Law-&-Order
Nasirnagar communal violence: Ex-UP chairman among 13 sentenced to 4 yrs in prison
A Brahmanbaria court on Thursday sentenced 13 people including a former union parishad chairman to four years in prison in a case over the torching a Hindu temple in a communal violence in Nasirnagar upazila of the district around five years back.
Brahmanbaria Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Masud Parvez also fined the defendants Tk 2,000 each, Didarul Alam, inspector of the district court, confirmed the news.
The accused--local Awami League leader and former UP Chairman Dewan Atikur Rahman Akhi, Md Mokhles Miah, Md Mofizul Hoque, Khasrul Miah, Nazir Rahman, Md Mahfuz Miah, Idu Miah, Sheikh Md Abdul Ahad, Saiham Rabbi Shyam, Mir Kashem, Anis Miah, Tabarak Reza and Sajeeb Chowdhury are from different areas of the Nasirnagar upazila.
Eight of the 13 accused were present at the court while delivering the judgment.
According to the case statement, miscreants vandalised and torched establishments including a temple belonging to the Hindu community in some areas of the upazila after spreading a rumour over a derogatory post on Islam from a Facebook account of one Rosraj Das, a resident of Harinveda village under Haripur union of the upazila, on October 30, 2016.
A total of eight cases were filed involving the violence later.
The case’s investigating officer later submitted the chargesheet accusing the 13 people.
Read more: Cumilla incident aimed at destroying communal harmony: Home Minister
After completing all legal procedures, the court handed down the judgment in absence of the five accused on Thursday.
Being aggrieved at the verdict, defence lawyer Kamruzzaman Mamun said they would appeal against the verdict.
The plaintiffs’ counsel Nazmul Hossain expressed satisfaction over the judgment, saying that the justice has been established through the verdict.
Chief Justice has nothing to do with SCBA election: Attorney General
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin on Thursday said the Chief Justice has nothing to do with the situation created over the Supreme Court Bar Association(SCBA) election.
“Chief Justice said it is not our matter. It is a bar’s (Lawyers’ Association) matter. Senior lawyers of the bar association should sit for discussion to resolve the problem,” he told reporters after a meeting with Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique.
Responding a question whether the election environment is good, the attorney general said that to keep the environment peaceful, both of the sides have the responsibilities equally. “If one side snatches the ballot papers and another side obstructs, then how will environment be fine?”
“BNP supporters raise demand for re-election. But election is going smoothly and hundreds of lawyers are casting votes standing in queues,” he added.
Earlier, a section of Pro-BNP lawyers presented yesterday's incident of police action on them on the premises of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) before a full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique.
Meanwhile, pro-BNP lawyers are still chanting slogans against the election which is underway today while pro-Awami League lawyers are also chanting slogan supporting the election.
At least 10 journalists and lawyers were injured as police charged batons on them at the Supreme Court premises amid scuffle between pro-Awami League and pro BNP lawyers over the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election on Wednesday.
The two-day voting in SCBA election started around 10 am but it was suspended immediately when some pro-BNP lawyers staged demonstrations demanding formation of election conducting committee led by a neutral person.
SC grants ACC's appeal, former official Sharif Uddin won't be able to return to work
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has granted an appeal filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against the scrapping of Rule 54(2) relating to the removal of an employee of ACC without showing any reason.
An eight-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, passed the order.
As per the order, former ACC official Sharif Uddin, the writ petitioner, will not be able to return to service, the lawyers said.
Senior Advocate Salahuddin Dolon represented Sharif in court. Meanwhile, senior Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan appeared for the ACC.
Rule 54(2) of the ACC Service Rules of 2008 allows the anti-graft organization to remove any employee from service with a 90-day notice without mentioning any reason.
Previously, an ACC official named Ahsan Ali was removed from service under this rule. Later, he filed a writ petition challenging the validity of rule 54(2). On October 27, 2011, the High Court declared the rule null and void.
In November 2016, the Appellate Division rejected the ACC's leave-to-appeal petition against the High Court's ruling. The next year, the ACC filed a review petition against it.
