United News of Bangladesh

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has filed a case against Rafiqul Islam, chairman of Rongdhanu Group, along with his son, brother, and several other family members, on charges of laundering and embezzling approximately Tk 878 crore. The case was filed late Wednesday (August 6) at Gulshan Police Station in the capital, CID Special Superintendent (Media) Jasim Uddin Khan said in a press release on Thursday. The accused include Rafiqul Islam, his brother Abdul Hai, and sons Kawsar Ahmed Apu and Mehedi Hasan Dipu. In total, eight people, including their wives, nephews, and other relatives, have been named in the case under Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2012 (Amended 2015). Begum Rokeya University’s ex-VC Dr Kalimullah arrested According to the complaint, the accused allegedly earned money through fraud and forgery, laundered the money abroad, and invested US$2 million in Antigua and Barbuda, ultimately acquiring citizenship there. CID investigations reveal that the Rongdhanu Group, led by Rafiqul Islam, fraudulently secured massive loans from multiple banks, including Tk 270 crore from First Security Islami Bank, Tk 200 crore from Union Bank, Tk 400 crore from the Baridhara branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, based on a fake property valuation report. These loans, acquired in the name of a bogus construction project—Police Officers Bahumukhi Samabay Samity Limited—involved forged documents and inflated work orders. In addition, in 2022, Mehedi Hasan Dipu and Kausar Ahmed Apu allegedly embezzled Tk 57 crore from individuals by selling land that was never actually handed over. Charge sheets filed in 19 cases centering student uprising: Police HQ Meanwhile, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), in coordination with CID, has already seized 13 bank accounts belonging to the accused, containing about Tk 17 crore. Additionally, the court has crooked over one lakh square feet of commercial space owned by Rangdhanu Group in Jamuna Future Park (Level-02). “This is a well-planned case of money laundering and fraud. The accused not only stole from financial institutions but also smuggled the funds abroad to gain foreign citizenship,” said CID’s Jasim Uddin Khan.  The CID emphasised that the investigation is ongoing, with efforts underway to identify more accomplices and seize additional assets.

A Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activist was stabbed to death in Panchagarh town over previous enmityon Wednesday night. The deceased was identified as Zaber Rahman Joy, 18, son of late Zahirul Islam of Akheri Road in Panchagarh municipality. Joy worked as a manager at a fruit wholesale shop in the town’s main market. Police and locals said Joy had enmity with two other JCD activists- Al Amin and Parvez. Earlier on Wednesday, the trio had an altercation in the Tinpatti area which was apparently resolved through mediation. Joy was called to Cinema Hall Market area over phone and an argument broke out again  around 8:30 pm when he was stabbed. JCD leader stabbed to death in Rangpur Locals rushed him to Panchagarh Sadar Hospital but later he was referred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital and he succumbed to his injuries on the way. Additional police and army members were deployed in the town to avoid further clash, said Abdullah Hil Zaman, officer-in-charge of Panchagarh Sadar Police Station. The body was sent to Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy and process is underway to file a case, he said.

Detectives have arrested former Vice Chancellor of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur Dr Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah from Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area in a graft case. Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (DC media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said a Detective Branch (DB) team arrested him from a residence in Mohammadpur area on Thursday morning. JnU students besiege VC office, demand action over attack on teachers   Dr Kalimullah, known as a pro-Awami League teacher, was vocal during Sheikh Hasina’s regime. Earlier, on June 18, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Dr Kalimullah and four others for the abuse of power, fraud and embezzlement of Tk four crore through various projects of the public university. The rest of the accused are former BRU VC Dr AKM Noor-un-Nabi, former executive engineer of the university and secretary of the tender evaluation committee Md Jahangir Alam, contractor Md Abdus Salam Bachchu and MM Habibur Rahman. On Wednesday, Director General and spokesperson of the ACC Akhtar Hossain in a briefing said the accused, in collusion with each other, misappropriated a total of Tk 34 crore from several sources.

