United News of Bangladesh

The administration set the price of loose edible oil at different levels in Chattogram from importers to retail sellers in a decision at a special task force meeting on Tuesday. As per the decision, importers will sell loose soybean oil at Tk 153 per litre, traders at Tk 155, and retailers at a maximum of Tk 160 per litre. This pricing will be effective from Tuesday until April 10. The meeting held at the Chattogram Circuit house, aimed to stabilise the prices of essential commodities during Ramadan. The special task force committee warned that strict action will be taken against any seller who charges more than the fixed price. Business representatives present at the meeting agreed to the set pricing. Consumers suffer as soybean oil crisis still persists in Dhaka Chattogram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Farida Khanam presided over the meeting, while Chattogram City Mayor Shahadat Hossain attended as the chief guest. Farida Khanam said, “There is currently a shortage of edible oil in the market. To resolve this, discussions have been held with all stakeholders. According to the decision, retailers cannot sell loose soybean oil for more than Tk 160 per litre, although they may sell at a lower price if they wish. However, no one is allowed to charge above the fixed price. Any trader violating this decision, whether in wholesale or retail, will face legal action through the special task force committee, she added. Speaking at the meeting, Mayor Shahadat Hossain mentioned some other Muslim countries where governments provide subsidies on essential commodities during Ramadan to ensure affordability. He said that a handful of unscrupulous traders cause sudden price hikes in Bangladesh and due to these dishonest practices, essential commodity prices surge ahead of Ramadan. “Therefore, a fixed price has been set for edible oil, and any violation will result in strict legal action. Besides the district administration, Chattogram City Corporation will also monitor the market,” he added. Earlier on Monday, Mayor Shahadat Hossain and DC Farida Khanam visited Khatunganj, the country’s largest wholesale market, following reports of a supply crisis of bottled soybean oil. During the visit, they found evidence of an artificial shortage of edible oil, prompting a meeting with producers, importers, and wholesalers to address the issue.

An amount of Tk 8.10 lakh was robbed after breaking open a vault of an agent bank under Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) PLC in Mehepur’s Gangni upazila on Monday night. Police said the robbers cut open window grills of the bank and robbed the amount some time on Monday night. The bank is situated on the third floor of Nazrul Tower near Bamandi Bus Stand. Agent bank manager Hamidur Rahman Kajal said they kept Tk 8.10 lakh in the vault after completing work on Monday afternoon. 2 more arrested in case over rape and robbery on a moving bus in Rajshahi At 9am on Tuesday, he said, they found the window grills cut, the vault broken and the money missing. The robbers also took away the DVR of the CCTV camera, he added. Meanwhile, additional superintendent of police Abdul Karim and others inspected the scene. He said they collected samples from the agent bank which lacked security measures.

The joint forces detained 20 people and recovered some 150 sharp weapons during a raid in a remote char of Raipura upazila in Narsingdi on Monday. According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) media release on Tuesday, the operation was conducted by a joint team comprising the Army, Air Force, Rapid Action Battalion, police and local administration, following a tip-off about the presence of miscreants in the area. 2 bodies recovered from rooftop of a Mohammadpur house: ISPR During the drive, 20 listed criminals or suspects were apprehended, while three mobile phones and around 150 weapons were seized, the release added. It said that operations against terrorists will continue nationwide, urging people to report any suspicious activities to the nearest army camp.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have detained an Indian national for allegedly trespassing into Bangladesh through Cumilla border. The detainee Shaon Karmakar, 37, is a resident of Kashipur Mission Road in Khayerpur upazila of West Tripura, India, said Lt. Col AM Zahid Parvez, commander of BGB’s Cumilla-10 Battalion. According to the BGB, Shaon was caught late Sunday night inside Bangladesh’s territory, around 20 yards off the border in the Keraninagar area. Two Indian nationals arrested in B’baria During the detention, BGB personnel seized an Indian Aadhaar card, a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, and a State Bank Classic Visa card from him. A case was filed against him at Kotwali Model Police Station and he was handed over to the police for further action, according to the BGB.

The High Court issued a rule on Monday questioning why President’s power to pardon convicted people without any established policy should not be declared unconstitutional. The court also sought explanation as to why a policy regarding the exercise of the President’s power to pardon convicts should not be created. The High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury issued the rule following a preliminary hearing on a public interest petition. Advocate Ishrat Hasan represented the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Mohsin Kabir Roky appeared on behalf of the state. Earlier, the Judiciary Reform Commission had recommended limiting the President’s unilateral power to pardon convicted criminals by establishing a board to oversee such decisions. On January 5, the commission submitted a report with these recommendations to the Chief Adviser. On January 20, a writ petition was filed in the High Court challenging the legality of the president’s power to grant pardons without any policy in place. Adv Ishrat, who filed the writ, sought the formulation of a policy to guide the use of the president’s pardon power. Ishrat argued that the president's power to pardon had been repeatedly misused, particularly during the previous government when convicted murderers were pardoned. Cabinet secretary, law secretary, home secretary, parliament secretary, and secretary of the president’s Office were made respondents in the writ petition.  

