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KISHOREGANJ: The process of weighing and counting gold, silver and foreign currencies found in donation boxes at the historic Pagla Mosque in Kishoreganj began on Monday, nearly six years after the last such exercise.
The process started around 10am in the conference room of the deputy commissioner’s office under the supervision of the district administration.
Nine medium-sized plastic containers and six sealed envelopes, which had been kept in the treasury, were opened to weigh the valuables, verify the purity of gold in carats and sort foreign currencies by country. The gold and silver will later be valued at market prices and sold at auction, while the foreign currencies will be converted into taka at the latest exchange rates set by Bangladesh Bank.
Deputy Commissioner Sohana Nasrin, District Council Administrator Khaled Saifullah, Kishoreganj district Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Ramzan Ali, Deputy Director (Deputy Secretary) of the Local Government Division Zebun Nahar, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Ishtiaq Emon, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Education and ICT) Jesmin Akter and Additional District Magistrate Ershadul Ahmed, among other officials, were present during the process.
Deputy Commissioner Sohana Nasrin said the operation was being conducted under the supervision of a nine-member subcommittee led by the additional district magistrate. Three executive magistrates from the district administration, police, Ansar members, bank officials and goldsmiths are assisting in the process.
Ten members of the district jewellers’ association are responsible for weighing and measuring the gold and silver, she added.
Previously, on March 11, 2020, gold ornaments and silver recovered from the mosque’s donation boxes were sold at auction for Tk 11,504,900. The auction involved 415 bhori of gold ornaments and 184 bhori of silver accumulated in the donation boxes over approximately three years.
According to the district administration, the ornaments recovered at the time were divided into five lots before being put up for auction.