United News of Bangladesh

River Police have seized a large quantity of illegal fishing net and arrested 248 people in countrywide drives over the past six days. River police conducted the nationwide drives aimed at protecting the country’s aquatic resources and ensuring navigational safety. According to official sources, a total of 2,74,62,615 metres of illegal fishing nets, 5,871 kg of fish, 2,20,000 shrimp fry, and 1,100 kg of jelly-injected shrimp were seized during the drives. Legal action was taken against 96 bulkheads for not having valid documents and cases were filed with the Naval Court. Coast Guard seizes banned fishing nets worth near Tk 9 cr River police recovered nine bodies from separate places during the drives and filed 49 cases. The seized illegal nets were destroyed, the seized fish were distributed among orphanages and the shrimp fry were released into the water.

The Appellate Division on Wednesday acquitted BNP leader Amanullah Aman and his wife Sabera Aman in a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over two decades ago. A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Acting Chief Justice Ashfaqul Islam, passed the order, cancelling the 13-year and 3-year prison sentences handed down to Aman and Sabera, respectively. Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon represented the couple in the court, while lawyer Asif Hasan appeared for the ACC during the hearing. Speaking to the media, Barrister Khokon said the apex court overturned the High Court's earlier verdict and cleared the couple of all charges. Ayna Ghor was the biggest invention of fascist AL govt: Aman Ullah Aman With this ruling, there is no legal bar for Amanullah Aman to contest future elections, he added. The ACC had filed the case with Kafrul Police Station on March 6, 2007, accusing the couple of concealing wealth information and amassing assets beyond their known sources of income. On June 21 that year, a special court in Dhaka sentenced Aman to 13 years in prison and Sabera to three years. The couple later challenged the verdict in the High Court, which acquitted them on August 16, 2010. The ACC, however, appealed the acquittal. Aman Ullah Aman gets acquittal in extortion case On May 26, 2014, the Appellate Division scrapped the HC’s verdict and ordered a rehearing. Following the rehearing, the High Court on May 30, 2023, upheld the initial convictions. The couple then appealed to the Appellate Division once more, which led to today’s final acquittal.

The High Court (HC) on Wednesday set May 8 to deliver its judgment on the death references, appeals and jail appeals of the convicts in the Ramna Batamul bombing cases filed over two decades ago. An HC bench consisting Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasrin Akhter fixed the date. Earlier, on February 18 this year, the court concluded hearings on the death references and appeals, with the verdict pending and expected to be delivered any day. Ramna Batamul Cases: HC verdict expected any day On April 14, 2001, during the Chhayanat’s Bengali New Year celebrations at Ramna Batamul, a bomb blast left nine people dead on the spot. Another died at the hospital later. Two cases – one for murder and another for explosives -- were filed with Ramna Police Station after the incident. Dhaka's Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge ruled on June 23, 2014 in a murder case involving the bomb attack. Eight people, including Mufti Hannan, the top leader of Harkatul Jihad (Huji), were sentenced to death and six to life imprisonment. Mufti Hannan was hanged on April 12, 2017 in a conviction over another grenade attack in Sylhet. The death references and appeals of the convicts were kept waiting for hearing in the HC.

A 60-year-old man was hacked to death in Singair upazila of Manikganj on Tuesday, allegedly for filing a complaint against a man who attempted to rape his granddaughter. The deceased was identified as Ali Asgar, son of late Abdur Rashid, of Roydakshin area under Joymontop union. The accused, Al Amin, 38, a resident of the same village, has been absconding since the incident. According to the victim’s nephew Abul Kalam and local residents, Al Amin had been harassing the girl, a class-III student, for some time. On Monday, he allegedly tried to sexually assault her on her way home from school. She managed to escape with the help of a local auto-rickshaw driver and informed her mother, who is Ali Asgar’s daughter. Krishak Dal leader hacked to death in Sitakunda Following the incident, the family lodged a complaint with Singair Police Station on Tuesday afternoon. Later in the evening, around 7pm, Al Amin, along with a group of accomplices, allegedly attacked Ali Asgar in a nearby paddy field, leaving him critically injured. He was first taken to the Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar, where he succumbed to his injuries later that night. Ali Asgar’s sons, Liakat and Sayem, were also injured while trying to protect their father. Officer-in-charge of Singair Police Station JOM Toufiq Azam said efforts are underway to arrest the accused and bring them to justice.

The government has not been responsible for halting the news broadcasts of Deepto TV, said Information and Broadcasting Adviser Mahfuj Alam on Tuesday. Speaking at Ministry of Information and Broadcasting event at the Secretariat, he said that the decision was made internally by Deepto TV's authorities. Earlier in the day, Deepto TV displayed a news scroll on its channel announcing the suspension of news broadcasting due to unavoidable circumstances, effective until further notice.

Actor Siddique was assaulted and forcibly taken to the police by a group of agitated individuals on Tuesday afternoon. A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media platform Facebook. The footage shows Siddique, his clothes torn, being paraded through the streets before being handed over to police officers at Ramna Police Station. Sub-Inspector Jalal, the duty officer at Ramna Police Station, said, “A group of people brought him to us this afternoon. His clothes were torn, and he is currently in our custody.” Attemped murder case filed with Vatara station lists 17 film and tv stars among accused Witnesses said he was beaten in Dhaka’s Kakrail area and dragged towards the police station while slogans were chanted against him. The video captures a group of youths physically dragging Siddique, who appeared to be in distress and was seen crying. Some individuals were seen striking him as he was being led to the station. The attackers were heard shouting slogans such as “Awami League er dosor,” (Enabler of Awami League)while a voice in the video commentary said, “We are handing over Siddique, a stooge of Awami League, to the police.” Entertainment industry stands for Iresh Zaker on social media after murder case Siddique, known for his work in film and television, has also been involved in politics. During the Awami League government, he reportedly sought party nominations multiple times to contest elections from Gulshan in Dhaka and Madhupur in Tangail.