The Appellate Division on Monday upheld the High Court order that acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia scrapping her seven-year jail term in Zia Charitable Trust graft case. A three-member tribunal led by Senior Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam passed the order. Earlier on February 23, the prosecution and the Anti-Corruption Commission submitted separate petitions challenging the acquittal of Khaleda Zia in the case. Zia Charitable case: SC defers appeal hearing to Monday Then the court set  March 2 for hearing and on Sunday the date was deferred to March 3. On November 27 last, the High Court acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and two others in the Zia Charitable Trust case. The HC also scrapped the lower verdict that sentenced Khaleda and two others in the same case. Two others who got acquittal were Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary to Harris Chowdhury, ex-political secretary of then prime minister Khaleda Zia, and Monirul Islam Khan, APS to former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka. On November 20, the hearing on the appeal petition filed challenging the judgement in the case started while permission was given on November 3 for preparing the paper book of the case. On October 29, 2018, Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special Court-5 sentenced BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and three others to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment each in the much-talked-about Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. The court also fined them Tk 10 lakh each, in default, to suffer six months more in jail. Khaleda Zia, 7 others acquitted in Niko graft case On August 8, 2011, the ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon Police Station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources. In 2012, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted chargesheet against them. 

The Appellate Division  on Sunday fixed May 8  for hearing on four separate review petitions challenging its 2011 verdict that abolished the non-party caretaker government system. A three-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Senior Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam fixed the date. Additional Attorney General Anik R Haque represented the state while Senior lawyer Ruhul Quddus Kajol and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir appeared for  BNP and Jamaat respectively. BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, five citizens and Md Mofazzal Hossain, a freedom fighter from Naogaon, lodged the four review petitions with the Appellate Division last year to turn down its 2011 verdict that scrapped the caretaker government system. In 1996, the caretaker government system was introduced to the Constitution through 13th amendment. HC cancels appointment process of 6, 531 primary teachers In 1998, Supreme Court lawyer M. Salimullah and others filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the validity of this amendment. Following the initial hearing, the High Court issued a rule, and after the final hearing, a special bench delivered a verdict on August 4, 2004, declaring the 13th Amendment constitutional. A direct appeal was allowed against this verdict. Subsequently, the petitioners filed an appeal in 2005. The Appellate Division accepted the appeal and announced its verdict on May 10, 2011. After the verdict, the Fifteenth Amendment Act, which included provisions for abolishing the caretaker government system, was passed by the National Parliament on June 30, 2011. The gazette notification for this was published on July 3, 2011.

A leader and an activist of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Islamic University (IU) unit were detained by students when they attended their final semester exams on the campus in Kushtia on Sunday. They were identified as IU BCL unit sub-hospitality affairs secretary Majaharul Islam Nayeem and BCL activist Maruf Ahmed. Both are students of the Social Welfare department under the 2019-20 academic sessions of the university. Witnesses said some students gathered in front of the department and started chanting slogans when Majaharul and Maruf were appearing for their examination without notifying the department. Zia Charitable case: SC defers appeal hearing to Monday The university administration, along with the students of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, escorted them out of the exam hall and handed them over to the police. SM Sweet, IU unit convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said, "No leniency will be shown towards the accomplices of tyranny and fascism. Those who shelter such accomplices will also not be spared." Social Welfare department chairperson Assistant Professor Asma Sadia Runa said that the students attempted to sit for the exam without informing the department. 300 rounds of Chinese rifle bullets recovered from Dhaka’s Pallabi Being informed, a team from the IU proctorial body rushed to the spot and handed them over to the police, said IU proctor Professor Dr. Shahinuzzaman. Mehedi Hasan, officer-in-charge of IU Police Station, said a case was filed against them at the police station in connection with the incident.  

The Appellate Division on Sunday deferred to Monday the hearing on two petitions filed challenging the High Court verdict that acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and two others in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case. A three-member tribunal led by Senior Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam fixed the date upon an appeal submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Lawyer Asif Hossain represented the state in the court while Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal, advocate Aminul Islam, and Jakir Hossain stood for the BNP chairperson. Earlier on February 23, the prosecution and the ACC submitted separate petitions challenging the acquittal of Khaleda Zia in the case. Then the court set  March 2 for hearing. Zia Orphanage Trust Case: SC starts hearing Khaleda’s appeal On November 27 last, the High Court acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and two others in the Zia Charitable Trust case. The HC also scrapped the lower verdict that sentenced Khaleda and two others in the same case Two others who got acquittal were Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary to Harris Chowdhury, ex-political secretary of then prime minister Khaleda Zia, and Monirul Islam Khan, APS to former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka. On November 20, the hearing on the appeal petition filed challenging the punishment in the case started while permission was given on November 3 for preparing the paper book of the case. On October 29, 2018, Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special Court-5 sentenced BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and three others to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment each in the much-talked-about Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. The court also fined them Tk 10 lakh each, in default, to suffer six months more in jail. On August 8, 2011, the ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon Police Station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources. Khaleda Zia acquitted in Zia Charitable Trust case In 2012, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted chargesheet against them. 

Police have recovered 300 rounds of Chinese rifle ammunition abandoned in Dhaka's Pallabi area. The bullets were found at 11:15 pm on Friday in an under-construction building on Baunia Beribadh Road, according to Pallabi Police Station on Saturday. Tk 5cr worth of goods robbed from factory in Savar Acting on a tip-off, authorities discovered the large number of bullets abandoned on a sand pile near a tin fence, next to a 14-storey building on Baunia Beribadh Road in Mirpur-11 E-Block. Legal actions were underway in connection with the incident.