The shredded banknotes found near a waterbody in Bogura were the property of the central bank.
The notes that were recovered on Tuesday (Sept 24), were actually ‘discarded’ banknotes of Bangladesh Bank’s Bogura Branch.
Locals informed the police after they found currency between Tk 10 to Tk 1000 shredded on the banks of Khowar Bill at Chandai village road, in Shahjahanpur upazila .
It was initially assumed that it was illegal money dumped to avoid the countrywide raids but Bangladesh Bank cleared it up when police contacted the Bogura branch.
“The notes were shredded and kept in 800 bags and the municipality was asked to dump them,” said the central bank’s acting Executive Director Jagannath Chandra Ghosh.
He added that municipality authorities instead of dumping the notes, threw them in the water body.
Responding to queries on why the currency was being dumped and not burnt, he said either could be done but refused to comment on the amount of money discarded.
Bogura municipality Executive Engineer Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal acknowledged that the central bank wrote to them regarding but he has no knowledge of the notes being dumped in the water.
Mamunur Rashid, in-charge of the Conservancy section of the Bogura municipality said that the truck driver, Masum was asked to dump the money at the Baghpara dumping centre but he threw the bags into the water body.
Masum told Bangla Tribune’s Bogura correspondent that he threw 25 bags of shredded banknotes into the water.
Shahjahanpur police Inspector Abul Kalam Azad said that a general diary has been filed over the matter and eight bags of notes were recovered as sample.