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Petition filed seeking permission to sue Murad under DSA
A petition was filed with the Cyber Tribunal on Sunday seeking its permission to file a case against disgraced former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Murad Hassan under the Digital Security Act (DSA) for his anti-women remarks.
Advocate Omar Faruk, secretary of Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, filed the petition with Dhaka Cyber Tribunal on Sunday.
Judge Ash-Shams Jaglul Hussein of Dhaka Cyber Tribunal is likely to hear the plea on Monday as he is on leave today.
The other accused in the case is Mohammad Mohiuddin Helal alias Nahid, a Facebook live show host.
READ: Denied entry to Canada, UAE, Murad finally “coming back home” Sunday
Meanwhile, three complaints were lodged against Murad in Chattogram, Rajshahi and Sylhet for his anti-women remarks.
UNB Rajshahi Correspondent reports: A complaint was lodged with Rajshahi Cyber Tribunal against Murad and Mohammad Mohiuddin Helal alias Nahid.
Former general secretary of Bogura Bar Association and senior joint convener of district unit BNP, Saiful Islam lodged the complaint with the court Sunday noon.
Rajshahi Cyber Tribunal Judge Ziaur Rahman took the complaint into cognisance but did not pass any order.
In Chattogram, a petition was filed with Chattogram Cyber Tribunal seeking permission to file a case against Murad and Nahid under the Digital Security Act.
Advocate ASM Badrul Anwar, president of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, Chattogram unit, filed the petition.
Judge SKM Tofail Hasan of Chattogram Cyber Tribunal will hear the petition later.
In Sylhet, advocate Tanvir Akter Khan, organizing secretary of Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, Sylhet, lodged with Sylhet Cyber Tribunal under the same act.
During an interview on social media recently, Murad described BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman as a ‘whoreson’ and alleged that Zaima Rahman, Tarique’s daughter, cannot sleep without the company of a black man every night.
On Tuesday last, Murad Hassan quit the cabinet following the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for his offensive and indecent remarks on women.
Murad had been under increasing criticism by various quarters for his disrespectful remarks on women in an interview on social media. Several audios and videos containing indecent remarks by Murad Hassan also went viral on social media.
READ: Former state minister Murad leaves country
Meanwhile, a two-year-old phone conversation of the junior minister with actor Mamnun Hasan Emon and actress Mahiya Mahi went viral on social media. In that audio clip, Murad made "derogatory comments" on the actress, threatened her and gave her an alleged indecent proposal.
On December 8, a writ was filed with the High Court challenging the legality of Murad Hassan’s MP post on the same ground.
Supreme Court Advocate Yunus Ali Akhand who filed the petition with the apex court also sought a judicial investigation into the activities of Murad, also an MP from Jamalpur-4 constituency.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah is likely to hear the writ next week.
Murad was also stripped of the post of Health and Population Affairs Secretary of Jamalpur district unit Awami League for damaging the party’s image and his involvement in anti-disciplinary activities.
Father, son killed in Rajshahi road crash
A man and his son were killed when a truck hit a motorbike at Nimtala on Rajshahi-Chapainawabganj highway in Godagari upazila on Saturday night.
The deceased were identified as Abdus Salam, 60, and his son Ibrahim Hossain, 35, of Gulai village in the upazila.
READ: Father, daughter killed in Narayanganj road crash; 1 injured
The accident occurred around 10 pm when the truck hit the stationary motorbike carrying the duo, leaving Salam dead on the spot and Ibrahim injured, said officer-in-charge of Godagari Police Station Quamrul Islam.
READ: 35-yr-old biker killed in Sylhet road crash
Ibrahim was taken to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead around 2:45 am.
Bangladesh can protect itself from any external aggression: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said Bangladesh has attained all capabilities to protect its independence and sovereignty if it is attacked by any external aggressor and enemy. “We believe in peace, the Father of the Nation has given us the foreign policy ‘Friendship to all, malice to none’, we believe in that foreign policy, but if we’re attacked by enemies from outside, we’ve attained our capabilities to protect our independence and sovereignty,” she said. The Prime Minister was addressing the President Parade 2021 of the 81st BMA Long Course at Bangladesh Military Academy at Bhatiari in Chattogram, joining it virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. She asked the new cadets to devote themselves towards protecting the independence and sovereignty of the country as their prime task, if needed the highest sacrifice. Extending her best wishes and greetings to all the new officers on this auspicious occasion of passing out, she said by taking oath today they are entrusted with the sacred duty of defending the great independence and sovereignty of the motherland. "You’ve to remain alert and ready always to fulfil this responsibility. You’ll have to remain beside the people of the country… you’ll have to perform your duties to meet all the necessities of people and share happiness and sorrows equally,” she said. The Prime Minister asked them to uphold the spirit of the independence and put it above everything as this independence has come in lieu of the blood of millions of martyrs. “You’ve to inspire yourselves and instil the spirit of independence in you.”
