Law-&-Order
Defaming PM: Chamber Judge stays bail to Rajbari Mahila Dal leader
The Appellate Division on Wednesday stayed the bail the High Court granted to Sonia Akter Smrity, a Mahila Dal leader of Rajbari, in a case filed over posting ‘offensive’ content on facebook against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division M Enayetur Rahim passed the order after hearing the plea of the state side.
The court stayed the bail order till November 7.
The court also said that the hearing on the state’s plea will be on top of the cause list of the Appellate Division.
Senior lawyer AJ Muhammad Ali and Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared for the petition in the court while Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed for the state.
On Tuesday, the High Court granted interim bail to Smrity in the case.
Smrity, wife of Md Khokon Mia of No 3 Beradanga area of Rajbari Sadar, is a member of Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal’s Rajbari district unit and founder president of Rajbari blood donors club.
Police arrested Smrity on October 4 in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) for posting offensive status on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Facebook .
Arefin Chowdhury, member secretary of Rajbari district Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, lodged an FIR against her.
On October 5, Judge Kaisun Nahar Surma of Rajbari No 1 Judicial Magistrate Court rejected Smrity’s bail plea and ordered to send her to jail.
Read more: HC summons 3 Khulna lawyers to face contempt charges
On October 26, Rajbari Sessions Judge Court also denied bail to Smrity which prompted her to seek bail from the HC.
In her bail plea, Smrity requested the HC to consider her as a woman and a mother of two children.
According to the FIR, the accused BNP activist made insulting remarks about PM Sheikh Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, from her personal Facebook account in two separate statuses on August 31 and September 28.
Read more: HC suspends Bangladesh Bank Assistant Director recruitment exam for a month
“In the statuses Sriti wrote Sheikh Hasina threw abusive words to their leader Khaleda Zia, also prime minister of three times, while delivering speech,” according to the FIR.
“No sound word comes out of her (premier) mouth,” it said Sriti wrote in the posts.
9 ‘robbers’ arrested in Gazipur
Police in a drive arrested 9 suspected robbers from Gazipur's Tongi area on Tuesday night.
The arrestees are Shafiqul Islam Babu,19, Abdur Rahman Ashiq,18, Tauhid,28, Shorov,19, Alamin,25, Iman,21, Arif,19, Yasin,19 and Shakil,19. They hail from different areas in Tongi.
Tipped-off, a team of police conducted a drive from Tongir Station Road to Abdullahpur Bridge area and arrested the nine robbers along with sharp weapons including knives, said Ashraful Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Tongi East Police Station.
Read: 2 more held over Thakurgaon Matsyajibi League leader murder
During preliminary interrogation, the arrestees admitted that they are active members of an organised robbers’ gang. They have been involved in looting valuables from bus passengers and pedestrians in Tongi Bazar and Dhaka-Mymensingh highway for a long time, he added.
A case was filed in this regard, added the OC.
2 more held over Thakurgaon Matsyajibi League leader murder
Detectives arrested two more accused from Dinajpur's Phulbari upazila on Monday night in a case filed over the killing of a Matsyajibi League leader in Thakurgaon.
The arrestees are--Manik Ali, 28 and Kubbat Hossain, 25, of Haldibari Bazar area of Bhanor Union of Thakurgaon's Baliadangi Upazila.
They were sent to jail on Tuesday, said sub-inspector Sultan Ali, investigating officer of the case.
Read: Khoksha upazila Chattra League president’s brother sustains bullet injuries over By-election to UP
With these, police have arrested 8 people so far in this connection, he added.
Police made the arrest after conducting a drive in the area, said the officer.
On September 3, a clash broke out between UP Chairman Rafiqul Islam and Jubo League leader Sayed Alam at Haldibari Bazar of Bhanor Union of Baliadangi Upazila over derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Sayed Alam's brother Shakil Ahmed died during the clash.
Read: 8 get life term for killing schoolboy in city
Later, a murder case was filed at Baliadangi police station following a complaint lodged by victim's brother Sayed Alam accusing 20 people including UP Chairman Rafiqul Islam.
Khoksha upazila Chattra League president’s brother sustains bullet injuries over By-election to UP
The younger brother of Kushtia’s Khoksha upazila Chattra League president sustained bullet injuries in an attack by unknown assailants over a child-like election to a union parishad at the upazila on Tuesday night.
The injured is Abdul Awal Kanak Khan, 25, younger brother of the upazila unit Chattra League President Shimul Ahmed Khan and son of Bakkar Khan of Malishia village under Joyantihazara union in the upazila.
Read: College student killed in city clash
Kanak sustained the bullet in his neck on his way to home at his village around 9pm leaving him critically injured.
He was rushed to Kushtia General Hospital where he was undergoing treatment.
Locals said a heated environment had been prevailing in the upazila over a By-election to a union parish between supporters of the AL-nominated candidate and rival individual for the past few days.
President Shimul in a Facebook post from his personal account alleged that local lawmaker Barrister Selim Altaf George and the upazila unit AL President Babul Akter were behind the attack.
Read more: Rohingya man killed in Teknaf ‘gunfight’
The lawmaker, however, denying the allegation claimed that he had no involvement with the attack and condemned it.
