United News of Bangladesh

A Faridpur tribunal on Thursday sentenced a 38-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping a nine-year-old girl in Saltha upazila in 2020. The convict was identified as Shawkat Mia of Boro Bangrail village in the upazila. Judge Abul Bashar of the Faridpur Children Violence Suppression Tribunal delivered the verdict in the presence of the convict. The tribunal also fined the convict Tk 1 lakh, in default of which he will have to serve an additional year in jail. According to the prosecution, the victim, a third-grader, went to inspect her family’s vegetable field near her house on May 22, 2020. Shawkat, who was lying in wait, forcibly abducted the girl and raped her in a nearby jute field. Locals rescued the victim in critical condition and admitted her to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. The child’s father filed a case against Shawkat at Saltha Police Station the following day. Police submitted a charge sheet against the accused on October 5, 2020, following an investigation.

Mobile courts fined two food manufacturing establishments a total of Tk 400,000 in separate drives in Bogura and Pabna for producing food in unhygienic conditions and violating the Safe Food Act, 2013. In Bogura, a mobile court fined Belal Foods, a bakery factory in Atta Para of Bogura Sadar, Tk 100,000 during an inspection conducted on July 22. The drive, led by Executive Magistrate Faisal Ahmad of the Bogura District Administration, found the factory producing bakery items in an extremely unhygienic environment. Officials also found that expired and returned biscuits and bread were being blended and reused in the production of bakery products. The establishment was operating without registration, producing bakery items without obtaining the required BSTI certification, and workers were not maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation, according to officials. Based on the owner's admission of the offences, the mobile court imposed and realised a fine of Tk 100,000 under Section 39 of the Safe Food Act, 2013. Safe Food Officer Md Russell and other officials of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) took part in the operation, while a team from the district police provided security. Meanwhile, in Pabna, a mobile court fined Akif Anas Dairy, located in Faridpur upazila, Tk 300,000 following a monitoring operation at its milk processing factory on July 22. During the inspection, officials recovered unhygienic jelly, detergent and several unlabelled chemical substances from the factory. The proprietor admitted during questioning that the recovered jelly had been used in milk production, officials said. With the assistance of the upazila administration, a mobile court was subsequently conducted under the Safe Food Act, 2013. The court, led by Faridpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Umme Imama Banin, imposed a fine of Tk 300,000 on the establishment. The factory authorities also signed a written undertaking pledging not to engage in such unlawful activities in the future. The monitoring operation was attended by BFSA Safe Food Officer Shamim Ahmed and acting Safe Food Inspector Abdus Sabur. The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority said monitoring, sample collection and legal action against food safety violations would continue in the public interest to ensure safe food for consumers.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Thursday ordered that Major (retd) Mozaffar Hossain, one of the prime accused in the former President Ziaur Rahman assassination case, to be shown arrested in a case over crimes against humanity committed in Feni during the July 2024 uprising. The three-member ICT-2, chaired by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, also granted the prosecution two days to interrogate the accused. It fixed September 23 for submission of the investigation report. The other members of the tribunal are Judge Md Manjurul Bashid and Judge Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir. Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam represented the prosecution during the hearing. Earlier in the day, Mozaffar was produced before the tribunal. He will remain in Dhaka Cantonment Jail. The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested Mozaffar in the capital on July 15 after over 45 years on the run. Later, he was handed over to the Military Police at Dhaka Cantonment as his trial in the Zia assassination case will be held under the military law. Meanwhile, another accused in the crimes against humanity case, Lieutenant General (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury, was also produced before the tribunal.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday said it thwarted an alleged attempt by India's Border Security Force (BSF) to push five people into Bangladesh through the Chuadanga border. According to BGB, the incident occurred around 4:00am on Thursday near border pillar 76/4-S under the jurisdiction of the Darshana Border Outpost (BOP) of Chuadanga Battalion (6 BGB). BGB said members of the BSF's 32 Battalion from the Gede camp attempted to force five unidentified persons – one man, three women and one child – into Bangladesh through the border. A BGB patrol team detected the incident immediately and prevented the group from entering Bangladesh, said acting Commanding Officer of BGB Chuadanga Battalion Major Towasin Habib Hasan. He said the individuals were subsequently compelled to remain near the border barbed-wire fence. In the face of BGB's firm stance, the BSF eventually took the five people back into Indian territory, preventing the alleged push-in attempt from succeeding. The BGB official said the force remains vigilant and prepared to prevent all forms of illegal border crossings and violations of border laws. He added that BGB continues to perform its duties with professionalism, vigilance and responsibility to ensure border security and maintain peace and order in border areas.

