Law-&-Order
‘Trader tortured in custody’ in N’ganj: Ex OC and ex SI sent to jail
A Narayanganj court today sent former Officer-in-charge Morshed Alam and former Sub-inspector Sadhan Basak, of Sonargaon Police Station, to jail in connection with their alleged involvement in torturing a trader in police custody.Narayanganj District and Session Judge Ash-Shams Jaglul Hossain passed the order after rejecting their bail petitions.On February 9, the court issued a warrant for the arrest of Morshed and Sadhan in connection with a case filed over torturing a trader in police custody.Later, a court granted four weeks’ anticipatory bail to them.Today, the two former cops surrendered before the court on completion of their bail period but the court ordered to send them to jail.According to the case statement, police picked up and took Anisur Rahman, a clothes trader, and Jubo League leader Zahidul Islam to Sonargaon Police Station after tying their hands and eyes from Dattapara area of Narayanganj on October 7, 2018.Later, they were tortured in custody. Anisur fell unconscious as he failed to bear the torture. He was taken to Sonargaon Upazila Health complex.The trader lodged a complaint against the former officer-in-charge and sub-inspector of the police station.
Building owners among 3 land in jail over Gulistan blast
A Dhaka court on Sunday sent three people, including two owners of the building in the capital's Siddique Bazar blast that left 23 people dead, to jail.
The three accused are building owners Wahidur Rahman,46, his brother Matiur Rahman,35 and sanitary trader Motaleb Mintu, 36.
Magistrate Mahbub Alam of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court passed the order after Abdul Mabud, Inspector of Detective Branch (DB) Police, and investigating officer of the case, produced them before the court after the end of their two-day remand in the case and pleaded to keep them behind bars.
Earlier on Thursday, the court placed them on a two-day remand each in the case.
The devastating blast took place in the basement of the "Queen Tower" building, housing sanitary hardware stores on March 7.
2 arrested with 10,000 Yaba pills in Dhaka
Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested two alleged drug peddlers along with 10,000 Yaba pills from the capital’s Tejgaon Truck Terminal area Saturday night.
The arrestees are Md Abul Hossain and Md Biplob Hossain.
Asma Ara Jahan, additional deputy commissioner of the DB (DMP north zone), said tipped off, they conducted a drive in the terminal area and arrested them.
A case under the Narcotics Control Act was filed against them at Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station in this regard, the DB officer added.
HC orders ACC to investigate financial anomalies in state-owned Essential Drugs
The High Court (HC) Sunday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the financial anomalies involving Tk 477 crore at state-owned pharmaceutical company Essential Drugs Ltd and submit its report within the next two months.
An HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after taking a newspaper report on the irregularities of the drug producing company into cognisance.
Apart from this, the court issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why instruction should not be given to take legal action against the accused.
Also Read: HC bench ‘embarrassed’ to hear writ petition challenging presidential election process
Health secretary, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) director general and others concerned were made respondents to the rule, which is returnable in four weeks.
Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state in the court.
Terming the drug manufacturing company as a haven of corruption, vernacular daily ‘Manab Zamin’ reported that Health Audit Directorate’s report has detected 32 irregularities in the organization, causing a loss of over Tk 477.41 crore in the fiscal year 2020-2021 to the government exchequer.
The irregularities included recruitment, tender business, showing less production of medicines, less use of raw materials in producing medicines and taking allowances in the name of picnic and others.
Health Audit Directorate brought 51 allegations against the company’s officials and others in their initial report.
Of them, 32 irregularities were identified as Severe Financial Irregularity (SFI).
The committee prepared the audit from February 17, 2022 to April 10 of the same year.
HC bench ‘embarrassed’ to hear writ petition challenging presidential election process
A High Court bench today felt “embarrassed” to hear a writ petition filed challenging the process of electing Mohammad Shahabuddin as president.
The bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Ahmed Sohel was set to hear the petition. But it forwarded the petition to the chief justice for a decision, saying one of the bench members felt embarrassed to hear the writ petition.
Justice Ahmed Sohel expressed embarrassment, saying he was a lawyer at Anti-Corruption Commission for five years.
Also Read: Controversy over President-elect unexpected: CEC
Supreme Court lawyer MA Aziz Khan filed the writ petition with the concerned branch of the High Court on March 7.
The Election Commission and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) had been made respondents in the writ petition.
The writ petition was filed challenging the process through which the president was elected, and the gazette that was published later.
“Mohammad Shahabuddin was a former Commissioner of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). According to Section 9 of the ACC Act 2004, A former ACC Commissioner is not permitted to hold any profitable position,” he said.
Mohammad Shahabuddin, a retired judge and former Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, was elected as the country's 22nd president.
On February 13, a gazette was issued declaring him elected as President of Bangladesh under Section 7 of the Presidential Election Act, 1991.
Mohammad Shahabuddin will succeed current President M. Abdul Hamid after his term expires on April 23.
