United News of Bangladesh

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has imposed a ban on rallies, processions, demonstrations and gatherings around Chief Justice’s residence, Judges Complex, the main gate of Bangladesh Supreme court, Mazar Gate, Jam-e-Mosque gate, the main gates of International Crimes Tribunal 1 and 2 and Bangladesh Institute of Judicial Administration (BIJA) effective from Thursday. The ban will remain valid until further notice, according to a public notice signed by DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali. The ban will be enforced under Section 29 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance (Ordinance No. III/76) to maintain discipline in light of the prevailing situation, it said. It also requested all again to refrain from blocking roads in the name of protests as such activities cause severe traffic congestion in the capital.

A murder case has been filed against a woman who used to work as a domestic help in the Mohammadpur flat where a woman and her daughter were found dead on Monday (December 08, 2025). AZM Azizul Islam, husband of the deceased woman and father of the girl, filed the case with Mohammadpur Police Station against their domestic aide Aysha. The accused has not been arrested yet. Read more: Motives behind Mohammadpur mother-daughter murders still unclear: Police Assistant Commissioner (Mohammadpur Zone) of DMP's Tejgaon Division Abdullah Al Mamun said an investigation is underway over the murder of Layla Afroz, 48, and her daughter Nafisa Binte Aziz, 15. According to the case statement, the accused, Ayesha, started working as a part-time domestic help at the flat four days earlier. Azizul Islam said he found his wife dead with multiple cut injuries and his daughter critically injured when he returned home around 11am on Monday. His daughter was taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital where she was declared dead. Read more: Mohammadpur double murder: Maid disguised herself in victim’s school uniform to flee The complainant said CCTV footage showed the accused entering the flat at 7:51am and leaving around 9:35am with valuables, leading him to believe she killed the two during that period.

An accused in a Cybercrime case fled the police custody after stabbing an officer of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Sagardighi Par in Sylhet city on Monday midnight. The victim, Khurshed Alam, a sub-inspector of CID,  was admitted to Osmani Medical College and Hospital. Sugyan Chakma, superintendent of Sylhet CID, said a team of CID in plainclothes conducted a drive to arrest the warranted criminal in Sylhet city on Monday night. Sensing the presence of the police, the accused flee the scene after stabbing a police official with a sharp weapon. Mainul Zakir, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, said efforts are on to arrest the accused.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday filed a case against former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and 13 former senior government officials for allegedly abusing power to illegally construct and allocate residential flats on land acquired for the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project. The case was filed by ACC Assistant Director Khorhshed Alam, ACC Director General Md Akhter Hossain confirmed to UNB. According to the case statement, the accused are alleged to have misused their authority, acted in collusion, and violated legal procedures to formulate the *Long-Term Lease Policy 2018 for flats designated for permanent employees of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and other associated departments. The charges have been brought under Sections 409/420/109 of the Penal Code and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. The ACC stated that during the 106th and 107th board meetings of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, the board members illegally approved proposals to construct residential buildings and grant long-term leases for flats without following any legal obligation. Former Senior Secretary of the Bridges Division Khandaker Anwarul Islam reportedly placed the proposal for the project and the subsequent leasing policy. Investigators found that 40 acres of land were acquired to rehabilitate people affected by the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project. Although the acquisition gazette specified this purpose, the land was instead used to build residential flats for government officials under a 99-year permanent lease — a move that violated the *Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017*, which requires prior approval from the Ministry of Land. No such approval was obtained, the ACC said. The commission further noted that although publishing a government gazette is mandatory for enacting any law, rule, or policy, the 2018 long-term lease policy for BBA and associated staff was never formally gazetted. Moreover, under the *Bangladesh Bridge Authority Act 2016*, the authority is authorised to issue only temporary leases of land. Granting permanent leases through flat construction for officials therefore contravened the law, ACC officials said. Obaidul Quader’s younger brother, 8 others held in Dhaka The accused named in the case include: Obaidul Quader, former Minister, Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, Khandaker Anwarul Islam, former Senior Secretary, Bridges Division, Md Nazrul Islam, former Secretary, Road Transport and Highways Division, Kamal Uddin Ahmed, former Secretary, Public Security Division, Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, former Power Secretary, Abdul Jalil, former Secretary, Ministry of Land, Dr Jafar Ahmed Khan, former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Dr Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, former CAG and current Chairman of Sonali Bank, Mohammad Shahidul Haque, former Senior Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs Division, Zuena Aziz, former Principal Coordinator, Prime Minister’s Office, Md Mofazzal Hossain, former Secretary, Ministry of Railways, Kazi Shafiqul Azam, former Senior Secretary, ERD, Akhtar Hossain Bhuiyan, former Secretary, Ministry of Defence,Dr Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, former Secretary, Energy and Mineral Resources Division and ex-Chairman, NBR. The ACC said the evidence gathered during preliminary investigation sufficiently proves the accused acted outside the law and violated mandatory procedures in executing the project.        

