United News of Bangladesh

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have seized 6.72 lakh Yaba tablets in a special operation in the Ukhiya border area of Cox's Bazar. Acting on a tip-off, a joint patrol team from Balukhali and Palongkhali Border Outposts under Ukhiya Battalion (64 BGB) took position in the Anjumanpara and Faisakhali areas around 9:10pm on Wednesday. Around 9:30pm, the BGB members, using a thermal imaging device, spotted 7-8 suspected individuals entering Bangladesh from Myanmar. When the patrol team challenged them, the suspects dropped five sacks they were carrying and fled towards a nearby village. The BGB members later searched the area and recovered the five abandoned sacks. A total of 6.72 lakh Yaba tablets were found inside the sacks, packed in blue airtight packets and khaki-coloured packages. BGB members later conducted further operations in the area to catch the suspects but could not arrest them. Lt Col Md Zahirul Islam, commanding officer of Ukhiya Battalion, said intelligence surveillance and operations have been strengthened to identify and bring to justice those involved in supplying and smuggling the seized Yaba.

A court in Cumilla on Wednesday sentenced two members of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment in an explosives case. It also sentenced a woman, Khaleda Akhter Rani, to eight years' rigorous imprisonment in the same case. Judge Khairunnesa of the Additional District and Sessions’ Judge (Special Tribunal-6) Court of Cumilla delivered the verdict. The two men sentenced to 20 years in prison are Md Mostafizur Rahman alias Mintu, son of Aynal Haque alias Ruhul Quddus Master of Kalmidanga village in Sapahar upazila of Naogaon, and Mohammad Durul Huda alias Hasan, son of Md Ali Hossain of Chakpara area in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur. According to the prosecution, police raided a house in the Bishnupur area of Cumilla city on March 13, 2006, based on information provided by then JMB chief Shaykh Abdur Rahman while he was on remand. A large quantity of explosives were recovered from the house, and the accused were arrested. During the trial, the court recorded statements of 13 witnesses. After examining the evidence, the court convicted the three accused and handed down the sentences.

A tribunal in Narail on Wednesday convicted a man and sentenced him to death for the rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl.  Narail Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Sheikh Samidul Islam handed down the verdict and sentence, within just 29 days of the incident occurring.  The condemned convict is Rabiul Shikder Roby, 35, son of Atier Shikdar of Ramchandrapur village. The tribunal also fined him Tk 3 lakh. According to the prosecution, Rabiul, a mason by profession, took Jannatul Mawa, 5, to his house on July 20 and took her life after violating her. Locals arrested Rabiul from Dattapara and handed him over to police that same day. Later, the father of the victim filed a case with Sadar Police Station. On July 22, a court placed Rabiul on a two-day remand in the case. Later, he gave a confessional statement before the court under section 164. On August 4, Ajoy Kumar Kundu, Inspector (Investigation) of Sadar Police Station, submitted the chargesheet against Rabiul.  

Former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque was released on bail from jail on Wednesday afternoon after spending more than a year in prison. Khairul Haque walked out of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj around 4:15pm, said his lawyer Motahar Hossain Saju. Khairul Haque served as chief justice from September 30, 2010 to May 17, 2011. Ex-chief justice Khairul Haque gets HC bail in 2 cases; ‘no bar to release’ The Appellate Division bench headed by him delivered in a verdict on May 10, 2011, scrapped the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that had introduced the caretaker government system. Police arrested Khairul Haque from his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka on July 24 last year. He was later shown arrested in a case filed over the killing of Jubo Dal activist Abdul Qayyum Ahad in Jatrabari during the July 2024 mass uprising. He faces nine cases in total. He has now secured bail in all of them.

Former minister Dr Dipu Moni has been granted 12-hour parole on humanitarian grounds following the death of her husband Tawfique Nawaz, who died on Tuesday night. Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Syeda Nurmahal Ashrafi approved her parole on Wednesday afternoon following an application, said her lawyer Advocate Gazi Faisal Islam. Dipu Moni returns to Munshiganj jail after brief hospitalisation Dipu Moni will remain on parole from 6:00am to 6:00pm on Thursday and will be allowed to see her husband’s body and attend his funeral, he said. “We had sought four days’ parole, but the authorities approved 12 hours,” Faisal said. Tawfique Nawaz breathed his last at a Dhaka hospital on Tuesday night at the age of 79. According to the family decision, his body will be taken to his residence at Kalabagan in the capital on Thursday morning, where Dipu Moni will see him for the last time. The body will then be taken to Gulshan Azad Mosque, where his namaz-e-janaza will be held after Zohr prayers. He will subsequently be buried at Banani Graveyard.

A court has sent four people to jail after police arrested them in connection with the murder of Sushil Gir alias Shiyal Gir, 60, in Kishoreganj upazila of Nilphamari. The arrestees are Babita Rani Roy, 42, wife of Shyamal Chandra Roy; Shyamal Chandra Roy, 45; his son Akash Chandra Roy, 22; and Bikas alias Anwar Gir, 45. They were sent to Nilphamari District Jail on Wednesday. Police said Sushil Gir died at Rangpur Medical College Hospital on Aug 16 while undergoing treatment for serious injuries sustained in an attack allegedly by members of a rival group. A murder case was filed with Kishoreganj Police Station on the same day. The accused subsequently went into hiding. Police arrested Bikas from Nilphamari on Tuesday and, based on information provided by him and through information technology, arrested the other three from Gazipur during the night. They were brought to Kishoreganj Police Station on Wednesday morning and later sent to jail. Kishoreganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abdur Gafur said the four had been absconding since the killing and were arrested based on confidential information and technological assistance.

