United News of Bangladesh

Six top police officials got new postings on Wednesday, according to the home ministry. Security Division of the home ministry has already issued a notification regarding the transfer and posting of the six senior police officials. The notification has been signed by Md. Mahabubur Rahman, deputy secretary of the Public Security Division. AKM Awlad Hossain, DIG of Dhaka Range, has been posted to Police Telecom as Additional IG (Current Charge), Additional IG (Current charge) of Industrial Police Md Chhibgat Ullah has been given new posting as Additional IG (Current charge) of CID. EC to begin constituency delimitation with initial focus on 61 seats DIG Gazi Jashim Uddin of CID has been posted to Industrial Police as Additional IG (Current Charge), Additional IG of Police headquarters Toufique Mahbub Chowdhury has bern posted to Sardah Police Academy as its Principal, DIG  (Additional Commissioner) Razaul Karim Mallick of DMP has been posted as DIG of Dhaka Range and DIG of police headquarters  Dr Shoeb Riaz Alam has been given new posting as DIG of SPBN. The order will be effective immediately. The ministry has instructed all concerned departments to take necessary actions regarding the changes.

The Election Commission (EC) has suspended NID verification services for Ansar-VDP and BRAC Bank after finding credible evidence of National Identity (NID) data leaks. “The services (access to the NID verification services) have been suspended for the two organisations after finding credible evidence of data leaks,” said EC’s NID wing Director General ASM Humayun Kabir while talking to reporters at his office on Wednesday. The personal data of more than 120 million people are stored in the EC’s database and a total of 186 public and private organisations now receive the NID verification services from the database. The NID data was leaked from several other organisations in the past as well. Women’s Affairs: Law Adviser seeks decency while sharing opinions, reactions Humayun Kabir said the EC regularly monitors data access and detected the recent leak from Ansar-VDP and BRAC Bank on Tuesday. “Following proper verification, we suspended their access as per the authority’s decision,” he said, adding that an investigation is already underway. The NID Wing chief said action will be taken as outlined in the agreements signed with them. “This is an ongoing process,” he said.

Detectives have arrested four leaders and activists of Awami League and its affiliated organisations including the Organising Secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Awami League in separate drives in the capital in 24 hours till 6 am on Wednesday . The arrestees are Ismat Ara Happy, Organizing Secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Awami League, Azim Md. Mahbub Alam, President of Ward-33 Jubo League, Md. Saiful Islam Sagor, former Senior Joint General Secretary of Kotwali Thana Chhatra League and Tanzim Rahman Akash Dewan, Joint General Secretary of Mohammadpur Thana Chhatra League. Mohammadpur Thana, DC (media) of DMP Talebur Rahman said all the arrestees were accused of several cases. Legal proceedings are currently underway against the detainees.

Five people posing themselves as detectives were detained while committing a robbery on Dhaka-Nawabganj road under Keraniganj model police station of Dhaka district on Tuesday night. A microbus, looted cash, a toy pistol, handcuffs, and a walkie-talkie were recovered from their possessions. According to witnesses, the fraud detectives boarded a passenger bus of ‘Nabokoli Paribahan’ from a microbus in Rohitpur area around 10:30pm and physically assaulted a gold trader. At one stage, the miscreants tried to pick him up by a microbus.  2 fake DB men arrested in Thakurgaon But the passengers intervened and tried to detain the microbus while one of the passengers called the national emergency helpline 999. Responding to the call, a police team from Keraniganj Police Station arrived at the spot and detained them. Officer-in-charge of the police station Dablu said they took the detainees under their custody and a process was underway to file a case in this regard.

A case has been filed against former Bagerhat-1 lawmaker Sheikh Helal Uddin and his son, former Bagerhat-2 MP Sheikh Sarhan Naser Tonmoy, along with three others, on charges of allegedly extorting Tk 20 crore from a local businessman. Abdul Mannan Talukder, managing director of New Bashundhara Real Estate, lodged the case with Bagerhat Model Police Station on Monday. The other accused in the case are Sheikh Helal’s personal assistant Md Firozul Islam, Tanmoy’s personal assistant MH Shaheen and Sheikh Shahidul Islam. Court imposes travel ban on close aide of ex-DB chief Harun, 2 others Among the five accused, police have arrested Md Shahidul Islam, 37, on Monday, said Officer-in-Charge of Bagerhat Model Police Station Mahamudul Hasan. Quoting the case statement, the OC said the incident dates back to November 15, 2018, when all five accused allegedly went to the office of Abdul Mannan Talukder in Bagerhat town and demanded Tk 200 crore in extortion. The complainant alleged that the accused threatened to shut down his business, implicate him in false cases, and even kill him if he refused to pay. Out of fear for his safety and business, Mannan said he handed over Tk 7.3 crore from client deposits to the accused that night. On January 3, 2019, the accused allegedly visited his office again and issued further threats, prompting Mannan to pay an additional Tk 12.7 crore to protect himself and his business. Ex-MP, 8 AL leaders held in Dhaka In total, the accused reportedly extorted Tk 20 crore in two instalments, according to the case statement. OC Mahamudul Hasan said efforts are underway to arrest the remaining accused.

