bangladesh
2 killed as speedboat hits trawler in Meghna River
Two people were killed as a speedboat hit a trawler in the Meghna river at Marichakandi in Bancharampur upazila on Saturday night.
The deceased are Farid Mia, 45, son of Juluf Mia and Jewel, 35, son of Khurshid Mia of the upazila.
The speedboat with 10/12 passenger on board crashed into trawler while heading towards Marichakandi ghat on Saturday night, leaving two people injured.
Also read: Food-laden trawler capsizes in Meghna River
Later, Jewel and Farid died on way to hospitals in Dhaka and Narshingdi respectively.
Also read: Bride among 7 dead as trawler sinks in Meghna
However, police could not arrest anyone as the driver of the speedboat went into hiding.
Reimagination, recycling and rejoice: Brihatta opens 'Mukti' at its unique, new home
Transcending the roadblocks in creativity through marching ahead with experimental and refreshing ideas, Brihatta Art Foundation started its journey to its temporary address through the inaugural exhibition 'Mukti' on the roof of Mukti Tannery-1, in the Hazaribagh Tannery area in the capital on Saturday.
Known for its leather manufacturing and being one of the most polluted areas in Dhaka city, the abandoned tannery space was chosen by Brihatta Art Foundation which has renovated the place with the state-of-the-art design and a massive recycling process for four months, under the curation and supervision of renowned artist Bishwajit Goswami, founder of the Brihatta Art Foundation and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University.
Celebrating 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence, the inaugural exhibition ‘Mukti’ started welcoming the visitors to this unique, new art space from October 30, consisting of five artists from Bishwajit Goswami’s sculptural based curatorial project “Khujiya Dekho Tai” (Find, Create, Express) and a special artistic venture titled “Aay Tobe Sohochori” (Let’s Play Together) by the children of Hazaribagh Local School, Nalonda High School and many other schools under the supervision of artist Tania Sultana and Yunnan Arts University, China lecturer artist Mon Mong Sho.
Prior to welcoming the general art admirers, Brihatta hosted a two-day launching event on October 28, Thursday, and October 29, Friday. The event was attended by the locals, other tannery owners, street children, workers, children and their guardians, and neighbors of 'Brihatta's new space and artists participating in the exhibition.
Also read: Curtain lifts on Brihatta Home Art Project 2020 at Bengal Shilpalay
On Thursday, special guests including BGMEA Board of Directors member Rubana Haque, architect Saif Ul Haque, thespian Tanveen Sweety, and Dhaka University Dean at the Faculty of Fine Art Professor Nisar Hossain visited the exhibition on Thursday.
Global Covid cases top 246 million
The overall number of Covid cases has crossed 246 million amid the global race to vaccinate masses against the infectious disease.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 246, 366,054 while the death tally from the virus reached 4,994,688 until Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 45,949,951 cases to date and more than 745,678 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 21,804,094 cases so far, while its Covid death toll rose to 607,694.
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 34,260,470 on Saturday, as 14,313 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
Besides, 549 more deaths were recorded since Friday morning, taking the death toll to 457,740.
Russia on Saturday reported a record number of new coronavirus infections as authorities hope to stem the rising contagion by keeping most people off work for the next week, reports AP.
Also read: Merck agrees to let other drug makers make its COVID pill
The government’s coronavirus task force reported 40,251 new infections in 24 hours, exceeding the previous record 40,096 reported on Thursday. It said 1,160 people died of the virus over the past day, three fewer than the record set a day earlier.
That brought Russia’s official COVID-19 death count to 237,380, by far the largest in Europe. More than 8.47 million infections have been recorded in the country of 146 million during the pandemic.
Situation in Bangladesh
Though the coronavirus pandemic has eased in Bangladesh, it killed eight more people and infected 166 others in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
The daily-case positivity rate declined to 1.25 per cent from Friday’s 1.71 per cent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 13,240 samples, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the fresh numbers, the Covid-19 fatalities reached 27,862 while the caseload climbed to 1,569,328, according to DGHS.
Among the deceased, six were men and two were women.
However, the mortality rate rose to 1.78 per cent from Friday’s 1.77 per cent.
Also read: IDA to provide $200 for creating jobs in Covid-stricken informal sector
Also, the recovery rate stood at 97.69 per cent with the recovery of 181 more patients during the period.
Mass vaccination
Bangladesh on Thursday launched the second phase of its special nationwide mass vaccination drive, aiming to vaccinate 80 lakh people with the second shot in a day.
The 9am to 3pm vaccination drive was part of the special campaign that was first unveiled on September 27 to mark Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 75th birthday.
