United News of Bangladesh

A Chattogram court on Thursday sent top criminal of Chattogram Mobarak Hossain Emon alias David Emon and three of his associates to jail in three cases filed at Fatikchhari Police Station. Judge of the Chattogram Senior Judicial Magistrate Court-1 Saima Afrin Hima passed the order when police produced them before the court. David Emon and his associates have been shown arrested in the three cases, said Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury, assistant public prosecutor of the Chattogram Senior Judicial Magistrate Court. Of these, David Emon is an accused in two arms cases. One of the cases was filed in January this year, while the other was filed on Thursday, he added. The third one is a murder case. No lawyer appeared on behalf of David Emon during the court hearing, said Raihanul. The top criminal has not yet been shown arrested in any case filed at police stations under the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP), he said. Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police (SP) of Chattogram Masud Alam said an Indian Aadhaar card was recovered from David Emon at the time of his arrest. At a press conference held at his office in the morning, he said on the advice of listed criminal Sajjad Ali, he had been preparing to flee to India by crossing the border, where people were reportedly waiting to receive him. David Emon decided to leave the country after learning about police operations to arrest him, the SP said. He was allegedly scheduled to cross the border around 6am on Wednesday. However, before that, he was arrested by police in the Jhumjhumpur area of Jashore. Masud said police sought a 10-day remand in the case filed over the arms recovery during the arrest. David Emon was arrested in a joint operation in Jashore early Wednesday.

The High Court on Thursday disposed of 7,565 old criminal miscellaneous cases through its 14 Criminal Motion Benches as part of an ongoing special initiative to reduce the backlog of cases. With this, a total of 43,357 old criminal miscellaneous cases have been disposed of in 10 working days since the special disposal programme was launched, with the initiative being carried out one day each week. The High Court has so far disposed of a total of 50,264 old cases, including both old criminal miscellaneous cases and old writ petitions during the period, according to a press release. The special initiative is being implemented in line with the directives of the Chief Justice to expedite the disposal of long-pending cases in the High Court’s Criminal Motion Benches and Writ Motion Benches. The programme aims to ensure quicker access to justice for litigants, reduce the case backlog and enhance the efficiency of the country's judicial system. The special case disposal drive began on May 7 this year by setting aside a specific day each week for the disposal of long-pending criminal miscellaneous and writ cases.

A Jamalpur court on Wednesday sentenced a father and his two sons to life imprisonment for killing a seven-year-old boy, Suman, in 2011. The convicts are Abul Kashem, 65, and his two sons Mokaddes Ali, 40, and Swapan, 36, residents of Maguriapara village under Sarishabari upazila. Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Nezam Uddin handed down the verdict in the murder case. The court also sentenced each of the convicts to five more years in prison for destroying and concealing evidence of the killing. Additional Public Prosecutor (PP) Mohammad Didarul Islam Didar said that on September 3, 2011, an altercation broke out between the accused and neighbour Shabuja Begum over collecting jackfruit leaves in Maguriapara. At one stage, the accused allegedly assaulted Shabuja Begum. When her brother-in-law Babul Mia tried to stop the fight, he was also beaten. Later, local residents separated the two sides. Soon after the incident, Babul Mia's seven-year-old son Suman went missing. Despite searches in different places, the child could not be found. A general diary was filed with Sarishabari Police Station on September 4. The following morning, Suman's body was recovered from the Jhinai River near Chaparkona Bazar, close to his home. Babul Mia later filed a murder case with Sarishabari Police Station naming five people. After investigation, police submitted a charge sheet against three accused. Based on the testimony of 25 witnesses and other evidence, the court delivered the verdict in the presence of the convicts.

A Dhaka court on Wednesday sentenced a driver to death for killing his employer Afroza Sultana in Dhaka’s Maddhya Badda area in 2022. The condemned convict is Hridoy Bepari alias Hridoy Mia. Judge of Dhaka Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court-3 Moin Uddin Chowdhury handed down the judgment. According to the prosecution, Afroza Sultana was hacked to death at his own house in Maddhya Badda area on March 13, 2022. AL Manjil, brother of Afroza, filed a case with Badda Police Station. After analysing CCTV footage, police arrested Hridoy in this connection. Later he gave a statement confessing to his guilt, said police. He said he was addicted to online gambling and killed Aforza in a bid to loot cash and gold ornaments to pay money he lost in gambling.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Tuesday destroyed drugs worth nearly Tk 84 crore that had been seized in separate anti-smuggling operations along the Cumilla and Satkhira borders. The drugs were destroyed at the headquarters of Cumilla Battalion (10 BGB) and Nildumur Battalion (17 BGB) in Satkhira. Brig Gen Mohammad Saiful Islam Chowdhury, region commander of BGB's Sarail Region, attended the ceremony at Cumilla Battalion as the chief guest. BGB officials said drugs worth Tk 51.84 crore, seized over the past three years by Cumilla Battalion (10 BGB) and Sultanpur Battalion (60 BGB), were destroyed during the event. Meanwhile, Brig Gen Mahmudul Hasan, region commander of the Jashore Region, attended the destruction programme at Nildumur Battalion. According to BGB, goods worth Tk 51.85 crore were seized in anti-smuggling operations carried out in the Shyamnagar, Debhata and Kaliganj border areas of Satkhira between September 7, 2023 and July 11, 2026. Of the seized goods, narcotics worth Tk 31.94 crore were destroyed on Tuesday. BGB said it will continue its anti-drug operations to help keep the country free from narcotics.

