Bangladesh
Prof Selim's death: Police complaint filed against 44 students
A police complaint has been filed against 44 students of Khulna University of Science and Technology (KUET) over the unusual death of professor Mohammad Selim Hossain.Professor Selim's father Md Shukur Ali Molla filed the complaint at the Khan Jahan Ali Police Station on Wednesday, said officer-in-charge (OC) Probir Kumar Biswas.Legal action will be taken after the investigation, he added.However, Prof Selim's father has complained that no case has been registered in this connection."We went to Khulna on Wednesday morning and filed a complaint under Section 302/34 of the Penal Code against 44 students in connection with the death. However, the OC said that action would be taken after the investigation without filing it as a statement,” said the father.When contacted, Shukur Ali expressed doubt over not getting fair judgment.Earlier on January 5, the student disciplinary committee of the university expelled four students, including university unit general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League(BCL) Sadman Nahyan Sejan for life term.Besides, 40 more students were punished in different terms. All these students are leaders and activists of Chhatra League.Prof Selim, 38, a teacher of the Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) department at the university and also the provost of Lalan Shah Hall, died on November 30.
According to faculty members of the university, Prof Selim died hours after some Chhatra League activists, led by Sadman allegedly confined the teacher to his office and mentally tortured him to accept their choice as dining manager of Lalan Shah Hall for the month of December.During this confinement, the teacher was allegedly subjected to abuses, humiliation and threat, his colleagues said.
On December 3, the university was declared closed till December 13. Its closure was extended twice till January 7.
Police being built as a world-class force: Home Minister
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that the Bangladesh Police are being developed as a world-class force and the efforts will continue.The minister said this while addressing as the chief guest at an exchange meeting with senior police officials at Bangladesh Police Auditorium in Rajarbagh, Dhaka on Thursday night at the concluding session of the 5th day of Police Week 2022.He said the police are becoming the people's police day by day.
Read:Police to use AI in modernising to serve developed country by 2041
"Apart from the training, Bangladesh Police stands by the people in all possible sectors, the way the police have served the people during the Covid pandemic is truly unprecedented."We want to make Bangladesh Police a world class police force," he said.The minister said that the way terrorism emerged in the country in the recent past, the police have also performed their duty at the risk of their lives.
“You have seen the killings and terrorism carried out in the country in the name of anti-independence group movement in 2013,” he said.Mentioning that Bangladesh Police has become a 'role model' in suppressing militants, the Home Minister said that the country has become militant-free as a result of sincere efforts of police.In order to increase the capacity of the police, various specialized units including Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC), Anti -Terrorism Unit (ATU) has been set up, he added.
Read:Bangladesh police will be made worth of a developed country by 2041: IGP "The members of the police force will perform their duty with more patriotism in the future as they are doing now", the minister hoped."The logical demands of the police officers that we can meet from our ministry will be met soon. We will talk to the prime minister about the demands that need to be consulted", he concluded.
BNP fears about its political future: Hasan
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud on Friday said BNP is involved in conspiracies as it is worried about its political future.
"The people of the country are pleased with the success of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. So, BNP-Jamaat are worried and panicked about their political future. That is why they have chosen the path of conspiracy. They are spending money and spreading propaganda against the country," he said.
Read: Govt has evidences on BNP’s hiring lobbyists abroad: Info Minister
The minister said this while exchanging views with Awami League Sylhet district and city units' leaders at Sylhet Circuit House, said a PID handout here.
He said the world community praises Sheikh Hasina for her success, but BNP-Jamaat are rather scared.
Hasan, also AL joint general secretary, said the BNP secretary general wrote a letter with his own signature to US lawmakers and different departments to stop US assistance to Bangladesh.
He questioned how the secretary general of a political party can write a letter asking to re-evaluate the aid issue with an objective to stop the assistance to the country (Bangladesh). "They (BNP) are conspirators against the country, and anti-state elements," he added.
About the EC formation bill passed by Parliament on Thursday, he said the government has made the system, which is followed worldwide in formation of the Election Commission, more transparent.
There is no provision of search committee in other countries, but the provision is here in the law, he said citing examples of different countries including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand.
Read:BNP fails to appreciate PM’s generosity to Khaleda: Info Minister
The minister said the President will pick 5 persons among 10 ones recommended by the search committee to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
AL Sylhet city unit president Masuk Uddin Ahmed, it's general secretary Zakir Hossain, AL Sylhet district acting president Shafiqur Rahman and general secretary Nasir Uddin khan spoke on the occasion.
Joy shares video on BNP-Jamaat's "anti-Bangladesh activities"
Prime Minister’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy on Friday shared a video detailing BNP-Jamaat's "anti-Bangladesh activities" with the help of lobbyists in the United States.
"The BNP-Jamaat alliance had appointed eight firms to lobby with the United States against providing aid and development assistance to Bangladesh," he wrote while sharing the video from his verified Facebook page.
Read: Pakistani rulers attempted to kill Bangabandhu in prison: Joy
Joy mentioned that the BNP-Jamaat did the same thing before, as Begum Zia wrote an article in Washington Times in 2013 seeking US intervention on Bangladesh and hindering GSP facilities for RMG products.
"From 2015 BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir wrote a series of letters to US policy makers and politicians to stop different development facilities provided by the USA to Bangladesh," Joy said.
To know more, Joy encouraged all to watch the video titled "BNP's Lobbying in US: A glimpse of anti- Bangladesh activities with hired lobby shops" and sought comments on that.
Voting held for Actors Equity election 2022 at BSA
Marking the ‘Election Day’ for two of the biggest associations of the entertainment industry in the country, television artists’ organization Actors Equity Bangladesh also held its third election on Friday at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in the capital.