An attempted murder case has been registered with the Vatara Police Station in the capital against around 300 individuals, including 17 film and television artists including Apu Biswas, Nusrat Faria, Nipun Akter, Suborna Mustafa, Ashna Habib Bhabna, and Zayed Khan.  The case was filed in connection with an incident that occurred in the area under Vatara police station during the anti-discrimination students movement last year.  Contacted,  Officer-in-Charge of Vatara Police Station Mazharul Islam said that a man named Enamul Haque filed the case in March this year with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Dhaka. The case accuses nearly 300 individuals, including Awami League President and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other government officials, he added.  Enamul himself was the target of the attempt to murder, it is alleged. The Vatara Police station received the Court order yesterday (Monday). The process of recording the case as a First Information Report (FIR) has been started today (Tuesday), the OC added.  According to the case documents, 17 film and TV artists, including Nusrat Faria, were accused of taking a stance against an anti-discrimination movement and allegedly supporting the ruling party financially.  Other actors and actresses  included in the case are-- Rokeya Prachy, Meher Afroz Shaon, Sohana Saba, Jyotika Jyoti, Simon Sadik, Azizul Hakim.  Additionally, 300 to 400 unidentified persons have also been accused in the case.  

Five policemen were injured in an attack allegedly by a mob during a drive to arrest a suspected drug trader in Chhagalnaiya upazila of Feni on Monday night. The injured are Detective Branch (DB) Sub-Inspector Tanvir Mehdi, Assistant Sub-Inspectors Khokon Hossain and Rinku Barua, and constables Mujibur Rahman and Jahangir. Police said a DB team conducted the drive to arrest alleged drug dealer Alamgir, also known as ‘Source Alamgir.’ After the arrest, a group of 40–50 men and women gathered and attacked the DB personnel when Alamgir managed to flee. Being informed, a police team from Chhagalnaiya police station led by Officer-in-Charge Nazrul Islam rushed to the spot and rescued the injured officers. Titas employees, cops attacked during drive against illegal gas line Later, they were sent to Chhagalnaiya Upazila Health Complex. Three people -Joynal Abedin Sifat, 20, Ruzina Akter, 32, Rupdhan, 48, hailing from Joynagar village of Mohamaya union, were detained in connection with the attack. Marm Singh Tripura, OC at Feni DB, said legal action against the detainees will be taken and efforts were on to detain the rest of the accused.

A mobile court sentenced six people to jail on charge of extracting soil from government land in Feni Sadar upazila early Tuesday. The drive, led by Feni Sadar Assistant Commissioner (Land) Sajib Talukder, was conducted around 1am in Dakshin Chandpur area of Lemua union. The court sentenced Md Zainal Abedin, 52, to four months' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Tk 25,000. Md Ismail, 35, and Md Saddam, 33, were each sentenced to three months in jail, with fines of Tk 25,000 and Tk 100, respectively. Besides, Md Arif, 35, Md Israfil, 23, and Md Jahangir, 35, were each sentenced one month in jail and fined Tk 100. According to court sources, the six were arrested while digging soil from riverbanks, causing threats to the environment, local biodiversity and the surrounding ecosystem. 9 jailed for illegal sand extraction in Meghna During the drive, two trucks were seized and an excavator was destroyed on the spot. Later, the court sentenced and fined the accused under Section 13 of the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act-2023. Magistrate Sajib said the illegal extraction of nutrient-rich topsoil from croplands and riverbanks is causing alarming rates of land fertility loss in Feni Sadar. The privately-owned lands, government-owned khas land and riverbanks are not being spared from the greed of these soil traders, he said. He said agricultural lands once used for Boro paddy and seasonal crops are turning into water bodies due to deep pits from soil extraction, leading to declining crop production and severe environmental damage.

A 28-year-old youth was shot dead by armed assailants on in Begumganj upazila of Noakhali district Monday night. The deceased was identified as Md. Shakil, son of Md. Solaiman Khokon of Gangabar Bazar under Chayani union of the upazila. He worked as an aluminum technician. Witnesses said Shakil and others were having tea at a shop at a local market at 8pm when five armed terrorists arrived in a CNG-run autorickshaw. The miscreants attempted to abduct a youth named Labib by force. After being barred from Shakil and others, the miscreants left the spot but returned shortly afterward and opened fire, fatally shooting Shakil. Jubo Dal man shot dead in Ctg His (Shakil) younger brother, Shuvo was also seriously injured after being attacked with a sharp weapon. Locals rushed both brothers to Noakhali General Hospital where physicians declared Shakil dead on arrival. Shuvo was undergoing treatment. However, locals detained three of the attackers and gave them a thrashing. Md. Habibur Rahman, inspector (investigation) of Begumganj Model police station, said that police were deployed to the scene and brought the situation under control. As of 10:30pm, police could not able to rescue the detainees from the crowd. Some locals reportedly refused to hand them over to police, saying that they planned to turn them over to the army instead. Air remains thick with tension in surrounding areas.