Seeking decency in expressing any views and reactions, Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul on Tuesday said the recommendations put forward by the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission are merely proposals and cannot be seen as a government decision. “These are proposals from the Commission, not a government decision,” he said when a journalist asked whether the government will surrender to the pressure from Islamic parties to revoke the report. On May 3, Hefazat-e-Islam announced a 12-point declaration, demanding the dissolution of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission and cancellation of its report, which the platform says is "anti-Quran" The Law Adviser said there will always be differences of opinions in the society and different views came in line with other reform commissions’ reports. “In most cases it was expressed in a decent way. But in some cases, it was expressed in a very malicious and attacking way,” he said, adding that they do not expect this. The Law Adviser said no major reform will be implemented without any political consensus and hoped that everyone, while expressing opposing views and reactions, will exercise tolerance and demonstrate decency. Next ADP's size to be lower by Tk 35,000 crore from the current allocation Talking about women’s rights, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union Michael Miller on Monday said equality between men and women is the core value in Europe and it is a core universal value. He said the work of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission should be examined extremely carefully and they support all efforts that ensure equality between men and women. “The report and the recommendations of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission are extremely important. We consider equality between men and women as core value of the EU,” said Ambassador Miller. He said the recommendations of the Commission should be looked at “extremely carefully and closely” by political parties because they would like to see those recommendations translated into actions. “We will contribute towards greater equality.”

A Dhaka court on Tuesday imposed travel bans on three people, including Jahangir Hossain, close aide of former chief of Detective Branch Harun-or-Rashid. Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib passed the order after hearing separate petitions filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The two others were identified as former chairman of Tanore upazila Lutfur Haidar Rashid and former Chairman of Godagari upazila Jahangir Alam of Rajshahi district. Deputy Director of ACC Joynal Abedin, deputy assistant director Minu Akter Sumi filed separate petitions seeking travel ban of Jahangir Hossain, Lutfur Haider and Jahangir Alam. Ex-MP, 8 AL leaders held in Dhaka According to the petition, Harun and his family members and close associates accumulated wealth worth Tk several crore through irregularities. During ACC investigations, the court ordered to confiscate the property of Jahangir. He recently tried to leave the country along with his family. Besides, the two former chairmen of Tanore and Godagari upazilas were also found accumulating wealth beyond known sources of income through drug business, criminal activities and extortion.

