanvir informed this reporter.
Tanvir, who issued the show-cause notices, said he was aware of the excess sacks at the silo, but refused to elaborate.
The theft of 270 sacks of wheat is now the talk of different silos and the Food Directorate. But Md Abdus Salam, Director of the Food Directorate’s Movement, Storage and Silo Division, which oversees all silos in the country, claimed he knew nothing about the matter.
“Also, I know nothing about what happened in 2018 or any syndicate operating in Narayanganj Silo,” he told TIMES.
