Chattogram, Nov 02 (V7N) — Authorities in Bangladesh have shut down an illegal gas cross-filling plant operating secretly for months near the BSCIC industrial area in Bahuli, along the Chattogram–Cox’s Bazar Highway. The factory was closed following a joint midnight raid by the Patiya upazila administration and the Bangladesh Army on Thursday. A large quantity of LPG cylinders and refilling equipment were seized, though the owner managed to flee.

The operation, led by Patiya Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Farhanur Rahman, was conducted with the support of the army and police. Acting on a tip-off around 2 a.m., the team raided the site and found gas being transferred from large industrial cylinders to smaller domestic ones in an open area, without any safety measures in place.

UNO Rahman said, “Over a hundred cylinders of various brands, along with pipes, valves, and other equipment used for gas transfer, were seized. The main operators escaped before we arrived. We will continue regular operations to prevent such illegal activities. A coordinated monitoring system will be established with the Fire Service, Department of Explosives, and local police.”

The raid follows a deadly explosion in Chandanaish’s Charati area on September 17, where 10 people were burned in a gas cross-filling accident and seven later died. Despite that tragedy, similar operations reportedly continued in nearby Patiya.

A Patiya Fire Service official, requesting anonymity, said, “We have inspected the site several times and found gas being transferred openly without safety protocols. If a fire were to start, everything within 300 meters would be destroyed.”

Engineer Monjare Khorshed Alam, an energy safety specialist, warned, “Cross-filling always carries an explosion risk. Bangladesh uses about 20 million household cylinders annually. If even one percent are illegally refilled, it poses a serious national threat. Both the authorities and LPG companies must tighten surveillance.”

Local residents near the BSCIC area expressed fear and frustration. Nurul Karim, who lives nearby, said, “We’ve seen trucks arriving at night, unloading large cylinders and refilling small ones. Police sometimes come, but the work starts again later. If a fire broke out, the entire neighborhood would be destroyed.” Another resident, Ahmad Nur, added, “The Chandanaish explosion should have been a wake-up call. But seeing the same thing happen here shows that some people value profit over human lives.”

Despite the legal framework under the Bangladesh Petroleum Act and Explosives Act, which prohibit unauthorized refilling of gas cylinders and prescribe both fines and imprisonment, no case was filed in connection with the Chandanaish blast that killed seven people. The factory involved in that tragedy was owned by Mahbubur Rahman, son of the late Kabir Ahmad from Chandanai’s Dakshin Bailtali village. He had set up the illegal operation about a year earlier on an isolated island area in Charati Union, where gas from large cylinders was transferred into smaller ones for sale in local markets.

Authorities say investigations are ongoing to locate those responsible for the Patiya operation and to prevent future incidents that could lead to catastrophic explosions.

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