The Council of Advisers in a meeting on Tuesday approved the draft of the Cyber Surokkha Adhyadesh-2025 (Cyber Protection Ordinance-2025)’, abolishing a number of provisions of the Cyber Security Act-2023 as the interim government promised to revoke the Act. One of the provisions abolished while drafting the new ordinance is “punishment for carrying out any hateful, misleading and defamatory propaganda against the Liberation War, spirit of the Liberation War, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman, national anthem or national flag” as many cases were filed using this provision in the past to “harass” people. Following vetting by the Ministry of Law, the ordinance is expected to be officially announced within a week to enforce. Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul briefed reporters at the Foreign Service Academy about the decisions taken at the meeting of the Council of Advisers with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in the chair. Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud and Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam also spoke at the briefing. The Law Adviser said the Council of Advisers also approved the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 and an ordinance related to the demarcation of electoral areas. Asif Nazrul said a total of nine provisions have been abolished under 95 percent of the cases that were usually filled in the past. Once the ordinance comes into effect on completion of due process, the cases filed under these nine provisions will automatically be revoked, he said. "When we first took office, we pledged to repeal the previous Cyber Security Act and replace it with a modern law," said the Law Adviser. FIPA key to boosting Canadian investor confidence: Canada’s Indo-Pacific envoy He said both the Ministry of Information Technology and the Ministry of Law consulted extensively in drafting the new ordinance. "As far as I know, there has never been this level of consultation on a law in Bangladesh in the past." Nazrul said the draft was revised 25 times and the final version shaped during a three-hour meeting with some of the law’s most prominent critics, including civil society representatives. The draft was presented at the Council of Advisers' meeting on Tuesday, where a minor amendment was suggested, he mentioned. In the proposed ordinance, for the first time, the Internet has been recognized as a civil right and online gambling has been banned while women and child abuse and sexual harassment in cyberspace have been recognised as punishable crimes, he said. Besides, some articles have been changed except for the crime of expressing an opinion. Crimes such as online abuse and sexual harassment of women and children have been clearly defined and made punishable. The ordinance now retains only two categories of punishable speech-related offenses - publishing sexually abusive content targeting women and children and spreading content that involves threats, incites religious hatred, or provokes violence. These offences have been clearly defined to prevent misuse and ensure that individuals are not harassed under vague provisions. Cross-border assistance works only when individuals are safe on both sides: EU Bangladesh becomes the first country in South Asia to criminalise offences committed using artificial intelligence, said the Law Adviser. Safeguards have been introduced to prevent abuse of this provision. For instance, he said, if a magistrate finds no merit in such a case within 24 hours, it can be dismissed at the pre-trial stage without waiting for a charge sheet.

Detectives have arrested nine leaders of Awami League and its associate bodies including a former Member of Parliament (MP) from Bagerhat-4 constituency in a drive in the capital. The arrestees are Amirul Alam Milon,70, Central Committee Member of Awami League and former MP of Bagerhat-4,  Kazi Md. Sarowar Jahan Mithu , Vice-President of Pallabi Thana Jubo League,  Md. Shafiqul Islam Dilu , Former Ward Commissioner of Ward-63, Jatrabari, Mohammad Taj Uddin 35, Vice-President of Shah Ali Thana Awami League,  Ismail Hossain Pradhania  and General Secretary of Ramna Thana Swechchhasebak League, Md. Mokhlesur Rahman (72), Chairman of Chapainawabganj Municipality and Vice-President of the district’s Awami League. Chinmoy Das shown arrested in 4 more cases in Ctg Md. Emran Goldar, Publicity Secretary of Bangshal Thana Awami League, Mohammad Tanvir Ahmed Ontu, Former President of banned Chhatra League’s Ward-62 unit,  and Aritra Nandi, Joint General Secretary of the banned Chhatra League’s Jagannath Hall unit at Dhaka University. Based on secret information, severel DB teams conducted drives in the capital from 6:00am on Monday to 6:00am on  Tuesday and arrested the nine people, said DC (media) of DMP Talebur Rahman.  According to DB sources, Amirul Alam Milon was arrested at 11:45 pm on Monday  from the Indira Road area and others from separate places. DB officials said the arrestees attempted to destabilise the country. Legal proceedings against the arrestees are underway.

Chinmoy Krishna Das, spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote and a former ISKCON leader, has been shown arrested in four more cases. Judge of Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate SM Alauddin passed the order after hearing a petition in this regard, said Assistant Public Prosecutor Md Raihanul Wazed. The lawyer said the investigating officers of the case applied to show Chinmoy Das arrested in four cases, including one for obstructing police from carrying out their duties and attacking lawyers and litigants. Accused Chinmoy joined the hearing virtually from the jail, he said. Security measures were beefed up in and around the court to ward off any unexpected incident. On October 25 last year, a large gathering of the Sanatani community was held in Chattogram under the leadership of Chinmoy Krishna Das. Chinmoy Das secures HC bail in sedition case On October 31, a sedition case was filed against 19 people, including Chinmoy, on charge of belittling the national flag. On November 22, another large rally was held in Rangpur under the leadership of Chinmoy who was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 in the sedition case. A Chattogram court rejected Chinmoy's bail petition, ordered him to be sent to jail and the decision sparked clashes between his followers, law enforcers and lawyers on the court premises. At one stage of the clash, one lawyer, Saiful Islam Alif, was hacked to death outside the court premises. Several cases were filed against Chinmoy and others following the murder of the lawyer. 63 lawyers get bail in case filed over Chinmoy issue On April 30, the High Court granted bail to Chinmoy Das in the sedition case. Later, the Appellate Division cancelled the bail.