United News of Bangladesh

A legal notice has been served on the authorities concerned seeking verification of the foreign citizenship status, allegiance to any foreign state and constitutional validity of the appointments and oath-taking of Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir. Supreme Court lawyer Aslam Mia served the notice on Tuesday, addressing the Chief Election Commissioner, Cabinet Secretary, Secretary to the President, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Law Secretary, Foreign Secretary and relevant officials of the Parliament Secretariat. The notice called for examining the two ministers' citizenship status, eligibility as Members of Parliament and their oath-taking as ministers in light of Articles 56, 66 and 148 of the Constitution and the Third Schedule. Citing Article 66, the notice said a Bangladeshi citizen aged 25 or above is eligible to be elected to Parliament. However, Article 66(2)(c) provides for disqualification if a person acquires the citizenship of a foreign state or acknowledges allegiance to such a state. It therefore sought examination of their citizenship history and relevant government records to determine whether either of them has held foreign citizenship or a foreign passport, or has made any declaration or oath of allegiance to another state. The notice also referred to Article 66(2A), which deals with a Bangladeshi citizen by birth who subsequently acquires foreign citizenship and later relinquishes it. It asked the authorities to consider any such history, if applicable, in determining their present constitutional and legal status. The notice further raised questions about the constitutional requirements for taking the oath of office. Under Article 148, a person appointed to an office specified in the Third Schedule must take the prescribed oath or make the required declaration before assuming office. The oath for ministers includes an undertaking to bear true faith and allegiance to Bangladesh and to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. According to the notice, Khalilur Rahman took oath as foreign minister on February 17, while Humaiun Kobir was appointed state minister for foreign affairs on August 21. It called on the authorities to determine whether their appointments and assumption of office comply with the relevant constitutional provisions. The notice urged the authorities to examine citizenship, passport, immigration and other relevant official records. If any constitutional disqualification or legal inconsistency is found, necessary action should be taken in accordance with the Constitution and prevailing laws, it said. If no such disqualification is found, the authorities were asked to clarify the constitutional and legal basis for their appointments and continuation in office. Aslam Mia asked the authorities to provide a lawful and substantive response within seven days of receiving the notice. The notice said if the matter is not resolved within the stipulated period or no effective action is taken, appropriate constitutional or judicial forums may be approached for remedies available under the law. It clarified that the notice itself does not constitute a final allegation, judgment or determination, but seeks formal examination of the constitutional questions raised concerning the two ministers.

Two people were detained with 475.6 grams of gold at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Tuesday, Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBN) said. The arrested are Khairul Hasan Akon, 29, and Sheikh Ariful Islam, 46. According to APBN, the two were behaving suspiciously on the ground floor of the airport's multi-storey car park around 9:45 am. When they allegedly tried to flee after noticing police presence, members of Airport APBN caught them. Later, they searched them and recovered the gold, all of 21-carat purity, police said. The recovered gold is estimated to be worth Tk 75.62 lakh, according to APBN. During preliminary interrogation, the detainees reportedly told police that the gold ornaments had been brought into Bangladesh from different countries through passengers for smuggling purposes. Police said the two had allegedly been involved in gold smuggling at the airport for a long time. A case has been filed against them with the Airport Police Station. Mohammad Nazir Ahmed Khan, police superintendent (operations) of Airport APBN, said the unit was continuing its efforts to prevent smuggling and other crimes in and around the airport. "Airport APBN is determined to prevent gold and drug smuggling. Our operations will continue to stop any form of smuggling using the airport," he said.

A 44-year-old woman was rescued from a moving train after she called the National Emergency Service 999 on Monday night, alleging that three men had raped her on board the "Kurigram Express" train. Acting on the emergency call, 999 operators tracked the train’s location and alerted the Shantahar Railway Police Station in Pabna, the train’s next stoppage, to take immediate action. The victim told 999 that she had mistakenly boarded the Kurigram Express at Dhaka Airport while intending to travel to Sirajganj. She did not have a ticket. According to Anwar Sattar, Inspector (Media and Public Relations Officer) of the National Emergency Service 999, two members of the railway security force questioned her after boarding the train and she told them that she was going to Sirajganj. Later, a canteen boy and two others allegedly took her to the canteen staff’s room on the pretext of arranging a seat for her and raped her there. After receiving the information, a team from Shantahar Railway Police Station rescued the woman when the train reached Shantahar station. Police arrested canteen boy Abu Bakkar Siddique, 22, son of late Masud Rana of Abdulpur in Lalpur upazila of Natore, in connection with the allegation. Efforts are underway to arrest the other two alleged perpetrators, police said. A case has been filed in connection with the incident. The 999 call was received by call-taker Constable Md Kaif Shah, while Police Dispatcher ASI Tarun Kumar Acharya maintained communication with the caller and the concerned police station throughout the operation, Inspector Anwar added.  