A tribunal in Cumilla on Thursday sentenced a man to death in a case filed over the rape and murder of a nine-year-old child in Cumilla in 2024. The convict was identified as Mofizul Islam Mofu, son of the late Abdul Khalek of Khilpara village in Cumilla Sadar Dakshin Upazila. Judge Md. Yasin Arafat of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 delivered the verdict after completing the trial in just 19 working days. According to the prosecution, on April 29, 2024, Tanjim Sultana Jhumur, a third-grade student at Sonali Shishu Bidyaniketan in Kheyaish village under Galiara Union of Cumilla Sadar Dakshin Upazila, went missing while returning home from school. When she failed to return home at the expected time, her family searched for her in every possible place. On information from local residents, they later recovered Jhumur's body from a paddy field in the Thakurbari area of the village. Police also recovered her school bag, school uniform, and shoes from the spot. The following day, the victim's mother, Razia Akhter, filed a case with Sadar Dakshin Police Station, naming Mofizul Islam Mofu, a resident of Khilpara village in Sadar Dakshin Upazila, as the sole accused. Three days after the incident, members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) conducted a raid in Chandpur and arrested the accused, Mofizul Islam Mofu. Later, Mofizul confessed to raping and killing the child before the court.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has warned the public against several fake Facebook accounts and pages operating in the name of Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon. In a press release on Thursday, it said the minister has only one verified Facebook account bearing a blue badge in his own name and has no connection with or endorsement of any other Facebook account or page. The ministry expressed concern over the recent emergence of multiple fake accounts and pages using the minister’s name, identity and photograph to circulate statements, misleading information and other content without his approval. It said such activities are "completely illegal and unethical." The ministry urged the public not to rely on or share content published from those fake accounts and pages. It also called on them to report such accounts to the authorities concerned.

Police arrested a local leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP) in Chattogram city on Wednesday night in connection with a case filed over the alleged rape of a college student on the false promise of marriage. The arrestee was identified as Aftab Majumdar Joy, a member of the Chattogram city convening committee of the NCP. Officer-in-Charge of Chandgaon Police Station Sabuj Mahmud said a police team arrested Joy from the BDR Field area in Halishahar. According to the case statement, Joy came into contact with the victim, a higher secondary student of Chattogram Agrabad Women College, through Facebook. The two later developed a relationship. The complaint alleges that on July 14, Joy took the student to a residential hotel in the Chandgaon area, where he raped her after promising to marry her. When the victim later pressed him to fulfil his promise of marriage, Joy allegedly refused. She subsequently learned that he was already married and has a child. The student filed the case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act at Chandgaon Police Station on July 19, following which police launched an investigation and arrested the accused.

A Chandpur tribunal on Wednesday sentenced a 50-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl in back in 2021. The convict was identified as Md Arun Bhuiyan, son of late Abdul Kadir Bhuiyan of Gojra Bhuiyan Bari under Matlab Uttar upazila. Children Violence Suppression Tribunal Judge Md Rezaul Karim delivered the verdict in the presence of the convict, who was also fined Tk 50,000. According to the prosecution, the seven-year-old girl went to a crop field near her house with her brother to guard seedbeds on July 9, 2021. After a while, her brother left her sitting beside the field and went home to have food. Taking advantage of his absence, the accused raped the child. Later, the victim narrated the ordeal to her grandmother as her parents were in Dhaka for medical treatment on that day. Upon returning home on July 14, the victim's father filed a case at Matlab Uttar Police Station in this regard. The accused was arrested on July 15. Following the investigation, police submitted a charge sheet to the court on October 20 of the same year.

Police arrested 16 people during a special drive in the capital's Jatrabari area on Monday. The arrestees were Md Farhan Habib, 33, Md Shuvo, 22, Abdul Alim, 39, Md Anisuzzaman, 48, Md Rabbi, 20, Md Robiul Gazi, 23, Mehedi Hasan alias Sagar Ahmed, 30, Mehedi Hasan, 26, Md Sujon Mia, 40, Md Raju, 34, Robin, 30, Riel Khan, 38, Md Ariful Islam, 23, Mehedi Hasan, 21, Nurunnabi, 33, and Apon, 20. Niaz Mehedi, additional deputy commissioner of Media and Public Relations Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said the arrestees included suspects wanted in various cases and others involved in various criminal activities. He said such drives would continue to maintain law and order in the capital. Legal action against the arrestees is under process, he added.

Former army officer Mozaffar Hossain, who was arrested after 45 years in connection with the assassination of former president Ziaur Rahman, is set to be accused in a case before the International Crimes Tribunal. Tribunal sources confirmed the development, saying the prosecution has submitted an application seeking to show him arrested in the tribunal case. The hearing on the petition is scheduled to take place at the tribunal on Tuesday. Mozaffar was arrested last Thursday based on information from a conversation involving former military officer Masud Uddin Chowdhury. He was later taken to the spot where Ziaur Rahman was assassinated. Earlier, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the accused in the Zia murder case would face trial in a military court. However, the prosecution said preparations have been completed to arrest and prosecute Mozaffar in a case related to crimes against humanity. An investigation into the allegations against him has already begun, it added.