A total of 449 cases were filed in 24 hours for traffic law violations on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cameras. Mohammad Shahinur Alam, Superintendent of Cumilla Highway Police said Tk 15.51 lakh fine was imposed during this period. AI-powered cameras are being used to detect various traffic violations, including speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road and illegal parking, he said. Cases are being initiated and fines imposed automatically based on violations detected by the cameras, he added. Expanding the use of AI cameras on the highway would help reduce the tendency to violate traffic laws and strengthen road safety and discipline, said SP Shahinur. “The impact has already started to become visible,” he said. The AI camera system began operating on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway at 11am on Tuesday. A total of 1,427 cameras have been installed along a 250-kilometre stretch of the highway as part of the initiative.

The Prisons Department is shifting its focus from punishment to correction and rehabilitation of inmates, with initiatives being taken to equip prisoners with skills, create work opportunities and help them reconnect with their families, Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Syed Md Motahar Hossain said on Tuesday. “Prisons should not be seen merely as places of punishment. We are putting greater emphasis on correction and rehabilitation,” he said at a press conference at the Prisons Department headquarters in Old Dhaka. As part of the initiative, prisoners are receiving training in 39 different trades to help them develop skills and prepare for life after release. Steps have also been taken to bring the training programmes under formal certification. The IG Prisons said the department has also taken initiatives to create opportunities for inmates interested in education to sit for SSC and HSC examinations. The authorities have contacted the Ministry of Education in this regard and are considering using a prison as a study centre. He said a soap-making factory has already been launched at Kashimpur Prison to make inmates productive and provide them with an opportunity to earn. Prisoners are producing soap at the facility, which is later distributed among inmates in different prisons for their use. This is also helping the government reduce expenditure on purchasing soap from outside, he said. The prisoners involved in soap production will be able to earn around Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000 a month. After meeting their own expenses, they will be able to send part of their earnings to their families. The IG Prisons said there is significant interest among inmates in such work, with around 20,000 prisoners having applied for the opportunities, far exceeding the number of available positions. He said the income-generating activities would provide some financial support to prisoners' families while helping inmates develop productive skills. Motahar Hossain said the initiatives introduced over the past two years are part of a broader, long-term programme to reform and modernise the prison system. The Prisons Department is working to make prisons more modern, secure, technology-driven and humane, he said. Among the initiatives are producing biofuel and biofertiliser from food waste, introducing cashless prisons and biometric systems, online meetings, AI-based CCTV surveillance, digital attendance, virtual courts and various work-oriented programmes for inmates.

A woman was sentenced to death and fined Tk 50,000 on Tuesday in a case filed over the killing of her husband in Bhola. Judge Md Enayet Ullah of the Bhola Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court handed down the verdict in the afternoon. According to the prosecution, Farhad Hossain Titu, 40, was called to the house of his second wife, Nurunnahar Begum, on the night of October 23, 2021. His bloodied body was recovered from the house in Alinagar Union of Bhola Sadar upazila the following morning. The body bore injuries caused by a sharp weapon. Following the incident, the deceased's first wife, Mahmuda Begum, filed a murder case against six people, including Nurunnahar, with the court. However, after investigating the case, police said in their report that they found no evidence of involvement in the murder against the other five accused. Nurunnahar remained in jail for a long time during the trial and was later released on bail. On the final day of the hearing, the court ordered her to be sent back to jail after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence lawyers. She has remained in jail since then. State lawyer Advocate Alhaj Habibur Rahman Bachchu said both the prosecution and the plaintiff were satisfied with the verdict.

Police arrested three people on Tuesday in connection with the alleged gang rape of a speech-impaired woman in Chhagalnaiya upazila of Feni. One of the arrestees was identified as Shakib, 18, of Uttar Choygharia village in the upazila. The identities of the remaining two suspects were withheld as they are minors. All three are reportedly battery-run easy-bike drivers. According to police and the victim's family, the trio allegedly called the woman to an abandoned house at Choygharia under Subhapur union on Friday noon on the pretext of providing her with financial assistance. They allegedly raped her before leaving her there. The incident came to light later, following which some local influential people arranged village arbitration on Monday night. The accused were reportedly fined Tk 10,000 each, totalling Tk 30,000. The victim's family alleged that an attempt was made to suppress the incident through the informal arbitration without informing police. Local Subhapur Union Parishad Member Moksed Alam said he did not attend the arbitration as there was no scope for settling a serious criminal offence such as gang rape through such a process. “I told the family members of the woman to take legal action,” he said. Later, the victim's husband filed a case at Chhagalnaiya Police Station, said its Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Abu Taher. He said police arrested the three suspects in an early morning raid on Tuesday. The victim was sent to Feni General Hospital for medical examination, the OC said, adding that legal action will be taken against anyone found to have attempted to suppress the incident through arbitration, based on the findings of the investigation.