Read: Motorcyclist killed in Rajshahi road crash
Syed Ashiqur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Khoksha police station, said though electoral campaign got stopped, infighting among supporters of the candidates were going on.
An effort is on to nab the miscreants in this connection, he said.
HC summons 3 Khulna lawyers to face contempt charges
The High Court on Tuesday summoned three lawyers, including the president of the Khulna District Bar Association, to appear before it on November 22 and face charges amounting to contempt of court, in relation to their alleged misconduct with a judge.
An HC bench of Justice J. B. M. Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil passed the order, with the contempt attached to a suo moto rule following a hearing in this regard.
The rule questioned why any punitive action taken against the trio, stemming from their own actions, wouldn’t be illegal.
Those summoned were the bar’s president for Khulna district Saiful Islam, and KDBA members Sheikh Nazmul Hossain and Sheikh Ashraf Ali Pappu.
Attorney AM Amin Uddin and Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy stood for the state in the hearing.
The state lawyers said the HC asked the accused lawyers to appear before it in person on November 22 and explain their actions in view of the contempt rule.
Read more: High Court asks why DMP authority to ban rallies not illegal
According to the file of Registrar General, on September 22 lawyer Pappu, who stood for a plaintiff in a case in Khulna, left the court of Khulna’s former Land Survey Tribunal Judge Nirmalendu Das, who is now an additional district judge of Chapainawabganj district, saying the bar president would interrogate the case after the court fixed a date for delivering the judgment.
Though Pappu orally placed a petition seeking time for hearing the case, the court rejected it.
Later, the three accused lawyers, along with others, entered the court again and created chaos while the judge was hearing another case.
Saiful, the senior among them, asked the judge with a rude attitude why he rejected the time petition sought for the hearing of the case and threw him some other questions.
Remarkably, the judge continued to engage with the trio and said: “You (the bar president) applied for time but I rejected it. You see the reason behind the rejection in the order. It is unacceptable that you seek the reason in this manner."
If you're thinking that was the worst of it, think again.
“We don’t want any answers from you, knowing you deliver illegal judgments for money and bribe. We will boycott the court and prove before the media that you are corrupted,” the lawyers shot back.
Read more: High court’s directive sought to ban export of Hilsa to India
Later, the judge sent a written letter to the chief justice mentioning the issue on the same day. The registrar general of the HC submitted it before the chief judge.
The HC bench on Tuesday passed the order on a suo moto rule, after the chief justice formed a bench headed by Justice J. B. M. Hassan to hear the issue on October 25.
Shuffling the reshuffle: Now EC secretary moved to I & B
Election Commission Secretary Md Humayun Kabir Khandaker has been made the new secretary of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, cancelling Secretary of Industries Ministry Zakia Sultana’s transfer to this ministry.
The Public Administration Ministry issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday.
According to a gazette notification issued on October 27, Secretary of Industries Ministry Zakia Sultana was transferred to the Information Ministry while EC secretary Md Humayun Kabir Khandaker was transferred to the Ministry of Industries.
Read more:Major administrative reshuffle in EC, Information Ministry
On October 16, former Information and Broadcasting Secretary Mokbul Hossain was sent to retirement in “public interest”, one year before his scheduled retirement.
Meanwhile, chief executive officer (secretary) of Public Private Partnership Authority Muhammad Ibrahim has been transferred to the local government and engineering division (LGRD) as secretary, as of today’s notification.
Technical and Madrasa Education Board Secretary Md Kamal Hossain was earlier transferred to the LGRD as secretary, as of October 31 notification.
Read more:Never met Tarique Rahman, says Info Secretary sent on early retirement
The government promoted Kamal Hossain to the rank of senior secretary at Technical and Madrasa Education Board Secretary, canceling the previous transfer.
Besides, director general of Islamic Foundation (Additional Secretary) Md Mushfiqur Rahman has been promoted to the rank of secretary at Public Private Partnership Authority as the chief executive officer (secretary), reads a separate notification issued today (Tuesday).
Home Minister to DRU: 'Media is completely independent now'
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Tuesday said the mass media is currently working completely independently as there is no control exercised over the media.
The Home Minister came up with the remark while addressing a function on DRU Best Reporting Award-2022 at Nasrul Hamid Auditorium of Segunbagicha in the city organised by Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on Tuesday afternoon.
In his speech, the Home Minister said that as the number of daily newspapers has increased, the number of electronic media has also increased. Earlier, when writing news, there were various types of censorships, but now there is no such thing, he said.
"There is no control over the mass media. They are currently working completely independently," the Home Minister said.
The minister said that there are roaming journalists everywhere. "When something is happening, it is coming out through them immediately," he added.
"It is a challenging world, in which you are earning reputation. Today, those who excelled are being honoured. Thank you to all who have been awarded," Khan said.
The Home Minister called upon the journalists to contribute more, and to write "positive news" equally.
"You will work to advance the country," he added.
Read more: Militancy has no place in Bangladesh: Home Minister
The awards were given to 11 winners for 10 prizes in four categories based on the marks received from the jury board members.
