United News of Bangladesh

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Khondkar Misbah ul Azim left Dhaka for Saudi Arabia on Saturday on an official visit. During the visit, the Navy chief is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on Saudi Arabia’s Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces and Commander of the Multinational Maritime Defence Coalition. During the meetings, they will discuss various issues of bilateral interest including the existing friendly relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia and areas of cooperation between the two navies. The Navy chief will also visit various military and naval installations in Saudi Arabia and exchange views on professional relations, training and other areas of cooperation between the naval forces of the two countries. The visit is expected to further strengthen the existing mutual cooperation and fraternal ties between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.    

A Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal man was hacked and shot dead by unidentified assailants at Keranihat Bazar in Raozan upazila of Chattogram on Thursday night. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Karim, 35, son of Muhammad Shafi of Har Para village under Urkirchar union. He was an activist of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, locals said. Traders at Keranihat Bazar said Karim, who worked as a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver, was at the bazaar around 9:30pm when a group of miscreants attacked him. The assailants hacked him on the head and shot him in the back before fleeing the scene, they said. Confirming the incident, Chattogram Superintendent of Police Masud Alam said Karim had several cases filed against him with different police stations. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Raozan Police Station Saiful Islam said the motive behind the murder could not be determined immediately. “Police are investigating the incident to identify those involved in the killing,” he said. According to Raozan Police Station, Karim was accused in at least 10 cases filed under the Arms Act and the Narcotics Control Act.

A court has ordered a case to be filed against a lawyer, a court police officer and a clerk in Gaibandha for allegedly using forged birth certificates to show four adult accused as children and secure their bail, tampering with court order sheets and removing case records. The order reached Gobindaganj Police Station around noon Thursday, following which police began the process of filing a case against the three accused. The order was issued on Wednesday by Mohammad Iftekhar Bin Aziz, judge of Gaibandha Children’s Court-2 and Senior District and Sessions Judge. The accused are district bar lawyer Shefaul Islam Ripon, court clerk Hasan Ali and then Gobindaganj court (General Register) GR officer Abdur Sabur. Police arrested four people — Palash Rana, Suman Mia, Shamim Chowdhury and Enamul Haque from different places in Gobindaganj in connection with several cases, including a hacking case. Relatives of the accused later sought legal advice from lawyer Shefaul Islam to secure their release from jail. According to the allegations, the lawyer, in exchange for a large sum of money, arranged forged birth certificates and other documents to show Enamul Haque, a married adult hacker, as a minor. The lawyer allegedly used the documents to secure bail for adult accused in three separate cases by presenting them as children. The lawyer was also accused of taking a large amount of money from the accused and, with the help of court GR officer Abdur Sabur and clerk Hasan Ali, removing court records and tampering with orders recorded in the order sheets. Several lawyers, including Sarwar Hossain and Mottalib Hossain, later urged the court to cancel the bail granted to the accused. As the lawyers opposed the bail, the court took the matter into consideration and ordered an investigation. The judge of Children’s Court-2 assigned the investigation to Gobindaganj Senior Judicial Magistrate SM Galib Hasan. He submitted his investigation report to the Children’s Court on August 19 and found the allegations to be true. In his report, the magistrate recommended cancellation of lawyer Shefaul Islam Ripon’s licence, cancellation of the registration of his clerk Hasan Ali, and departmental action against police officer Abdur Sabur, the then GR officer of Gobindaganj court, for negligence of duty. The court observed in the investigation report that such an incident was a “dark chapter” for the country’s overall judicial system. After receiving the investigation report, Judge Mohammad Iftekhar Bin Aziz directed the bench assistant of the Gobindaganj Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court to file a case with Gobindaganj Police Station against the accused. Gobindaganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mozammel Haque said they had received the court order and were taking necessary legal steps.

A woman was arrested after she allegedly drugged her husband and beat him to death with a brick before calling the national emergency helpline 999 to surrender in the capital's Sabujbagh area on Thursday.  The deceased was identified as Mahfuzur Rahman, 40.  The caller, Rehana Akhter, 40, contacted the emergency service from the Nandipara Boro Masjid area at noon. She confessed that she had administered sleeping pills to her husband on Wednesday night and struck his head with a brick while he was asleep.  Constable Arif Hossain received the call at the 999 control room, while Police Dispatcher Sub Inspector Owlad Hossain coordinated the response with Sabujbagh Police Station.  A police team subsequently rushed to the scene and arrested her.  Primary investigation indicates that she murdered her husband out of anger stemming from family feuds and his alleged extramarital affairs.  Legal proceedings regarding the incident are currently underway, police added. 

Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Md Aminul Islam on Thursday said the prosecution has secret information suggesting there may be some plans afoot to sabotage the tribunal. He made the remarks while briefing reporters at his office. Sagar-Runi murder: ICT finds link to cultural figure “Our tribunal’s security has been strengthened compared to before. We have some secret information that there may be an attempt to carry out sabotage here when the trials of influential accused are nearing their conclusion or when verdicts are awaiting,” he said. He said law enforcement agencies have been given necessary instructions to strengthen security at the tribunal and are overseeing security arrangements. The chief prosecutor also said investigations are underway against several journalists over allegations of aiding and inciting crimes against humanity. Md Aminul Islam said a formal complaint had been received against some journalists, registered and taken up for investigation. As part of the investigation, three journalists are currently in jail, he said. “If preliminary evidence of crimes against humanity is found against any other journalist during the investigation and the investigation report establishes evidence of such crimes, formal charges will also be filed against them and steps will be taken to bring them to trial before the tribunal,” he said. Regarding the murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi, the chief prosecutor said a clue related to the killings had been found during another investigation. He said if any further information or relevant evidence concerning the Sagar-Runi murder is found during the investigation, it will be collected and handed over to the concerned investigators. Meanwhile, the chief prosecutor said the prosecution would appeal seeking an increase in the sentence of former information minister Hasanul Haq Inu after receiving the full text of the tribunal’s verdict in his case. He said the full verdict would be reviewed after it is received and necessary legal steps would be taken to seek enhancement of the sentence.

The High Court on Thursday refused to grant anticipatory bail to film actor Riaz Uddin Ahamed Siddique in two separate cases filed over the July 2024 mass uprising. Riaz appeared before the High Court in person and sought anticipatory bail in the two cases. After hearing, the court returned both his applications and removed them from the cause list. Senior lawyer Motahar Hossain Saju appeared for Riaz, while Deputy Attorney General Md Manzurul Alam Sujon represented the state. Later, Manzurul said Riaz had filed two separate anticipatory bail petitions in cases lodged with Jatrabari and Shahbagh police stations. “The court did not grant him bail. It returned the two petitions,” he said. One of the cases against Riaz was filed over an alleged attempt to kill Saifuddin Mohammad Emdad, a student of Government Alia Madrasah in the capital, during the uprising. The case was filed on May 2, 2025, naming Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the principal accused along with 200 others, including artistes, journalists, teachers and political figures. Earlier, on April 30, 2025, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Monirul Islam accepted the complaint and directed Shahbagh Police Station to register it as a first information report (FIR). Riaz is also an accused in another murder case filed in connection with the July uprising.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Thursday asked 30 people including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to surrender before the court by September 16 in a case filed in connection with the Shapla Chattar massacre during a Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh rally in 2013. The three-member ICT-2 led by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury passed the order and asked the authorities concerned to publishe advertisement on daily newspapers about the order. It also fixed September 30 for next hearing in the case. Ten arrested accused including ex-minister Hasanul Haque Inu, writer Shahriar Kabir and ex-minister Dipu Moni, were produced before the ICT on Thursday. However, journalist Farzana Rupa was not brought to the tribunal as she was unwell. The other accused brought before the tribunal are former state minister for home Shamsul Haque Tuku, ex-food minister Dr. Abdur Razzaque, former minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, former IGP AKM Shahidul Haque, major general (retd.) Ziaul Ahsan, former DIG Abdul Jalil Mondal and ex-Managing Director of Ekattor TV Mozammel Haque Babu. Earlier, on August 16, eleven accused were scheduled to be produced before the tribunal. On July 27, ICT-2 took cognisance of the formal charges filed by the prosecution against 41 accused. Two charges were brought in the case including killing of 32 people at Shapla Chattar on May 5, 2013 and the killings of 20 people on May 6 in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj and other parts of the country.

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.