A shocking double murder occurred in Mohammadpur early Monday, where a domestic worker allegedly killed a mother and her teenage daughter before escaping in the girl’s school uniform and a mask. The victims, Malaila Afroze, 48, and her daughter Nafisa Binte Aziz, 15, a ninth-grade student at Mohammadpur Preparatory School, were found dead at their flat on the seventh floor of a building on Shahjahan Road. Nafisa’s father, M.Z. Azizul Islam, a physics teacher at Sunbeams School in Uttara, had left home for work around 7 a.m. Police reports indicate that the domestic worker, identified as 23-year-old Ayesha, joined the household only four days ago through the building’s doorman, Malek. Ayesha, originally from Rangpur, reportedly lost her parents in a fire and lived with her uncle and aunt in Geneva Camp. CCTV footage shows Ayesha arriving at the apartment around 7:51 a.m. in a burqa. After committing the murders, she went to the bathroom to clean herself, removing all traces of blood around 9:35 a.m. After the murders, Ayesha left the apartment wearing the victim’s school uniform, with a mask on her face and the school bag in hand. Police say Nafisa may have initially tried to call security through the intercom but found the line disconnected. The flat displayed clear signs of a struggle. Blood stains were found on the floors and walls, and cabinets and belongings were in disarray. Police recovered two sharp knives from the bathroom, believed to be the murder weapons. Eyewitnesses and neighbors described the scene as horrifying. One resident said that Ayesha calmly changed into the school uniform and walked out as if nothing had happened. Tejgaon Division Deputy Commissioner Ibn Mizan said police received the information around 11:30am. Nafisa was taken to hospital, where doctors declared her dead. After completing inquests, police sent both bodies to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for autopsy. The bodies were later handed over to the family following the post-mortem examinations. Investigators have detained the building’s doorman, Malek, for questioning. Police are analyzing the CCTV footage and other evidence to track Ayesha’s movements and determine if anyone else was involved. The father, Azizul Islam, told reporters that they needed a domestic worker for household help, and Ayesha appeared normal during her first two days. “She came in burqa and introduced herself as Ayesha. Initially, everything seemed fine. Yesterday she arrived around 9:30 a.m., and today… I can’t even explain what happened,” he said. Authorities are continuing their investigation, examining the flat and CCTV footage to piece together the timeline and method of the killings.

A Dhaka court on Monday sent senior journalist and former Jatiya Press Club president Shaukat Mahmood to jail in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana passed the order and fixed Thursday for hearing the remand petition. Earlier in the day, the investigation officer of the case, Inspector Akhtar Morshed of the DB Police’s Ramna Zonal Team, sought a 10-day remand for questioning. Shaukat was arrested on Sunday in connection with a case filed against Bangladeshi-origin US citizen Enayet Karim Chowdhury over his involvement in a “conspiracy to topple” the interim government. Sub-Inspector Azizul Hakim of Ramna Police Station filed the case on September 14, a day after Enayet’s arrest from the capital’s Mintoo Road area for suspicious movement in a Land Cruiser Prado SUV. According to the case statement, Enayet, described as an agent of a foreign intelligence agency, was allegedly involved in a conspiracy to undermine public security and overthrow the interim government. DB detains ex-president of Jatiya Press Club Shaukat Mahmood Shaukat Mahmood, a former BNP vice-chairman expelled from the party on March 21, 2023, recently returned to politics through the Janata Party Bangladesh, formed on April 25 this year. Actor Ilias Kanchan serves as the party’s chairman, while Shaukat was elected its secretary general.  

