The Dhaka Metropolitan Police detective branch in an operation on Wednesday seized two trucks carrying about 10,000 government textbooks intended to be distributed to primary and secondary school students.
Two members of the syndicate involved in selling and hoarding free textbooks were also detained during the raid, said police.
Speaking at a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre on Thursday, DMP joint commissioner Mohammad Nasirul Islam said that the DB detained the two in the Banglabazar area of Sutrapur in the capital on Wednesday afternoon.
The detained are Sirajul Islam Ujjal, 55, who had book shops and two warehouses where the free textbooks were stored, and Md Delowar Hossain, 56.
鈥楢 syndicate stockpiled free government textbooks for students from Class I to Class X in warehouses in Ispahani Alley with intent to sell them. The seized books were valued at approximately Tk 8 lakh,鈥� DB official Nasirul said.
The seized books would be handed over to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board following court instructions, he added.
鈥榃e are currently investigating whether extra books were printed. If we find any evidence of this, action will be taken,鈥� Nasirul said.
During preliminary questioning, the detained confessed to the crime and revealed that there were other members of the syndicate involved, he said.
Detained Sirajul gave names of people involved in the syndicate, the DB official said, adding that Sirajul was reported to have bought the books for Tk 10-12 each and sold them for Tk 80-85.
The DB also identified other individuals involved in the irregularities in distribution and transport, he said.
鈥榃e would continue operations to apprehend other members of the syndicate,鈥� the DB official added.
This year, according to the NCTB, 40.15 crore copies of textbooks were scheduled for distribution while about 27.4 per cent books had been distributed till January 8.
The remaining books are expected to be distributed by January 30.
Students, meanwhile, have been advised to access the PDF versions of the textbooks available on the NCTB website to continue their studies.
