The High Court on Sunday issued a contempt of court rule against four people, including the director general (DG) of Department of Environment (DoE) as they failed to submit a report on action taken against people occupying river banks and polluting the Bongshi River.

The other three accused are: the deputy commissioner of Dhaka, assistant commissioner (land) of Savar and officer in-charge of Savar Police Station.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman issued the rule and asked the four accused to respond to the rule.

Lawyer Mohammad Bakir Hossain Mridha appeared in the court for the writ petition while Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar appeared for the state.

Read: HC seeks list of all the rivers and illegal occupiers from government

On December 2, 2019, following a writ petition, the High Court issued a rule along with an order, asking Bangladesh Water Development Board, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), DoE DG, Dhaka Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Dhaka district police, Savar upazila nirbahi officer, Savar AC (Land) and officer in-charge of Savar Police Station to submit the report within 30 days.

At the same time, a rule was issued asking why the inaction of the defendants in preventing occupation by filling up the Bongshi River banks should not be declared as 'illegal and out of legal authority'. The rule also asked why the construction work should not be stopped by filling the river banks with soil.

On October 28 the same year, a report on encroachment of the Bongshi River banks and pollution of the river was published in a national daily. The report said 65 individuals and organizations occupied the river in Savar.

Later, Barrister Md Bakir Hossain, a local resident of Savar, filed a writ petition with the High Court attaching the newspaper report.

However, no action was taken in this regard by the authorities concerned.