United News of Bangladesh

The Appellate Division on Thursday upheld the High Court verdict that declared several provisions of the Constitution's 15th Amendment unconstitutional, restoring the constitutional provisions for a non-party caretaker government and referendum. A four-member Appellate Division bench led by the Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury delivered the verdict rejecting the appeals filed against the High Court judgment. Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal said the full bench rejected the appeals filed by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and others. The Appellate Division had fixed July 9 for delivering the judgment after concluding a three-day hearing on Wednesday. Attorney General Kajal represented the state during the hearing, while senior lawyer Dr Sharif Bhuiyan appeared for the writ petitioners and senior lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir represented Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. The appeals stemmed from the High Court's judgment delivered on Dec 17 last year, which declared unconstitutional the provisions of the 15th Amendment abolishing the caretaker government system and the constitutional provision for referendum.

A Jamalpur court on Monday sentenced seven people to death for violating a woman last year. Judge of the Jamalpur Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1, Muhammad Abdur Rahim handed down the judgment. The condemned convicts are—Rashedur Rahman, Biju Mia, Badsha Mia, Jashim Mia, Ajmat Ali, Maniruzzaman and Ashraful Islam of Bakshiganj upazila of the district. The court also fined Tk them one lakh each. 3 to die for gang rape of teenage girl in Jamalpur According to the prosecution, the woman was heading towards her house at Jankipur Majalia from Char Bazar on the night of May 25, 2025 by an auto-rickshaw. When the auto-rickshaw reached Nilokkhiya Bazar, the convicts with the help of the auto-rickshaw driver took the housewife to an abandoned house where they violated the woman in turns. A case was filed with Bakshiganj Police Station in this regard. After examining the records and eight witnesses, the court handed the punishment and acquitted Idris Ali as allegation brought against him could not be proved.

Detectives of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have arrested four people for their alleged involvement in a local BNP leader's murder last Wednesday in the capital's Adabar area, said a press release issued by DMP. The arrestees were identified as Ripon, 27, Nirab, 25, Majnu Mia, 60, and Md Mizanur Rahman, 40. They were arrested during a raid in the Sahebnagar area under Ishwarganj Police Station in Mymensingh district at around 9:20 pm on Thursday, according to the DB Tejgaon Division. According to the DB, the incident took place around 8:30pm on Wednesday at the four-road intersection of Nobodoy Housing under Adabar Police Station, where a clash broke out between two groups over a previous dispute. During the clash, General Secretary of the Nobodoy Housing Unit BNP, Md Abul Bashar, 45, and Md Saddam Hossain, 35, sustained critical injuries after being attacked with sharp weapons. They were first taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital and later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where Abul Bashar died around 11:30 pm while undergoing treatment. Saddam is currently receiving treatment. The DB said detectives identified the suspects through CCTV footage analysis, intelligence information and the use of technology before conducting the raid in Mymensingh. During the operation, detectives also recovered a switchgear knife allegedly used in the killing. During preliminary interrogation, the arrestees said the dispute began on Monday night over watching the Brazil-Japan World Cup football match and blowing whistles. The dispute later escalated, and during a local arbitration meeting near D-Block Road No. 1 adjacent to Nobodoy Kacha Bazar on Wednesday night, another clash broke out, leaving Abul Bashar and Saddam critically injured in the sharp weapon attack. Legal action against the arrestees is underway.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested 424 people in connection with various criminal offences during its routine drives across the capital over the past 24 hours till 6:00am on Friday. A total of 68 cases were filed during the period, DMP Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Niaz Mehedi said on Friday. According to the DMP, 41 people were arrested from Ramna Division, 26 from Lalbagh, 52 from Wari, 48 from Motijheel, 55 from Tejgaon, 97 from Mirpur, 39 from Gulshan, 63 from Uttara Division and three by the Detective Branch (DB). During the drives, police recovered 48.1 kg of cannabis, 5,218 Yaba tablets, 15 sachets of heroin, four bottles of Phensedyl, two pethidine injections, one machete, one knife, 24 mobile phones and 1,104 animals of various species, and rescued two victims. Niaz Mehedi said personnel from different police stations, crime units and the DB conducted the operations in different parts of the capital, recovering drugs and weapons alongside making the arrests.