The Appellate Division finally granted the ACC permission to file an appeal against the verdict on November 28, 2021. At the same time, the court put a stay on the HC order until the appeal petition is settled
On February 26 of last year, ACC dismissed Sharif Uddin, then deputy assistant director, from his job without showing any cause. Later, Sharif filed a writ petition against the decision at the High Court, challenging the validity of Rule 54(2).
Later, on April 11, it came up for hearing. However, the High Court adjourned the hearing on Sharif's writ petition as the ACC's review petition in Ahsan Ali's case was not disposed of until then. Later, on June 16 of last year, Sharif filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Appellate Division against the stay order.
Earlier this year, Sharif's leave-to-appeal and the ACC's appeal were brought together for a hearing at the Appellate Division. After hearing the two petitions together, the Appellate Division set March 16 for ruling on the matter.
Fardin's death: Bushra gets permanent bail
A Dhaka court on Thursday granted permanent bail to Amatullah Bushra, a 3rd year student of East West University, in a case over the death of her friend and Buet student Fardin Noor Parash.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shanto Islam Mallik passed the order, said lawyer Sabbir Ahmed Sajib.
On February 6, Inspector Yeasin Shikdar of DB police submitted the final report seeking exemption of Bushra from the case.
On January 8, a Dhaka court granted bail to Bushra in the case.
Bushra was in jail for almost two months in the case after the death of Fardin in November last, despite investigation agencies failing to find any evidence connecting her to her friend's death.
Later, Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police submitted a report on December 15 saying that Bushra has no connection with the death of Fardin.
Bushra was arrested from her Banasree home in Dhaka on November 10, 2022 as Fardin’s father filed a case on November 9 after recovery of his son’s body from the Shitalakhkhya River.
After a long 38-day investigation, the Additional Commissioner (Detective Branch) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mohammad Harunur Rashid on December 14 said that Fardin roamed alone in different areas of Dhaka before he went missing.
“Fardin was not murdered, he committed suicide by jumping into the river from Sultana Kamal Bridge On November 4 out of desperation,” he said.
Fardin was a 3rd year student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s civil engineering department and a resident of Qutubpur area in Narayanganj's Fatullah.
Police recovered Fardin’s body from the Shitalakhkhya River, behind a cotton mill at Siddhirganj, on November 7, three days after he went missing.
Sheikh Farhad, a physician at Narayanganj General Hospital where the autopsy was done, said there were several injury marks on Fardin’s head and body.
Kazi Nuruddin Rana, Fardin’s father, filed a case in connection with his son’s killing with Rampura Police Station on the same day and the case was later transferred to Detective Branch (DB) Police.
10 journalists, lawyers hurt as police charge batons on SC premises
At least 10 journalists and lawyers were injured as police charged batons on them on the Supreme Court premises amid scuffle between pro-Awami League and pro BNP lawyers over the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election on Wednesday.
The two-day voting in SCBA election started around 10 am but it was suspended immediately when some pro-BNP lawyers staged demonstrations demanding formation of election conducting committee led by a neutral person.
When the situation turned chaotic, police charged batons on the lawyers and journalists, leaving 10 people injured, said Barrister Kaisar Kamal, BNP law affairs secretary.
Barrister Kaisar Kamal said, “Police charged baton on some lawyers including Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Ruhul Kuddus Kajal. We have informed it to the Chief Justice.”
Jabed Akter, reporter of ATN News, Ibrahim Hossain, cameraperson of Boishakhi TV, Abdullah Al Maruf, multimedia reporters of Manabjamin, Humayun Kabir, cameraperson of ATN Bangla, Solaiman Swapan, cameraman Somoy TV, Mehedi Hasan, cameraman DBC, Fazlul Haque, reporter of Jago News and SM Nur Mohammad, reporter of Ajker Patrika were among the injured.
Of them, Jabed Akter was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
A seven-member sub-committee led by senior lawyer Mansurul Haque Chowdhury, was formed earlier for conducting the election. But he resigned from the post on personal ground on March 13.
Read more: Supreme Court Bar Association election underway
Later, pro-Awami League Ainjibi Parishad formed a sub-committee led by freedom fighter Maniruzzaman while the pro-BNP Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Oikya Panel formed another committee headed by ASM Moktar Kabir.