Highway police start legal action against overspeeding vehicles on Dhk-Ctg highway
Highway Police, a specialized unit of Bangladesh Police, has started taking legal action against vehicles going over the speed limit to prevent accidents on Dhaka-Chattragram highway.
As part of this, the Kumira Highway Police Station of Comilla Region checked the speed of the vehicles using speed guns on Saturday.
Legal action was taken against the drivers of vehicles found to be overspeeding.
9 hurt in attack on Sirajganj Baul event
At least nine people including artistes have been injured in an attack by some unidentified people on a cultural programme organized by Sirajganj Baul Shilpi Goshthi at Abdur Rouf Mukta Manch in the town.
Several musical instruments including keyboard, harmonium, and chairs were vandalized.
Sanjib Kumar, president of the organization, said the programme was inaugurated on Friday afternoon, marking the organization’s 18th anniversary.They resumed the cultural programme after a discussion.
"Suddenly, a group of people attacked the venue. Our musical instruments, along with nearly 50 chairs at the venue, were vandalized,” he said.
The organization’s sound operator Suman and Baul singer Harun were among the injured, he added.
Officer-in-charge of Sirajganj Sadar police station Md. Humayun Kabir said they visited the spot on information.
Clash over Ahmadiyya event: 3 more cases filed with 8 more arrests
Three more cases were filed on Friday in connection with the clashes between police and Muslim devotees over ‘Salana Jalsa’ of the Ahmadiyya community in Sadar upazila of Panchagarh on March 3 that left two dead and over 50 injured.
With this, the total number of the cases now stood at 16.
SM Sirajul Islam Huda, superintendent of police (SP) of the district, confirmed the news saying that the victims filed the cases on Friday.
In another development, eight more people were arrested in connection with the attacks, the SP said, adding that a total of 173 people have so far been arrested.
The accused were arrested after checking video footage and reports of the intelligence, he said, adding that no innocent persons will be arrested.
On the other hand, members of the law enforcing agencies were on a high alert centering Friday's prayer to ward off any unexpected incident further.
A good number of police and Rapid Action Battalion personnel were deployed at important city points and two mosques of the Ahmadiyya community, the police official said.
Surveillance by the intelligence was increased in the district to avoid any unwanted incident, he said.
Read more: Clash over Ahmadiyya event: Over 8,200 sued, 81 arrested in Panchagarh
Deputy Commissioner Md Jahurul Islam, Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Masudul Hoque and Sadar police station OC Abdul Latif Miah, among others, visited various spots in the district town on Friday.
On March 3, two people were killed and at least 50 others including policemen were injured in the clash between a section of Muslim devotees and police during a protest march of the devotees demanding the closure of an Ahmadiyya community’s event in Panchagarh district town.
JMB man, fugitive for 17 years, held in Feni
The Anti-Terrorism Unit of police Thursday said they arrested a member of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who remained fugitive for planning sabotage in Barishal in 2007.
A team of police arrested Md Emdadul Hoque, 45, from Feni's Sonagazi upazila after finding his whereabouts using their own surveillance system.
Mohammad Aslam Khan, superintendent police (media and awareness wing of the ATU), said Emdadul was arrested from the Circuit House area under Feni Sadar upazila in the evening 17 years after he had been implicated in a case filed for subversive activities with Barishal's Kotwali Police Station.
The case is now pending before the court.
Since the filing of the case, the accused remained on the run and went to Saudi Arabia for performing umrah in 2010 and illegally stayed there for four years.
After being forced to return home in 2014, Emdadul remained in hiding.
He had been involved with several anti-state activities, including militancy in the guises of teaching at madrasas and leading daily prayers in mosques, Aslam said.
Efforts are underway to take further legal action against him, he added.
DB arrests 7 in Dhaka involving robbing of bank money: DMP
Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) detained seven people, including security guards, several hours after snatching Tk 11.25 crore from a private security agency’s vehicle in Turag area of Dhaka’s Uttara on Thursday morning.
Additional Commissioner (DB) of the DMP Harun-ur-Rashed told UNB that based on information, the detectives detained them, including security guards from Khilkhet in the evening.
The detectives also recovered most of the robbed amount but he did not mention the recovered amount.
Read more: Tk 11.25 crore robbed from pvt security agency vehicle in Dhaka’s Uttara
officer of the DB, preferring anonymity, said that they recovered Tk 9 crore, out of Tk 11.25 crore, and also seized the micro bus, which was used in committing the mugging incident.Shariful Islam, inspector (Investigation) of Turag Police Station, said that the incident happened while a private security company’s vehicle with Tk 11.25 crore – of Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd – was going towards Savar EPZ area to deposit the money at the bank’s ATM booths at around 7:30 am.
At Uttara Sector-16, a group of eight armed people stopped the vehicle and took away the money at gunpoint, he said, adding that police are raiding nearby places to recover the money.