Authorities seized around 19 kg of gold worth around Tk 45 crore from Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday morning. The gold consignment was recovered from Biman flight BG-148, which arrived in Dhaka from Dubai via Chattogram, during a joint operation by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), Aviation Security (AVSEC) and Dhaka Customs House. According to sources, a DGFI team searched the aircraft's cargo hold based on intelligence inputs. With the assistance of AVSEC personnel, they recovered 160 gold bars concealed inside the aircraft. The recovered gold weighed 18.72 kg in total. However, no one was arrested in connection with the gold seizure. Joint Commissioner of Dhaka Customs House Kamrul Islam said the estimated market value of the seized gold is around Tk 45 crore. In March this year, authorities recovered around 18 kg of gold from another Biman aircraft in a similar operation.

A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced a woman to death for killing her husband and dismembering the body into six pieces in the capital's Mohakhali area in 2021. Judge Nazmun Nahar Nipu of Dhaka Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court-16 handed down the verdict. The convict, Fatema Begum alias Shilpi, was present in the dock when the verdict was pronounced. On another count, the court sentenced her to seven years’ imprisonment for concealing the body and fined her Tk 10,000, in default of which she will have to serve an additional three months in prison. According to the prosecution, police recovered the body parts – total six – of auto-rickshaw driver Moyna Mia from different locations in Mohakhali on May 30 and 31, 2021. The victim's second wife, Nasrin, filed a case at Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station on 1 June that year. Police arrested the accused within a day of recovering the body parts. She later gave a confessional statement before the court, admitting that she had killed her husband over family disputes. Police submitted a charge sheet against Fatema on October 24, 2022, and the court framed charges against her on March 12, 2023. During the trial, the court recorded the testimonies of 17 out of 26 prosecution witnesses before delivering the verdict.

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered 2 kg of crystal meth – also known as ice, a G3 rifle, a locally made firearm, a G3 rifle magazine and 13 bullets during a special operation in the Sabrang Dalelpara border area of Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar early Thursday. According to BGB, the operation was launched following intelligence reports that a consignment of narcotics, local and foreign firearms, and ammunition would be smuggled through the Dalelpara-Munder Dalel road. Around 4:00am, an easy bike carrying several unidentified individuals was seen heading towards Marine Drive from Sabrang Bazar. When BGB members signalled the vehicle to stop at a temporary checkpoint, the suspects abandoned the easy bike and fled. A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 2 kg of crystal meth concealed beneath the driver's seat in black polythene packets. BGB members also recovered a G3 rifle, a locally made LG firearm, a G3 rifle magazine and 13 rounds of ammunition hidden inside the roof of the easy bike. Lt Col Md Hanifur Rahman Bhuiyan, commanding officer of Teknaf Battalion (2 BGB), said the force remains vigilant in preventing the smuggling of drugs, arms, and ammunition while carrying out its border security duties.

A Sylhet court on Wednesday sentenced two youths to death for raping a 14-year-old girl in 2012. Judge Begum Rubaiya Yeasmin of the Sylhet Children Violence Suppression Tribunal handed down the verdict. The convicts are Joynal, 25, son of Md Ashik Ali of Shahbazpur area under Bishwanath upazila, and Nazim Uddin, 25, son of Md. Moinuddin of Kandirgaon area in the same upazila. Advocate Nur Ahmed, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) of the Sylhet Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, confirmed the matter. According to the prosecution, in the afternoon of November 27, 2012, Joynal lured the victim into a house while she was on her way to her maternal grandfather’s house. Nazim Uddin was already waiting inside the house, where they raped the victim. Following the assault, when Joynal left the room, the girl managed to contact her mother using a mobile phone and narrated the incident. Her mother rushed to the spot, rescued her, and subsequently admitted her to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital the following day. She underwent treatment at the hospital for four days. Later, a case was filed with Bishwanath Police Station on December 1, 2012.