READ: Bangladesh getting ready to tap 4IR opportunities: PM
Mentioning that ''Bangabandhu Complex'' has been constructed at the BMA with all kinds of sophisticated facilities for internal training of cadets, she said: "I hope that this modern training system will play a pivotal role in building a trained and modern army." Hasina also noted that today's BMA is a successful embodiment of the military academy that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had dreamt of providing advanced training and developing capable leadership. Describing various development programmes for Bangladesh Army, she said the government has established new infantry divisions, brigades, units and training institutes in the Bangladesh Army alongside taking necessary steps for its overall development. The Prime Minister said three new infantry divisions and the first para-commando brigade have been formed in the army while sophisticated armoured vehicles and other equipment, such as state-of-the-art engineering and signalling equipment, various weapons, helicopters, aircraft, modern infantry gazettes and various other weapons have been incorporated into the army.
READ: PM Hasina for forging strong worker-owner relations to boost productivity Hasina said the physical infrastructures required for the new weapons and equipment have been installed and built while work is underway to incorporate and expand a variety of weapons and equipment. At the function, Battalion Senior Under Officer of the 81st BMA Long Course Abdullah Al Islam received the “Sword of Honour” as the best all-around cadet and Company junior under officer Imrul Kayes got the “Army Chief Gold Medal” for his best performance in military subjects. On behalf of the Prime Minister, Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed handed over both the “Sword of Honour” to Abdullah Al Islam and the “Army Chief Gold Medal” to Imrul Kayes. Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed Also spoke at the programme.
UP chairman candidate killed: EC postpones polls in Pabna
The Election Commission (EC) has postponed the election for the post of Chairman at Bharara Union Parishad (UP) of Pabna Sadar Upazila following the death of a chairman candidate in a clash.
Pabna District Senior Election Officer Mahbubur Rahman said that if a candidate is killed in pre-polls violence, there is a provision to postpone the polls for that post as per the rules of the EC.
Police said a clash ensued between the supporters of independent chairman candidate Sultan Mahmud Khan and Awami League candidate Abu Sayed Khan over pasting posters at Bhatara village on Saturday.
READ: 7 arrested for attacking presiding officer in Cumilla UP election
During the clash the rival groups exchanged gunfire, leaving Yasin and 12 others injured, said Masud Alam, additional superintendent of Pabna police.
Yasin succumbed to his injuries on the way to Rajshahi Medical College, he said.
Nine of the injured were admitted to Pabna General Hospital and six of them later shifted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
READ: Aushkandi UP election finally held: AL’s Delwar Hossain elected as chairman
ISA Secretary General lauds Dhaka’s leadership
International Seabed Authority (ISA) Secretary-General Michael W. Lodge has commended Rear Admiral (Retd) Md. Khurshed Alam, President of the council for the 26th session, for his “wisdom, patience and determined leadership.
Secretary-General Lodge said Khurshed Alam's leadership enabled ISA to “overcome numerous challenges” to keep the essential business of the council going by using the silence procedure.
He noted “the overwhelming support to the timely resumption of in-person meetings given by the Council members” and welcomed all members and observers back to the ISA headquarters at Kingston, Jamaica.
The 26th Session of the Council, ISA concluded on Friday under the Presidentship of Khurshed Alam, Secretary (Maritime Affairs Unit), Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
All 36 Member States of the Council attended the session either in-person or virtually. Among them, 25 Member States attended the session in-person.
The Council meeting will be followed by the meeting of the Assembly from December 13-15. Khurshed Alam will make a statement at the Assembly meeting as the President of Council on its work.
In 26th session, the Council approved applications for extensions of contracts in accordance with the procedures and criteria for the extension of an approved plan of work for exploration.
The Council also approved report of the Finance Committee on the issue of the equitable sharing of benefits and report of the Special Representative for the Enterprise.
It approved a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and International Seabed Authority (ISA).
The report of the Secretary General on the status of national legislation related to seabed mining and related matters were also approved by the Council.
READ: China lauds Bangladesh’s progress in socio-economic development, democracy
Roadmap for drafting regulations for exploitation of mineral resources in the Area was much discussed in the session, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Global Covid cases cross 269 mln amid scare over Omnicorn strain
Amid a global scare over Omnicorn, a new strain of Covid-19, the overall number of coronavirus cases has surged past 269 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 269,693,236 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,301,185 till Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 49,884,587 cases to date and more than 797,179 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 22,177,059 cases as of Friday, while its Covid death toll rose to 616,457.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,682,736 on Friday as 7,990 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.
Besides, as many as 393 deaths due to the pandemic were reported since Friday morning, taking the total death toll to 475,128.
READ: Global Covid cases top 269 million
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported five more Covid-related deaths along with 177 fresh cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning amid the entry of its new variant, Omicron.
Bangladesh on Saturday reported the first two cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus.
With the latest cases, the daily-case positivity rate declined to 1.13 per cent from Friday’s 1.34 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The total fatalities mounted to 28,022 while the caseload mounted to 15,78, 996, with the number of fresh cases.