The day-long voting closed at 5:30 pm at the National Music, Dance and Recitation Centre of BSA, which will determine the 21-member executive body for the term between 2022 and 2025.
Read:18 artists, 2 organisations to receive Shilpakala Padak 2019, 2020
Since 9:30 am, the voting began at the academy maintaining strict security and COVID-19 protocol to avoid trespassing, although the protocol was lighter in comparison to the Film Artistes Association election which began on Friday at 9 am at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) premises.
A total of 48 candidates are contested for 21 posts in this year’s election, with the immediate-past General Secretary Ahsan Habib Nasim and actor Sahadat Hossain Nipu standing against each other as the two presidential candidates.
Sramik League leader hacked to death in Rajshahi
A Sramik League leader was hacked to death in Rajshahi’s Bhadra Rail Colony over land feud on Friday noon, police said.
The victim was identified as Zahurul Islam, a railway portal at Amanura station in Chapainawabganj.
He was the vice-president of the railway Sramik League and former general secretary of ward-19 Awami League.
Touhidul Haque Sumon, local councilor of Ward-19 said Zahurul was having a dispute with Sajeeb, son of Motihar, another railway worker, over farming on a railway land behind his house.
On Friday afternoon, Sajeeb stabbed him and escaped after a quarrel with Zahurul while planting paddy in the feild. Locals took him to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital where doctor on duty declared him dead, he said.
READ: Woman hacked to death in Chattogram, 1 held
Chandrima Police officer-in-charge (OC) Imran Ali said Zahurul and Sajeeb were both railway employees. The two of them used to cultivate on railway land for several years. This year, when Zahurul went to plant paddy in the land alone which became a matter of dispute.
Sajeeb's father Matiar has been arrested and taken into police custody. He was present during the incident, the OC said.
READ: Woman hacked to death in Pabna; Youth held
Covid positivity rate in Bangladesh reaches record 33.37%
Bangladesh reported 20 more Covid-linked deaths with 15,440 fresh cases in 24 hours till Friday morning.
The daily positivity rate rose to highest-ever 33.37 per cent from Thursday’s 31.98 per cent after testing 46,292 samples, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The country logged its highest daily positivity rate at 32.55% on July 24 last year reporting 6,780 cases and 195 deaths.
Read: Meta’s campaigns strengthened Bangladesh govt’s COVID response
On Thursday, the country reported 15 more Covid-linked deaths and 15,807 fresh cases.
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,308 while the caseload mounted to 1,762,771.
Among the new deceased, 12 were women and eight men.
Five deaths were reported in Dhaka division while nine in Chattogram, two each in Rajshahi and Sylhet and one each in Barishal and Mymensingh divisions.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate further declined to 1.61 per cent.
However, the recovery rate also declined to 88.63 per cent with the recovery of 1,326 more patients during the 24-hour period.
Bangladesh’s total tally of Omicron cases reached 69 with the detection of five more cases till Sunday, according to GISAID, a global initiative on sharing all influenza data.
Read:Covid kills 15 more in Bangladesh as positivity rate stands at 31.98%
On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
N'ganj garment factory fire under control after 5 hrs
A fire that broke out at a garment factory at Modonpur in Bondor upazila of Narayanganj on Friday afternoon has been brought under control after around five hours.
The fire started around 4:30 pm at three two-storey buildings of Zaheen Knitwears Ltd at Modonpur Sonargaon road, said Shahjahan Shikder, Deputy Assistant Director (media cell) of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters.
READ: 70-year old woman dies in fire in Chandpur
On information, 13 units of firefighters rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after five hours of frantic efforts at 9pm, he added.
The origin of the fire could not be known yet, Shahjahan said.
Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defense, said the fire spread quickly around 5pm and 10 units of different fire stations of the district started working for extinguishing the blaze at first. Later, three more units joined the extinguishing work.
READ: Fire at BSMMU doused
Since the factory was closed today, no workers were inside. No casualties have been reported yet, he added.
Meanwhile, the fire disrupted vehicular movement on a few kilometers of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. The vehicular movement resumed on the highway after 9 pm.
Film Artistes Association election concludes at BFDC
Voting in the much-hyped 17th Bangladesh Film Artistes Association election was held on Friday at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) premises.
Starting at 9 am the voting in the biennale election were conducted under the strict security of police and Rab, along with added safety protocols due to the ongoing surge of COVID-19.
A total of 428 voters cast their votes to elect their desired candidates from the two competing panels of Ilias Kanchan-Nipun and Misha Sawdagor-Zayed Khan, while actors Don and Harbola participated as independent candidates. 184 artists were excluded from voting in this year’s election.
Read: ‘Koozhangal’ wins top award at 20th Dhaka Int’l Film Festival
Death row convict on the run for 20 yrs arrested in Ctg
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has arrested a death row convict in a murder case who had been on the run in disguise of different identity using fake NID cards for more than two decades.
The arrestee was identified as Syed Ahmed, who was sentenced to death along with 11 others in 2007 for killing a businessman Jaane Alam in March 2002.
Read: UP member arrested over harassing Barishal University female student
Nurul Absar, assistant director of Rab-7 of Chattogram, said, tipped off Rab members arrested the accused conducting a drive at Akbar Shah area of Chattogram city on Thursday night.
During interrogation, the convict confessed that he had been hiding in different places soon after killing Jaane Alam. He used to stay in the coastal areas, including Bashkhali, Anwara, Kutubdia, for some time and later in Sitakunda as a refugee, said the official.
Read: Killing of ex-DU teacher: Arrested mason remanded
At one point, he also worked as a security guard in the Akbar Shah area.
Rab members also seized two fake NID cards from Syed’s possession.
The arrestee was handed over to Lohagara police station, the official added.