Police have yet to determine the motive behind the killing of a mother and her daughter at a flat on Shahjahan Road in the capital’s Mohammadpur area on Monday morning. Although wardrobes and a vanity bag inside the flat were found ransacked, police said no significant valuables were missing. The victims were identified as Malaila Afroze, 48, and her daughter Nafisa Binte Aziz, 15, a ninth-grade student of Mohammadpur Preparatory School. The incident took place at 7/B flat on the seventh floor of a building at 32/2/A Shahjahan Road. Police suspected that the killings were carried out by the household help, who fled the scene wearing Nafisa’s school uniform, carrying a school bag. Police quoting inmates of the flat said the household help had joined the family only four days earlier, introducing herself as Ayesha. Nafisa’s father, M Z Azizul Islam, is a teacher by profession and teaches physics at Sunbeams School in Uttara. Citing him, police said he left the house around 7am for school on Monday. Shortly after, the household help, wearing a burqa, was seen taking the lift to the seventh floor. At around 9:35am, she left the building wearing Nafisa’s school dress, a face mask and carrying a bag. Around 11:30am, Nafisa’s father returned home and found his wife and daughter lying in blood. Nafisa’s father told police that he had learned from his wife that her (housemaid) name was Ayesha, aged around 20. She claimed to be from Rangpur and said she lived with her uncle and aunt at Geneva Camp. Assistant Commissioner (Mohammadpur Zone) under Tejgaon division of DMP Abdullah Al Mamun said that although household items were found scattered, no valuable belongings were missing except for a mobile phone, which is currently switched off. He added that the suspect 'housemaid' fled the scene wearing the Nafisa'’s school uniform. “We have not yet been able to confirm the motive behind the killings,” he said. Tejgaon Division Deputy Commissioner Ibn Mizan said police received the information around 11:30am. Nafisa was taken to hospital, where doctors declared her dead. After completing inquests, police sent both bodies to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for autopsy. The bodies were later handed over to the family following the post-mortem examinations. A police officer of Tejgaon Division, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators have received some preliminary information and are currently verifying those details.

A case has been filed over the killing of a freedom fighter and his wife at their home in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur. Shoven Chandra Roy, the couple’s eldest son, filed the case at Taraganj Police Station on Sunday night against unidentified assailants, said Officer-in-Charge (OC investigation) Ruhul Amin on Monday evening. The OC said police are conducting a thorough investigation over the double murder. “Important evidence has been collected from the scene. We hope those involved will be brought to justice very soon,” he added. Earlier on Sunday, police recovered the bodies of freedom fighter Jogesh Chandra Roy, 75, a retired headteacher of a local government primary school, and his wife Surbonna Roy, 60, from their home in Khiarpara village of Kursha union. Taraganj Police Station OC Md Abu Saiyum Talukdar said the couple was killed around 1am inside their residence. Relatives have demanded the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of those involved in the murder.

The High Court on Monday rejected the writ petition filed seeking its directives to issue a stay order on the activities related to the upcoming national election. The HC bench of Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi and Justice Raziuddin Ahmed rejected the petition saying it is not the right time to file a writ petition over the issue. The writ petition was filed with the High Court on December 3. General Secretary of  Bangladesh Congress Md. Earul Islam filed the writ petition with the HC bench concerned. The petition also sought directives to recruit district and upazila election officers instead of appointing Deputy Commissioner and UNO as returning and assistant returning officers.

BNP-nominated candidate for Kishoreganj-4 (Itna-Mithamoin-Austagram) constituency advocate Fazlur Rahman on Monday was relieved of a contempt of court allegation after offering an unconditional apology. A three-member bench of International Crimes Tribunal-1 headed by its Chairman Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder passed the order. He appeared at the court around 11 am with a team of lawyers. On November 26, ICT prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim lodged a complaint with the tribunal that Fazlur had questioned the tribunal’s formation and credibility during a television talk show. He said that the formation process of this court is such that justice cannot be served here. BNP leader Fazlur Rahman suspended for three months On November 30, the tribunal chairman questioned whether Fazlur held a valid legal license. Later, Fazlur submitted a written unconditional apology to the tribunal, Chief Prosecutor Md Tajul Islam said this at a press briefing on December 3. As per the schedule, the tribunal today (Monday) heard the allegations and relived him.