READ: Global Covid cases top 268 million
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 per cent during the period.
On Thursday, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic is apparently showing signs of easing.
Youth crushed under train in city
A young man was killed after being hit by a train in Shutki Potri area of Karwan Bazar in the city on Saturday night.
The deceased was identified as Sumon, 20, son of Jalil Molla of Joya village of Borhanuddin upazila in Bhola district.
Md. Bachchu Mia, inspector in-charge of DMCH police outpost confirmed the matter.
Sanaullah, a neighbor of the deceased, said Sumon worked as a delivery man of a cold drinks company. “He was hit by a train while crossing the level crossing."
Later, he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
The body was kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy, Bachchu Mia said.
Denied entry to Canada, UAE, Murad finally “coming back home” Sunday
Disgraced former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Murad Hassan is reportedly coming back home on Sunday morning, having failed to enter Canada and the UAE.
An Emirates flight carrying Murad is expected to reach Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 8:20am, a source at the airport told UNB on Saturday night.
A family member of the former state minister said Murad reached Dubai airport from Canada around 10:30pm (BST).
As he has no valid visa to enter Dubai, he may return home, his relative said, requesting anonymity.
Dr Murad Hassan left the country for Canada in an Emirates flight around 1:20am on Thursday night.
According to Toronto-based Bangla news portal thebengalitimes.com, Murad reached Toronto Pearson International Airport at 1.31am (Canadian time) on Friday.
Read: Former state minister Murad leaves country
Canadian immigration officials questioned the former Bangladeshi junior minister about various allegations, including harassing, humiliating and torturing women, against him in Bangladesh.
They also showed him various videos, photos and news on him, and wanted to know his version, the news portal said.
It said Murad was also asked about the reasons for leaving Bangladesh and coming to Canada, but he failed to give any “satisfactory answer”.
Murad was then flown back to Dubai in a return Emirates flight from the Canadian airport.
Asked about filing of a case against Murad under the Digital Security Act (DSA), Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters at a progarmme in Dhaka on Saturday that the state is not aggrieved with him.
Addressing a programme of Nirapad Sarak Chai at the Jatiya Press Club, he, however, said if one is aggrieved with Murad he or she has the right to file a case against the former state minister.
On Tuesday, Murad Hassan quit the cabinet following the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for his offensive and indecent remarks on women.
Read: President signs resignation letter of Murad Hasan
Murad had been under increasing criticism by various quarters for his disrespectful remarks on women in an interview on social media. Several audios and videos containing indecent remarks by Murad Hassan also went viral on social media during the last few days.
Meanwhile, a two-year-old phone conversation of the junior minister with actor Mamnun Hasan Emon and actress Mahiya Mahi recently went viral on social media. In that audio clip, Murad made "derogatory comments" on the actress, threatened her and gave her an alleged indecent proposal.
On Wednesday, a writ was filed with the High Court challenging the legality of Murad Hassan’s MP post on the same ground.
Supreme Court Advocate Yunus Ali Akhand who filed the petition with the apex court also sought judicial investigation into the activities of Murad, also the MP of Jamalpur-4 constituency.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah is likely to hear the writ next week.
Murad was also relieved from the post of Health and Population Affairs Secretary of Jamalpur district unit Awami League for damaging the party’s image and for his involvement in anti-disciplinary activities.
Govt working to increase urea production to reduce import dependency: Nurul Majid
Minister of Industries Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Saturday said the government has emphasized enhancing fertilizer production to reduce import dependency.
He said the country’s total annual demand of urea fertilizer is around 26 lakh metric tonnes, of which 16 lakh metric tonnes is being imported.
Enhancing urea fertilizer production, the government is implementing a project combining Polash and Ghorashal fertilizer factories of Narsingdi. Some 53 per cent development work of the project has been completed.
The industries minister on Saturday visited the construction work of the project and hoped that the production activities of urea from the factory will be started December 2023.
The project director, officials of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Limited and the ministry officials, among others, were present with the minister during his visit to Ghorashal.
We need to strengthen SMEs, agro-businesses for expanding economy: Tipu Munshi
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said Bangladesh is an agro-based economy so both businesses and government need to give emphasis on this sector including product diversification.
Moreover, “we need to strengthen our SMEs for better expansion of our economy,” he said.
Tipu Munshi came up with the remarks while addressing as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the new extended office space of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) namely “DCCI Gulshan Centre” on Saturday.
The Commerce Minister also emphasized to work more to do better in all business indices to be competitive in the international market.
He said that the new extension of DCCI (DCCI Gulshan Centre) in the north side of the city is a reflection of its strength and he hoped that DCCI will be able to serve the business community more in the days to come.
Read: Commodity prices to come down in line with global market rate: Tipu Munshi
Jaim Uddin, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) said Bangladesh still lags behind in the logistic sector, but it is necessary to prioritize the logistic sector to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).
He said that removing traffic congestion in the Dhaka-Chittagong highway and ensuring faster services at the sea ports will help boost the economy.