On September 28, the first phase of the special nationwide mass vaccination drive was launched.
However, that target to inoculate 80 lakh people was not met in a single day. Across eight divisions, 66,25,123 people were vaccinated, "which is a record number of jabs inoculated in Bangladesh in a single day", the DGHS said.
Besides, 80,93,236 people were vaccinated with the first dose under this campaign, which spilled over to September 29.
Bangladesh on August 7 kicked off its mass vaccination drive to inoculate some 35 lakh people in six days.
Vaccination of school students
A new campaign to vaccinate school students, aged 12-17, against Covid-19 will kick off at 12 centers in Dhaka on November 1.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque disclosed this while talking to reporters after the cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Some 40,000 students will be vaccinated every day under the campaign, the minister said.
PM Hasina off to Europe to join COP26, other events
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka on Sunday morning for the United Kingdom and France on a two-week visit to attend the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) and other events.
A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage, departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9.27am.
The flight is scheduled to land at Glasgow International Airport in Scotland at 2:45pm (local time). Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem will receive the Prime Minister.
During the visit, Hasina will also attend the Bangladesh Investment Summit and hand over ‘Unesco-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy’.
Besides, she will hold bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron apart from other heads of state and government.
Read: Bangladesh’s UNGA participation shows its stronger presence in multilateral forum: Officials
The Prime Minister will also hold a meeting with UK's Prince Charles during her visit.
On November 1, Hasina will address the key segment of the COP26 apart from joining the opening ceremony.
The same day, the Prime Minister will attend a joint meeting of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF)-Commonwealth High Level Panel Discussion on Climate Prosperity Partnership and then another meeting titled “Action and Solidarity-the critical decade” at the invitation of her British counterpart Boris Johnson.
She will have a meeting with Commonwealth secretary general Particia Scotland, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Bill Gates.
Hasina will attend a civic reception virtually arranged by the Bangladeshi Community living in Scotland.
On November 2, the Prime Minister will attend meetings titled “Women and Climate Change” and “Forging a CVF COP 26 Climate Emergency Pact”.
She will hold a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and meetings with UK’s Prince Charles, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, speaker of Scottish Parliament Alison Johnstone.
Later, she will address “A Bangladesh Vision for Global Climate Prosperity”.
Also read: PM’s France visit to elevate Dhaka-Paris ties: FM
On November 3, she will leave Scotland for London by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.
On the same day, she will go to Westminster where Rushanara Ali MP and Lord Gadhia will welcome her. She will have a courtesy call with British Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
On November 4, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the “Bangladesh Investment Summit 2021: Building Sustainable Growth Partnerships”.
She will unveil the cover of two publications titled ‘Secret Documents’ (Vol i-ix) and ‘Mujib & Introduction’ and inaugurate an art exhibition titled “Bangabandhu and Britain: A Centenary Collection”.
On November 7, she will inaugurate the newly-expanded portion of Bangladesh High Commission and Bangabandhu Lounge there.
She will also attend a civic reception to be accorded to her by Bangladeshi expatriates living in the UK.
On November 9, she will leave London for Paris in the morning by a VVIP flight of Biman.
She will have a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at Elysee Palace and witness the signing of three deeds, and attend a joint press conference before joining lunch to be hosted by the French President. She will be given guard of honour there.
Also read: Bangladesh to play a significant role at COP26: FM Momen
The Prime Minister will also have a bilateral meeting with French Prime Minister Jean Castex.
On November 10, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and Dassault Aviation president Eric Trappier and Thales president Patrice Caine will meet her at her place.
She will have a meeting with a delegation of French business organisation MEDEF. French Minister Florence Parly will also meet her.
Later in the afternoon, she will visit the French Senate where she will receive official reception during the ongoing Senate Session.
On November 11, Sheikh Hasina will attend the Paris Peace Forum.
Later, she will go to attend the “Unesco-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy” awarding ceremony at the Unesco Headquarters.
From there she will go to Elysee Palace to attend the dinner to be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in honour of her.
On November 12, Sheikh Hasina will go to the Paris Peace Forum and attend a high-level panel discussion on South-South and Triangular Cooperation.
Later, she will go to the Unesco Headquarters to attend the inaugural session of the 75th Founding anniversary of Unesco where she will deliver her speech.
She will participate in the dinner to be hosted by Unesco Director General Audrey Azoulay in honour of heads of government and state.
On November 13, Sheikh Hasina will attend a civic reception to be accorded to her by the expatriate Bangladeshis living there.