Miscreants have reportedly gang-raped a woman after tying her husband up in an orchard of Achura village in Naria upazila of Shariatpur district. Police arrested three people from the village early Tuesday in connection with the incident that took place on Monday night. The arrestees were identified as Md Rabbi, 28, son of Alamgir Bepari, Emon Khandaker, 26, son of Malek Khandaker, of Achura village, and Ali Khandaker, 42, son of Abdul Hye Khandaker of Atipara village of Sadar upazila. Police said accused Hazrat Ali called the victim’s husband to the orchard of Aziz Dhali in the village around 9:30pm over the phone. As soon as he went there, a group of seven people already staying there tied him up and forced him to ask his wife to come to the garden along with money. When the woman went there, the miscreants violated her in turns. When locals approached the orchard after hearing about the incident, the miscreants fled, leaving the couple behind. After receiving a call through the national emergency number 999, police rushed in and rescued them. The woman was later sent to Sadar Hospital for medical examination. Police also conducted a drive in the area in the early hours of Tuesday and arrested the three accused.

Police on Tuesday urged people to remain alert against fraudsters impersonating police and other government officials on social media platforms to extort money and influence official matters. In a statement, Police Headquarters said it has recently received several complaints that fraudsters have been using the names and photographs of senior police officers and other government officials to send messages through social media, seeking money and making various recommendations or requests in the names of those officials. The statement said such fraudulent activities are not only causing financial losses to individuals but also damaging the image and reputation of government institutions and responsible public officials. Police Headquarters cautioned that the use of a government official's photograph on a social media profile does not necessarily mean that the associated mobile number or account belongs to the person concerned. It advised people not to respond to such suspicious messages and to remain cautious about any request for money, personal information or other favours made through social media accounts. Anyone receiving such fraudulent messages has been requested to contact the National Emergency Service by dialling 999 or report the matter to the Cyber Police Centre of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Police Headquarters said Bangladesh Police remains vigilant against such criminal activities and is committed to taking legal action against those involved in fraud and impersonation.

Detectives of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Monday arrested Awami League (now facing ban on its activities) General Secretary of Satkhira district unit Md. Nazrul Islam from the capital's Bashundhara residential area. DMP Additional Commissioner (DB) Shafiqul Islam said Nazrul Islam was arrested from his residence in Bashundhara around 12 pm. He was arrested in connection with multiple cases filed against him. The DB chief also said further legal proceedings against Nazrul are underway.

The prosecution on Monday submitted formal charges against 41 people, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed, over the May 5, 2013 crackdown on Hefazat-e-Islam’s Shapla Chattar rally in Dhaka. Prosecutor Zahirul Amin submitted the charge sheet to the Registrar of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) at around 10:45am. Prosecutor Marjina Raihan accompanied him. A three-member bench of Tribunal-2, headed by Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, is scheduled to hold a hearing on the matter today. Nine accused are currently in custody in the case. They are former minister Dr Dipu Moni, former state minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku, Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque, former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Mollah Nazrul Islam, Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee advisory board president Shahriar Kabir, former DIG Abdul Jalil Mondal, and journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu. According to the prosecution, 58 people were killed at four locations, including Dhaka, in connection with the Hefazat rally on May 5, 2013. The investigation agency has identified 32 victims in Dhaka, 20 in Narayanganj, five in Chattogram and one in Cumilla.

The district administration has seized 380 bags of DAP fertiliser being transported in a truck without valid documents in Thakurgaon and fined the driver and his helper Tk 13,000 under the Fertiliser Management Act. The drive was conducted around 10:30 pm on Saturday in front of Jasim's Food Hotel in the 24 Tubewell area of Sadar upazila on the Thakurgaon-Dinajpur highway following a tip-off. The truck loaded with fertiliser was later taken to the Sadar Upazila Parishad premises. Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Ashadul Haque said the truck was transporting 380 bags of DAP fertiliser from Bhaularhat in Sadar upazila to Dinajpur. During the drive, the truck driver failed to show a valid invoice or other required documents for transporting the fertiliser. As a result, driver Babu and helper Sumon were fined a total of Tk 13,000 under the Fertiliser Management Act, he said. The seized fertiliser has an estimated market value of around Tk 4 lakh. The truck driver, Babu, and helper, Sumon, are residents of the Mallategharia area of Kushtia district. Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Khairul Islam, Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Nasirul Islam, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Ashadul Haque, members of Sadar Police Station and other officials concerned were present during the drive. The district administration said drives against the illegal transportation, hoarding and black marketing of fertiliser allocated for farmers will continue.