Besides, miscreants tore down 3000 ballot papers sometime on Tuesday night. A tense situation has been prevailing in the Supreme Court area over the issue.
High Court questions hike in price of performing hajj
The High Court (HC) on Tuesday questioned how common people will perform hajj at the cost of the package set by the government.
It questioned: “Why doesn't the government allocate budgets for the hajj like other countries in the world?”
The HC bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Ali came up with this observation while hearing a writ petition over revising the hajj package offered by the government this year.
The court set Wednesday for further hearing.
Supreme Court lawyer Ashraf-uz-Zaman was present in the hearing on behalf of the writ petitioner.
Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar and Assistant Attorney General Md Awlad Hossain represented the state at the hearing.
The High Court ordered DAG Bashar to inform the court about the latest update on revising the hajj package ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.
Read more: Govt raises hajj cost by Tk 1.61 lakh this year
Earlier on February 1, the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced the hajj package for 2023 in a memorandum. According to the package, a person has to pay a hefty amount of Tk 6.83 lakh to perform hajj this year - up from Tk 5.22 lakh in 2022.
In response, Ashraf-uz-Zaman sent a legal notice to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, requesting it to reduce the cost of hajj pilgrims and bring it under Tk 4 lakh
Later, he filed a writ on March 12 as the concerned authority failed to respond to the legal notice.
Contacted, Lawyer Ashraf Uz Zaman said: “Currently, the plane fare on the Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia-Bangladesh route is Tk 76,000 to Tk 1,10,000. Every year, the governments of both countries force hajj pilgrims to buy tickets for Saudia Airlines and Biman Bangladesh Airlines which destroys the hajj pilgrims’ capacity to choose for themselves.”
“The legal notice was sent requesting the authorities to amend and reduce the price of the hajj package for 2023, citing various factors.”
Hajj-2023 will be held on 9th day of Zilhaj (June 28) depending on moon sighting.
This year, over 127,000 Bangladeshis will get the chance to perform hajj, more than double the number last year.
Only 60,000 people from Bangladesh were allowed to perform hajj in 2022 as the Saudi government only partially opened up in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the first year since the pandemic that the hajj is expected to be held with no restrictions on attendance.
Read more: HAAB announces private hajj package: Minimum cost set at Tk 6.72 lakh
Field-level police officers instructed to monitor markets ahead of Ramadan
Field level police officers have been instructed to regularly monitor markets to prevent any abnormal increase in prices during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
They have also been instructed to take necessary steps to ensure that no one creates any untoward situation by spreading rumors about price hike, short supplies, etc.
The directives were given from a virtual meeting on monthly crime review held at the police headquarters on Tuesday with Additional IGP (Crime and Operations) Md. Atiqul Islam in the chair.
All Metropolitan Police Commissioners, Range DIGs and District Superintendents of Police (SPs) of Bangladesh Police participated in the meeting virtually. Among others, DIG (Operations) Md Haider Ali Khan and concerned officials of police headquarters were present at the virtual meeting.
Also Read: Govt orders DCs to strictly monitor markets during Ramadan
Information regarding the overall crime situation of the country in the month of January 2023 was also presented in the meeting, says AIG (media) of the police headquarters Md Manzur Rahman.
During the meeting, importance was given on taking precautionary measures and increasing police activity so that no group can create any kind of conspiracy by exploiting the communal issue. District and highway police were instructed to jointly perform their duties to prevent all types of extortion to ensure the transportation of essential goods during the month of holy Ramadan.
In his address, Additional IGP (Crime and Operations) Md. Atiqul Islam gave instructions to make preparations from now on to make the Eid journeys of the homebound people smooth during the coming Eid.
He also directed the field level police officers to remove illegal structures on both sides on the highway and take necessary action against unfit vehicles.
The meeting review of the statistics of various cases placed in the meeting shows that in the month of January 2023, there was a decrease in the total number of registered cases, robbery cases, murder cases, rape cases, women and children abuse cases compared to the previous month of December 2022.