A Mymensingh court on Monday sentenced a young man to death and two others to life imprisonment for murdering an auto-rickshaw driver before snatching his vehicle in Mymensingh Sadar upazila in 2024. Farhana Ferdous, judge of the Mymensingh Special Sessions Judge Court, delivered the verdict at noon. The condemned convict is Palash, 25, son of Joynal of Madhya Barera area. He was also fined Tk 30,000. The lifers are Tofail Ahmed Nasim, 21, son of Abdus Samad, and Shakil, 22, son of Babul Miah, of the same area. The court fined them Tk 50,000 each, and in default of payment, they will have to serve six additional months in prison. According to the prosecution, on the night of January 17, 2024, auto-rickshaw driver Nazim Uddin, son of Mofiz Uddin of Gopalnagar village in the upazila, was returning home. The convicts blocked Nazim's path, murdered him and fled with his vehicle.

A one-and-a-half-year-old child, allegedly sold to another person for Tk 1 lakh in Dashmina upazila, was rescued on Sunday night. Musa was rescued from a house in Romanathsen village of Alipur Union through a joint initiative of the upazila administration and police, said Md Atiqul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Dashmina Police Station. In the presence of Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Mahmud Hasan Mridha, the child was handed over to his grandparents, Mofiz Munshi and Mahfuza Begum. The allegation was confirmed after authorities recovered a written agreement made on a Tk 100 non-judicial stamp. Regarding the agreement, accused Md Maruf of Boro Gopaldi village under Betagi-Sankipur Union admitted that he had taken money after handing over his son to another person. However, he claimed that the child had been given for adoption, not sold. Maruf admitted his mistake and apologised. Earlier on Saturday morning, Maruf asked her mother to dress Musa around 8am and then left home, saying he was taking the child to the market. When Maruf and Musa did not return for a long time, family members started searching for them in different places. At one stage, the family contacted Maruf's maternal uncle Bahadur Mia. The family said that, during questioning, Maruf initially did not disclose anything about the child. Later, according to the family, Maruf confessed that he had sold Musa to Imran Hossain of Romanathsen village under Alipur Union of Dashmina upazila.

A tribunal in Jamalpur on Monday sentenced three people to death for violating a woman in 2024. Judge of Jamalpur Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal -1 Abdur Rahim handed down the punishment. The condemned convicts are Abdus Sattar, 42, of Shankarpur village,  Abdul Malek, 44 and Anwar Hossain Anu, 32. 7 to die, 7 get life in prison for Jamalpur double murder The court also sentenced them to life imprisonment for abducting the woman before the rape. According to the prosecution, the woman, mother of two children, used to live alone at her house at Rashidpur Bhatipara village in Sadar upazila of the district. Abdus Sattar, one of the convicts, used to harass her. On October 19, 2024, Abdus Sattar along with 4-5 people including the two other convicts stormed into the house of the woman around 11 pm and took her to a bamboo bush where they violated her in turns. The woman later filed a case with Jamalpur Sadar Police Station.

The High Court on Monday upheld the death sentence of Hitu Sheikh in the much-discussed case filed over the rape and murder of eight-year-old Asiya in Magura. A High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja handed down the verdict. State-appointed lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan defended Hitu while Deputy Attorney General Imam Hossain Tarek represented the state. Asiya rape-murder case: Verdict on Hitu Sheikh’s death reference, appeal today The HC also acquitted three others- Hitu’s wife Jabeda Begum, 40, and two sons – Sajib Sheikh, 20, and Ratul Sheikh, 25. A Magura court on May 17, 2025, sentenced Hitu Sheikh, 50, the prime accused in the case and father-in-law of Asiya’s elder sister, to death, while acquitted three others. The child was raped on March 6, 2025, while visiting her sister's house in Sreepur Upazila of Magura. She was taken from Magura Sadar Hospital to Faridpur Medical College Hospital and later to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. When her condition deteriorated, she was taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) on March 8. The child died there on March 13 while undergoing treatment. Before that, on March 8, the child's mother filed a case at Magura Sadar Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. The main accused in the case, Hitu, gave a confessional statement under Section 164 in the court on March 15. Later, after the completion of the investigation, the police filed a charge sheet on April 13. On April 23, the court framed charges against Hitu under Section 9(2) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and against the other three accused under separate sections of the Penal Code, ordering the trial to begin. After hearing the testimonies of 29 state witnesses in a trial that lasted just a few days, the tribunal announced its verdict in the case on May 17 of that year.