In the afternoon, she will depart De Gaulle International Airport by a VVIP flight of Biman and land at Hazrat Shahjalal Airport at 10 am (local time) on November 14.
Bangladesh deeply committed to human rights, fundamental freedoms: Rabab Fatima
Bangladesh is deeply committed to the principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms, which is reflected in the country's engagements with the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations, said Ambassador Rabab Fatima.
Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Fatima was speaking at the general debate on the report of the Human Rights Council (HRC) at the General Assembly Thursday.
"As a member of the Human Rights Council, Bangladesh remains actively engaged and committed to the mandate and work of the Council," Ambassador Fatima added.
She appreciated the efforts of the HRC for keeping the Rohingya issues high on its agenda and for adopting a consensus resolution in its 47th session.
Also read:Rabab Fatima calls for international solidarity against terrorism
Fatima also acknowledged the role and work of the Special Rapporteur and the Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar.
She called upon the Council to continue its efforts to ensure a safe, voluntary and dignified life for the Rohingya, free from discrimination and persecution in their homeland in Myanmar.
All communal violence instigators, attackers identified: Minister
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Saturday said all those who instigated communal violence and carried out attacks in different parts of the country, including Cumilla, have been identified.
“The kinds of provocation leading to attacks on people and riots, and those who unleashed such incidents have been identified. They’ve been identified,” he said.
He was addressing an event marking the Community Policing Day 2021 at Rajarbagh Police Lines in the capital on Saturday.
Narrating the importance of community policing, he said, "We’ve been able to tackle the recent violence with the help of people. We’ve been able to unearth the mystery of the incident. That’s why our community needs to be more vigilant, to help the police,” he said.
Read: A series of rehabilitation steps taken for victims of communal violence
He also said it is not possible to provide security in each house to maintain law and order. “But if people remain vigilant, if they give information to the police at the right time, we can give them security,” the minister added.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed said although community policing is a new concept in Bangladesh, it is an old practice in many Asian countries.
"This practice is also quite common in Singapore. When racial violence broke out in the USA, they successfully introduced community policing,” the IGP said.
Read: Communal violence: Citizens demand exemplary punishment for perpetrators
“Cybercrimes have increased alarmingly. It is a big threat to the security of the country and people. We’ve to prepare for that,” he added.
Earlier, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, IGP Benazir Ahmed, eminent academic and writer Zafar Iqbal, and DMP Commissioner Mohammad Shafiqul Islam inaugurated the Community Policing Day 2021 by cutting a cake and releasing balloons.
Hasina embarks on 2-week visit to UK, France Sunday
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave Dhaka on Sunday for the United Kingdom and France on a two-week visit.
During the visit, she will attend the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), Bangladesh Investment Summit and hand over ‘Unesco-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy’.
The Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron apart from other heads of state and government during her visit.
The Prime Minister will also hold a meeting with the UK's Prince Charles.
A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage, will depart Hazrat Shajalal International Airport at 9pm.
It will land at Glasgow International Airport in Scotland at 2:45pm (local time) where Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem will welcome her.
Hasina will address the key segment of the COP26 on November 1 apart from joining the opening ceremony.
The same day, the Prime Minister will attend a joint meeting of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF)- Commonwealth High Level Panel Discussion on Climate Prosperity Partnership.
Hasina will also attend a meeting titled “Action and Solidarity-the critical decade” at the invitation of her British counterpart Boris Johnson on November 1.
She will have a meeting with Commonwealth secretary general Particia Scotland, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Bill Gates, the founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
She will attend a civic reception virtually arranged by the Bangladeshi Community living in Scotland.
Read: South Asian nations should work together: Hasina
On November 2, the Prime Minister will attend meetings titled “Women and Climate Change” and “Forging a CVF COP 26 Climate Emergency Pact”.
She will hold a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
She will have meetings with UK’s Prince Charles, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, speaker of Scottish Parliament Alison Johnstone.
Later, she will address “A Bangladesh Vision for Global Climate Prosperity”.
On November 3, she will leave Scotland for London by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight. It will take off at 12pm (local time) from Glasgow International Airport and land at Heathrow International Airport at 1:30pm.
Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem will welcome her at the airport.
On the same day, she will go to Westminster where Rushanara Ali MP and Lord Gadhia will welcome her. She will have a courtesy call with British Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
On November 4, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the “Bangladesh Investment Summit 2021: Building Sustainable Growth Partnerships”.
She will also unveil the cover of two publications titled ‘Secret Documents’ (Vol i-ix) and ‘Mujib & Introduction’ and inaugurate an art exhibition titled “Bangabandhu and Britain: A Centenary Collection”.