Charge sheets have been filed in 19 cases so far in connection with the student-led mass uprising against discrimination in 2024, according to the Bangladesh Police Headquarters. Among the 19 cases, 8 are murder cases while 11 fall under other legal sections. Of the murder cases, 3 were filed in Sherpur, and one each in Feni, Chandpur, Cumilla, Kurigram, and under Chattogram Metropolitan Police. The 11 other cases include one each from Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Barishal Metropolitan Police, three from Chapainawabganj, two from Sirajganj, and one each from Pabna and Jamalpur. Two additional cases are currently under investigation by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI). Senior police officials are directly supervising the progress of these investigations to ensure they are conducted properly and transparently. The Bangladesh Police affirmed its commitment to completing investigations into all remaining cases and bringing those responsible to justice.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched an investigation into the murder of Islamic University (IU) student Sajid Abdullah, proceeding on verbal orders due to delays in formal transfer procedures. CID officials started collecting evidence from the crime scene, according to IU official sources on Wednesday. The probe is being conducted alongside parallel investigations by the Islamic University Police Station and the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI). On August 4, Sajid’s father, Ahsan Habibullah, filed a case at the Islamic University Police Station, specifically requesting that the CID take over the investigation—a process currently underway. Sajid’s body was found on July 17 in a pond near Shah Azizur Rahman Hall on the IU campus at around 4:45pm. A viscera report released on August 3 confirmed he died from strangulation and was likely killed approximately 30 hours before the autopsy, placing the time of death at around 3:30am on July 16. As the investigation progresses, students and the university community are demanding swift, transparent justice, intensifying pressure on law enforcement to ensure accountability.

A Kishoreganj court on Wednesday sentenced three people including a father to death for killing his daughter in Karimganj upazila of Kishoreganj district around nine years back. Judge of Kishoreganj Senior District and Sessions Judge Court Muhammad Nurul Amin Biplob also fined the convicts Tk 50, 0000 each , said the court’s Assistant Public Prosecutor Mazharul Islam.   The convicts are the victim’s father Anowarul Islam alias Angur Mia, paternal uncle Khurshid Mia (Anowarul’s brother) and paternal cousin Sadek Mia. All were tried in the absentia. 13 get life imprisonment for killing farmer in Kishoreganj The court also acquitted the victim’s mother Nazmunnhar of the charges.   According to the case statement, the accused slaughtered Mir Aktar Asma, daughter of Anowarul, to frame their rivals as they had rivalry with neighbour Abu Bakkar Siddique and others over land on October 10, 2016. Later, the father filed a murder case with the police station accusing his rivals. But police found that Mira was murdered by her family members in a planned way. Police filed a case accusing the trio and arrested them.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 on Wednesday ordered the start of trial proceedings against 30 accused in the murder case of Abu Sayed, the first martyr of the July Mass Uprising. A three-member tribunal led by ICT-Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury passed the order. The tribunal set August 27 and 28 to record testimonies from the witnesses in the case. All six arrested accused were produced before the tribunal in the morning. Those produced are Shariful Islam, former proctor of Begum Rokeya University, Sujan Chandra Roy, a former police constable, Imran Chowdhury Akash, a banned Chhatra League leader, Amir Hossain, a former assistant sub-inspector, Rafiul Hasan Russell and Anwar Parvez Apil, activists of the banned Chhatra League. Mother of Abu Sayed wishes to see her martyred son's dream for Bangladesh fulfilled Earlier, on July 30, the tribunal heard the state defence’s petition seeking exemption for 24 absconding accused. The prosecution formally filed charges on June 30 which were accepted by the tribunal the same day. Abu Sayed, an English department student of Begum Rokeya University, was shot dead by police on July 16 last year near Park Mor in front of the university, triggering severe outrage across the country.

A regional leader of the banned Purbo Banglar Communist Party was shot and hacked to death by unidentified assailants in Khulna on Tuesday night. Police identified the deceased as Sheikh Shahadat Hossain. Officer-in-charge (OC) of Sonadanga Police Station Shariful Islam said a group of attackers chased Shahadat and attacked him near ‘Sangeeta Cinema Hall’ in the city around 9 pm. At one stage, the attackers left the scene and locals rushed him to Khulna Medical College Hospital where physicians declared him dead around 9:30 pm, the OC said.  Former ‘member of outlawed party’ shot dead in Pabna Shahadat had been released on bail earlier this year after serving over 15 years in jail.  He had since been living a normal life, the OC added. Shahadat was accused in a number of murder cases, including one involving the killing of two policemen.

Police arrested a local leader of Awami League from Islampur village in Mithamoin upazila of Kishoreganj district on Monday. The arrestee was identified as Omar Faruk Chowdhury, 58, member of Mithamoin Sadar Union unit AL’s Advisory Council and paternal uncle of former DB Chief Harun-or-Rashid. Alamgir Kabir, officer-in-charge of Mithamoin Police Station, said police arrested Omar from Islampur village around 8 pm on Monday. Later, he was handed over to Sadar Police Station. Omar was wanted in a case filed over the July uprising with Sadar Police Station.

Dr. Md. Rashidul Islam, a professor in the Statistics Department at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR), has been suspended following allegations of sexual harassment brought by a female student of the department. The suspension was based on recommendations made by the investigation committee formed in response to the complaint, and was approved at the 113th meeting of the University Syndicate, in line with the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018. Acting on the directive of Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Shawkat Ali, the university issued a formal suspension letter on Sunday (August 3), signed by Registrar Dr. Md. Harun-or Rashid.