Myanmar national among 3 held with Crystal meth, Yaba pills in Teknaf
Members of Border Guard (BGB) detained three drug peddlers along with 1.294kg of crystal methamphetamine (crystal meth or ice) and 10,000 of Yaba pills from Teknaf in the early hours of Tuesday.
The detainees are Md. Saker Ali,22, son of Mohammed Hossain of Kutupalong FDMN Camp, Md Jaber,19,son of Abu Siddique Balukhali FDMN Camp and Mohammad Yunus ,23, son of Hashon from Mongdu village of Myanmar.
Also Read: 46 held in anti-drugs drives across Dhaka
According to a media release of BGB, a patrol team of the border guard detained them conducting a drive at Jaliyardwip under Domdomia BOP in Teknaf around 12:35 am.
During the drive, the BGB men seized 1.294kg of crystal meth and 10,000 pcs of Yaba pills from their possession, said the release.
The detainees were handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station.
4 companies forged documents, smuggled Tk 382 crore: Intelligence
The Customs Intelligence has found that four companies have smuggled Tk382 crore out of the country by forging goods export permits, an official said on Tuesday.
The companies did not return their foreign exchange earned from the exported products, Mohammad Fakhrul Alam, Director General of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID), told a news conference in the capital.
According to the CIID, four companies are Sabiha Saiki Fashion, Asia Trading Corporation, Emu Trading Corporation, and Ilham Trading Corporation. These companies have exported various products including t-shirts, tops, ladies' dresses, trousers, baby sets, bags, polo shirts, jackets, pants, and hoodies to the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, Qatar, UK, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.
The DG said that after receiving complaints involving exports of goods by forging documents evidence of money laundering was found in the investigation.
Also Read: Intelligence agencies working to prevent militants’ rise: Home Minister
Referring to the information found in the investigation, he said that Sabiha Saiki Fashion exported 86 consignments of goods at different times. The exchange value of the products exported by them is Tk18.45 crore. On scrutiny of the documents of the consignments of the goods, it was found that the Export Permits (EXPs) issued by them were in the names of different companies.
A permit cannot be used for more than one export shipment. As a result, these EXPs are not functional. There is no opportunity to bring foreign currency back to the country in a legal way, Alam said.
The DG said the investigation revealed that in addition to Sabiha Saiki Fashion, three other companies have committed similar fraud for exporting products.
“Four companies have committed such fraud in shipments of 1,780 products using the same tactics. Against these shipments, 18,265 tonnes of goods have been exported, the declared value of which is around Tk 382 crores,” Alam added.
Sabiha Saiki Fashion exported Tk 21 crore, Asia Trading Corporation Tk 282 crore, Emu Trading Corporation Tk 62 crore, and Ilham Corporation Tk 17 crore.
Court fixes Mar 20 for delivering judgment in case against Helena Jahangir, 4 others
The High Court on Tuesday fixed March 20 for delivering its judgment in a fraud and extortion case filed against the expelled ruling party leader of a sub-committee, Helena Jahangir, and four others.
Dhaka Additional chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain fixed the date after concluding the arguments from both the state and defense.
The four other accused of the case are Hazera Khatun, general manager of Helena Jahangir's IPTV Joyjatra television, its coordinator Sanaullah Nuri, Chief News Editor Quamruzzaman Arif and Staff Reporter Mahfuzur Rahman.
Abdur Rahman Tuhin, Bhola district correspondent of Joyjatra television filed the case against Helena and four others with Pallabi Police Station on August 2, 2021.
According to the prosecution, Helena Jahangir took Tk 54,000 from Tuhin for appointing him as a district correspondent of the television. After joining the television, he did not get any remuneration for several months. On the other hand, the television authorities took Tk 3,000 for him every month.
On November 21, 2021, inspector Shahinur Islam of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted chargesheet against Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court.
On July 29, 2021, members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested Helena Jahangir, 49, from her residence in the city’s Gulshan-2 area.
The elite force members "seized foreign liquor, illegal walkie-talkie sets, casino equipment and deer skins" from her possession.
Four separate cases were filed against Helena.
The sub-committee removed Helena for her "involvement with the Bangladesh Awami Chakrijibi League," a group which has no official connection with the ruling party.