On November 7, she will inaugurate the newly-expanded portion of Bangladesh High Commission and Bangabandhu Lounge there.
She will also attend a civic reception to be accorded to her by Bangladeshi expatriates living in the UK.
On November 9, she will leave London for Paris at 8am (local time) by a VVIP flight of Biman. It will land at De Gaulle International Airport at 11:15am (local time).
Read: Identify new market trends to diversify export: Hasina
Bangladesh Ambassador Khandaker Mohammad Talha will welcome her at the airport.
She will have a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at Elysee Palace and witness the signing of three MoUs/TCA/TA, and attend a joint press conference before joining lunch to be hosted by the French President. She will be given guard of honour there.
The Prime Minister will also have a bilateral meeting with French Prime Minister Jean Castex.
On November 10, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and Dassault Aviation president Eric Trappier, Thales president Patrice Caine will meet her at her place.
She will have a meeting with a delegation of French business organisation MEDEF. French Minister Florence Parly will also meet her.
Later in the afternoon, she will visit the French Senate where she will receive official reception during the ongoing Senate Session.
On November 11, Sheikh Hasina will attend the Paris Peace Forum.
Later, she will go to attend the “Unesco-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy” awarding ceremony at the Unesco Headquarters.
From there she will go to Elysee Palace to attend the dinner to be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in honour of her.
On November 12, Sheikh Hasina will go to the Paris Peace Forum and attend a high-level panel discussion on South-South and Triangular Cooperation.
Later, she will go to the Unesco Headquarters to attend the inaugural session of the 75th Founding anniversary of Unesco where she will deliver her speech.
She will participate in the dinner to be hosted by Unesco Director General Audrey Azoulay in honour of heads of government and state.
On November 13, Sheikh Hasina will attend a civic reception to be accorded to her by the expatriate Bangladeshis living there.
In the afternoon, she will depart De Gaulle International Airport by a VVIP flight of Biman and land at Hazrat Shahjalal Airport at 10 am (local time) on November 14.
Move to implement Teesta plan with Chinese support a timely step: Farakka Committee
Leaders of the International Farakka Committee (IFC) have extended their support to the government’s initiative to implement the Teesta Master Plan with Chinese support, saying it is a proper and timely move.
Expressing their grave concerns over the recent flooding, the IFC said an untimely flood disaster along the Teesta in Bangladesh has caused extensive damages to the property of lakhs of people along its two banks.
Thousands of dwelling houses and homesteads have been washed away with riverbank erosion. Standing crops on lakhs of acres of land have been damaged while roads and embankments have been eroded snapping road-links among the districts of the greater Rangpur region.
“In this context, we consider the initiative taken by the government to implement a Teesta master plan with the help of China is a proper and timely one,” the statement said.
“Although this project is no substitute for keeping the river alive by ensuring its natural flow, it’s expected to help reduce the damages caused by floods and help improve the lot of the people of the region through coordinated development activities. The river will get a new life when time will come to restore its natural flow,” it said.
Read: Implement the Teesta Project with cooperation of China: Intl Farakka Committee
The committee said the disaster has been caused by the discharge of floodwater through the Gajoldoba Barrage floodgates following excessive rainfall along the upper catchment of the Teesta in Sikkim.
Embankments at about 17 places in the upper Teesta were damaged by the floods. But the Bangladesh authorities were not alerted before releasing the water. Only two weeks before, the Teesta in Bangladesh was a dry barren land as all water was diverted from Gajoldoba Barrage in West Bengal, added the statement.
The Teesta River in Bangladesh is a dead river during the dry season. Despite repeated assurances, no treaty has been signed for the management of the river’s water. People now can walk on foot from one bank of the river to the other, according to the statement.
Only seepage from the Gajal Doba barrage flows into Bangladesh. During the monsoon, the river causes disastrous floods, the statement pointed out.
According to one account, five waves of flood came down the Teesta in 2021 but a disastrous flood as late as October was never experienced before.
The statement said last week’s flood disaster has caused extensive losses to at least 80,000 families, according to a preliminary estimate. The damaged property include ripe paddy, onion, garlic, maize, animal fodder, homesteads, clothes, preserved winter garment and household crockery and utensils.
Read: Flood: Farakka Committee blasts India’s upstream management of common rivers
Bangladesh must do something to pull out three crore people of the Teesta basin from this helpless situation, protect their lives and property and maintain its environmental balance. Bangladesh cannot sit idle in the face of people’s miseries, the statement added.