A tribunal in Tangail on Tuesday convicted a man and sentenced him to death for killing a five-year-old boy after abduction in 2024. Tangail Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge ANM Elias handed down the verdict. The condemned convict is Nurnabi, 27, son of Ataur Rahman of Gopalpur upazila in Tangail district. The court also fined him Tk 20,000. Besides, the tribunal sentenced Nurnabi to 15 years' imprisonment and fined him Tk 20,000 for abducting the child. He was also sentenced to five years' imprisonment and fined Tk 10,000 for concealing the child's body. According to the prosecution, Nurnabi abducted Raihanul Islam Araf, 5, son of Khandaker Russel from Gopalpur upazila, on October 8, 2024. Police later recovered the decomposed body of Araf from Kaliakoir upazila of Gazipur district on October 11, 2024. Nasir Uddin, grandfather of the child filed a case with Gopalpur Police Station on that day. Police submitted the charge sheet against Nurnabi on May 27, 2025.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 on Tuesday ordered the commencement of trial against 22 accused, including former Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and former Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, after framing charges in a case over the killings of six people, including Chhatra Dal leader Wasim, during the July Uprising in Chattogram. The order was passed by a two-member judicial panel of ICT-2 led by Justice Md Manjurul Basid. Dipu Moni returns to Munshiganj jail after brief hospitalisation Earlier, defence counsel Mizanur Rahman argued for the third consecutive day, contending that the prosecution had failed to establish sufficient grounds for framing charges against any of the accused. He also pointed to what he described as several flaws in the investigation. Meanwhile, lawyer Abdul Kaiyum represented former lawmaker Fazle Karim Chowdhury. He had concluded his arguments seeking his client's discharge on June 28. Previously, on June 24, state-appointed defence lawyers Md Amir Hossain, Abul Hasan, Ishrat Jahan and Mohammad Enam represented the absconding accused. On June 22, the prosecution submitted that there were prima facie grounds to proceed against all 22 accused and sought formal framing of charges. After hearing both sides, the tribunal fixed June 30 for its order. During Tuesday's proceedings, prosecutors Mizanul Islam, Abdus Sobhan Torofdar, Faruk Ahmad, Zahirul Amin and others appeared for the prosecution. The five arrestees in the case are former MP Fazle Karim Chowdhury, Jubo League leader Azizur Rahman, Touhidul Islam, Md Firoz and Debashish Pal Debu. However, only the four accused other than Fazle Karim were produced before the tribunal on Monday. Besides Dr Hasan Mahmud, the absconding accused include former Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, former Chattogram City Corporation mayors A J M Nasir Uddin and Rezaul Karim, Mohiuddin Bacchu, Helal Akbar, Nurul Azim Rony, Shaibal Das Sumon, Abu Saleque, Esbarul Haque, H M Mithu, Noor Mostafa Tinu, Zamir Uddin, Imran Hasan Mahmud, Zakaria Dastagir, Mohiuddin Farhad and Sumon Dey. Earlier, on April 7, ICT-2 took cognisance of formal charges against the 22 accused under three counts after the prosecution submitted the formal charge sheet on April 5. According to the prosecution, the first charge relates to the killings of Wasim Akram, Faisal Ahmed Shanto and Md Faruk. The second charge concerns the killings of Tanvir Siddiqui, Saimon alias Mahim and Hriday Chandra. Furthermore, the third charge accuses the defendants of causing serious injuries to more than 100 people, including Zahid Hasan, Abdul Kader, Asia Khatun, Sanjida Sultana and Abdullah, during the violence surrounding the July mass uprising in Chattogram.