Later, the invited guests along with the minister handed over the prizes to the winners. Rajeev Noor (Samakal) won the award in the liberation war category. He received this award for his series reporting on Etihaser Chhera Pata.
Abu Zar Anshar Uddin Ahmed of Samakal won the first prize in the print media category, Md Ismail Ali of the Daily Share Biz got second prize, while Jameel Khan of Daily Star and Obaidullah Roni of Samakal jointly got the third prize in this category.
Read more: Warned Myanmar against firing shots towards Bangladesh, says Home Minister
Abu Zar Anshar Uddin Ahmed of Samakal won the first prize in the print media category, Md Ismail Ali of the Daily Share Biz got second prize, while Jameel Khan of Daily Star and Obaidullah Roni of Samakal jointly got the third prize in this category.
Among others, Somoy TV web editor Mahfuzur Rahman, publisher of Dainik Bangla Chowdhury Nafiz Sarafat, DRU President Nazrul Islam Mithu and general secretary Nurul Islam Hasib were also present.
8 get life term for killing schoolboy in city
A Dhaka court on Tuesday sentenced eight people to life imprisonment for killing a schoolboy in the city’s Pallabi in 2014.
The convicts are Md Faisal, Md Ashiq, Md Russel, Md Oli, Saddam, Rabbi, Imran and Rashid.
Dhaka 7th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Tehsin Iftekhar delivered the judgment.
According to the case, Mehedi Hasan was called out of his residence by the convicts in Pallabi area on September 30, in 2014.
Later, he was found unconscious in a neighbouring building and was sent to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Read more: Four get life term in Barishal for killing youth
Mehedi’s father Mosharraf Hossain filed an FIR with Pallabi police station on the following day, alleging that the convicts killed his son as he obstructed drug peddling in the area.
On June 12 in 2017, a chargesheet was submitted against the convicts. The court framed charges and started the trial in the case on April 1 in 2019.
DU student allegedly harasses Brac University student on campus
A Dhaka University student and activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League allegedly slapped and harassed a girl, who is a law student of Brac University, on the campus during the early hours on Tuesday.
But the DU student contradicted and accused the girl of assaulting him.
The incident took place at 3:30 am in front of Raju Memorial Sculpture on the DU campus.
The girl was on the campus with two of her male friends when the incident took place.
Read more: DU student found dead at Jagannath Hall
Najmul Islam, a residential student of Masterda Surja Sen Hall and postgraduate student of Institute of Social Welfare and Research of Dhaka University, said the girl was filming floating people who were asleep on footpath.
Najmul said that he stopped along with a friend as he was returning on a bike to the university dormitory when he saw the girl and her friends.
He said he asked why the girl and her friends were filming the floating people without their permission.
An altercation broke out, prompting the girl to slap Najmul, he said. Najmul also retaliated and slapped the girl back.
In a video posted online it was seen that the girl using abusive words and slapping the boy.
According to an audio recorded by a witness some details have come out.
"After my birthday celebration, I was standing in front of the sculpture with my friends and taking pictures. At that time two boys stopped their bike and started questioning us using bad words against me. They teased me and slapped me when I protested," the girl was heard in the audio.
Najmul told UNB that the girl also used abusive words when he questioned their presence on the campus during early hours on Tuesday.
He said they were filming the people who were asleep on the footpaths and attires of the floating people were not in order.
Read more: Prime accused among 4 held over mugging of DU student after abduction
"When I asked why the girl was taking pictures of the people without their consent, she said her father has the ability to buy the entire DU campus multiple times," he added.
"When I took my mobile phone to record her abusive words, she again insulted me,” he said.
"At one point she slapped me, and I slapped her in return,” he said.
The girl filed a complaint with the Proctor’s office on Tuesday.
DU Proctor AKM Golam Rabbani told UNB that they were investigating the incident.
“The complainant girl is not our student, so we have advised her take legal steps,” he said.
Arrest warrants issued for Tarique and Zubaida Rahman in corruption case
A Dhaka court today issued arrest warrants for BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Asaduzzaman court passed the order after taking the charge sheet against them into cognisance.
The court also directed the officer-in-charge (OC) of Cantonment police station to submit a progress report regarding the arrest warrant on January 5 next year.
Read more: Graft case against Tarique, Zubaida: HC asks trial court to dispose of case soon
On June 26, High court ordered the judicial court to dispose of the case as soon as possible.
The HC also rejected the couple’s writ petitions, challenging the corruption case against them for acquiring wealth beyond their known sources of income and concealing information in their affidavits.
As both of them remain fugitive, the court rejected the writ petitions – saying these are not acceptable.
The court also withdrew the stay order on the trial proceedings of the case filed against them.
Read more: Verdict on Tarique-Zubaida’s whereabouts on June 26
On September 26, 2007, ACC lodged a complaint with Kafrul police against Tarique Rahman, Zubaida and her mother Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 4.81 crore and concealing the information.
In the same year, the High Court issued a rule suspending the trial proceedings in the case after hearing a petition filed by Zubaida.
The HC rejected the rule in 2017 and asked her to surrender before the court within eight weeks.