The committee leaders suggest the Teesta Master Plan can be expanded to cover other rivers – Atrai, Korotoa and Punarbhaba, including Chalan Beel which lie in the old Teesta Basin – to ensure overall socio-economic development of the Northwestern region of Bangladesh. This will help recharge groundwater and keep all the tube-wells functional throughout the year.
The signatories to the statement were – Atiqur Rahman Salu, chairman, Sayed Tipu Sultan, secretary general, IFC, New York; Prof. Jasim Uddin Ahmad, President, Dr. SI Khan, Senior Vice-President, Syed Irfanul Bari, general secretary of IFC Bangladesh and Mostafa Kamal Majumder, coordinator of IFC.
Bangladeshi investors should eye untapped African continent: Experts
Speakers at a webinar on Saturday said Bangladeshi entrepreneurs can invest in manufacturing and agricultural sectors of some countries in African continent under African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to expand export to the US market.
They said Africa is a big continent with huge investment opportunities even though the trade share of Bangladesh is remarkably very low for lack of PTA/FTA, tariff and non-tariff barriers and infrastructure.
The speakers came up with the remarks in the webinar titled “Trade & Investment Cooperation of Africa and Bangladesh: Towards a new Trajectory” held on the fifth day of Bangladesh Trade and Investment Summit 2021.
“Private sector needs to be aggressive to invest both at home and abroad. Food processing and agriculture have good prospects there. We’ve to grab the market,`` Planning Minister MA Mannan told the webinar.
As Bangladeshi entrepreneurs entered the African market, he suggested that they can invest more in that region with a plan.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman in his presentation said the bilateral trade is about $1.5 billion between Bangladesh and Africa having a positive trade balance for Bangladesh. “Our export to Africa accounts for 1.02 per cent of Bangladesh’s our total export.”
Read: Bangladeshi investors keen to invest in South Africa: FM
Though African investment is declining in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi investment in Africa is on the gradual rise, he added.
The African investment in Bangladesh was recorded only $306 million.
AHM Ahsan, Vice Chairman and CEO, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), said African trade with the rest of the world in 2020 was $888 billion accounting for only 3 per cent of total global trade.
Last year, the intra-African trade volume of $133 billion was heavily influenced by African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), he said.
“Our trade with Africa is significantly low compared to other regions. Bangladesh exports to only 5-6 countries of Africa. Their high import tariff is an obstacle to export increase. But the service sector is a potential sector for investment,” he added.
Md Tarikul Islam, DG Africa Wing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Africa is a resourceful country having enormous potentials.
“African investment in Bangladesh is not remarkable due to their restrictions over foreign investment. But textiles, pharmaceuticals, footwear, RMG, leather, paper and pulp, ship breaking and agriculture are some of the sectors they can invest in. The visa process for African investors will be eased,” he said.
Abdus Samad Al Azad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Muhammad Zahangir Alam, Director, Square Pharmaceuticals and M Mosaddek Hossain, Managing Director, UniMed UniHealth Pharmaceuticals, among others, spoke at the webinar.
Five ‘members of Ansar Al Islam’ held in Dhaka, Keraniganj
Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU), a specialized unit of Bangladesh Police, have arrested five suspected members of banned militant outfit ‘Ansar Al Islam’ from Dhaka city and its outskirt Keraniganj.
Tipped off, a special team of ATU conducted drives from Thursday to Friday night and arrested the five alleged militants.
They arrestees are Md Mithun Rahman alias Mithu, 29, Sakib Al Hasan, 19, Mohammad Abdus Shukur Sohagh, 21, Mohammad Jaber, 25, and Md Omar Faruque, 19.
Read: Ansar Al Islam leader placed on 3-day remand
Mohammad Aslam Khan, SP, (Media and Awareness) of ATU, said based on secret information, the ATU members arrested Mithu from Sher-e-Banglanagar area in the city and recovered one mobile phone set and five books on militancy from his possession.
Based on his statement, the specialized police unit members arrested Sakib Al Hasan along with one mobile phone set and two books on militancy from Hazratpur area of Keraniganj.
Later, based on information given by Mithu and Sakib, the ATU members arrested Shohagh, Jaber and Faruque, Aslam Khan said.
Among them, Sohag and Jaber came to Dhaka from Habiganj and Laxmipur on October 29.
Read: Three ‘Ansar Al Islam militants’ held in Rajshahi
The arrestees were involved in spreading online propaganda on extremism, he said.
They used to chat by opening a secured Telegram group to plan subversive activities and spread extremist ideology, he added.
A case was filed against them with Sher-e-Banglanagar police station under the Anti-Terrorism Act.