The High Court is set to deliver its verdict Monday on the death reference and appeal involving Hitu Sheikh, the main convict in the murder of a child in Magura. A High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja will deliver the verdict. The same bench on Tuesday fixed the date for the verdict following a time petition filed by the state. The hearing on the death reference and appeal filed by Hitu Sheikh ended on August 24. State-appointed lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan is defending Hitu in court, while Deputy Attorney General Imam Hossain Tarek is representing the state. A Magura court on May 17, 2025, sentenced Hitu Sheikh, 50, the prime accused in the case and father-in-law of Asiya’s elder sister, to death, while acquitted his wife Jabeda Begum, 40, and two sons – Sajib Sheikh, 20, and Ratul Sheikh, 25. After the verdict, Hitu appealed against the death sentence at the High Court. At the same time, the death reference in the case came to the High Court for the approval of a death sentence. The child was raped on Mar 6, 2025, while visiting her sister's house in Sreepur Upazila of Magura. She was taken from Magura Sadar Hospital to Faridpur Medical College Hospital and later to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. When her condition deteriorated, she was taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) on Mar 8. The child died there on Mar 13 while undergoing treatment. Before that, on Mar 8, the child's mother had filed a case against Hitu and four others at Magura Sadar Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. The main accused in the case, Hitu, gave a confessional statement under Section 164 in the court on Mar 15. Later, after the completion of the investigation, the police filed a charge sheet on Apr 13. On Apr 23, the court framed charges against Hitu under Section 9(2) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and against the other three accused under separate sections of the Penal Code, ordering the trial to begin. After hearing the testimonies of 29 state witnesses in a trial that lasted just a few days, the tribunal announced its verdict in the case on May 17 of that year.

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) officials seized 625 cartons of foreign cigarettes, a large quantity of whitening serum, zarda and foreign liquor in separate drives at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.  The total estimated market value of the seized goods stands at around Tk 28 lakh. The seizures were made by the B and C shifts of the CIID based on reliable intelligence received by the director general. During a drive by the B shift, officials kept special surveillance on Emirates flight EK584 arriving from Dubai. While passing through the Green Channel, customs officials searched the baggage of passenger MD. Himel, holding passport number A16137538, and recovered 270 cartons of cigarettes and 1.24 kg of whitening serum. Another passenger on the same flight, Sharmin Akter, holding passport number A15558837, was also found carrying 270 cartons of cigarettes. The B shift seized a total of 540 cartons of cigarettes and 1.24 kg of whitening serum in the operation. The estimated market value of the seized goods was Tk 21.80 lakh. In a separate operation, the C shift conducted surveillance on Air India flight AI237 arriving from Delhi. After the flight landed at around 2:10am, officials searched the baggage of passenger Mahathe Hasan Babu, passport number A12376700, and seized 31 cartons of cigarettes and 132 pieces of Biscos whitening serum. They also recovered 54 cartons of cigarettes, 144 pieces of whitening serum and 3 kg of zarda from another passenger, SOHODUL HASAN SHAKIL, passport number A09913003. In another operation, officials searched the baggage of passenger Rafiqul Sarder, passport number A21565755, who arrived on Qatar Airways flight QR640 from Doha, and seized 3 litres of foreign liquor. According to the CIID, the C shift seized a total of 85 cartons of cigarettes, 276 pieces of Biscos whitening serum, 5 kg of zarda and 3 litres of liquor, with an estimated market value of Tk 6.20 lakh. The CIID said the coordinated operations by the two shifts on the same day resulted in the seizure of goods worth nearly Tk 28 lakh, including 625 cartons of cigarettes. The agency has been maintaining heightened surveillance at the airport to prevent smuggling and misuse of baggage facilities, officials said. The seized goods have been taken into custody for further legal proceedings.  

The government will ensure the maximum punishment for those responsible for the killing of Ganapati Chakraborty and his family members within the shortest possible time, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu has said. Police will file a charge sheet after further investigation into the murders, and exemplary punishment will be ensured within a short time, he said while talking to reporters after visiting Ganapati Chakraborty's house in the Machuapara area of Rangpur city on Sunday afternoon. He also said that a movement against drugs should be launched in the neighbourhood, with people working alongside the administration and remaining vigilant. Only then, he said, would crimes committed by drug dealers and users be reduced. Dulu said the killing of four members of the same family, including Ganapati Chakraborty, was shocking and tragic. There were no words to condemn such an incident, he said. The accused, who were addicted to drugs, often went to Ganapati Chakraborty's house and harassed him, Dulu said. It was believed that Ganapati and his family members were brutally murdered when they tried to stop them, he added. The minister said police immediately arrested the two main accused after the murder. They later gave confessional statements before a court. The government is following a "zero-tolerance" policy towards such murders, he said. Dulu said the government had already set examples in several such incidents. He added that a charge sheet was filed quickly in the Ramisa murder case, and its trial had also been completed. Rangpur Development Authority (RpDA) Chairman Shamsuzzaman Samu and Rangpur Zilla Parishad Administrator Saiful Islam were present at the time.