A five-member committee was formed on Monday to probe the fire at the New Super Market, next to Dhaka New Market on Saturday morning. Headed by Md Wahidul Islam, director (administration and Finance) of Fire Service and Civil Defense headquarters, the committee has been asked to submit its report within five working days. The other members of the committee are—Babul Chakrabarty, deputy director (planning), Senior Station officer of Palashi Fire Station, Warehouse inspector Golam Mostafa and Foysalur Rahman, deputy assistant director. Earlier, a massive fire that broke out at New Super Market on Saturday was doused on Sunday morning around 27 hours after it started. Also read; New Super Market fire: Traders risking lives to save valuables It burnt down several shops and establishments during this busy Eid shopping season. A total of 28 firefighting units and teams of Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force took part in the effort to douse the fire. Some 32 people, including firefighters, fell sick from the heavy smoke while firefighters were trying to douse the blaze.    

The Security Services Division of the Home Ministry has formed a four-member committee to probe the escaping of two death row convicts, also members of banned militant group Ansar al-Islam, from the premises of a Dhaka court on Sunday. The ministry issued a notification in this regard on Sunday (November 20). Read more: 2 militants who escaped from Dhaka court will be arrested any time soon: DB Chief The committee, headed by additional secretary (Prison sub-division) of the Security Services Division, has been asked to submit its report within seven working days, said the notification. On Sunday, two members of the banned militant outfit Ansar al-Islam, who were sentenced to death in Jagriti Publications publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan murder case, escaped from the premises of Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court (Dhaka CMM Court). Read more: Five cops suspended over escape of 2 convicted militants The escapees are Md Abu Siddique Sohel alias Sakib alias Sajid alias Shahab and Moinul Hasan Shamim alias Samir alias Sifat alias Imran. Publisher Dipan, son of Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Huq of Dhaka University, was hacked to death in his office on the second floor of Aziz Supermarket at Shahbagh in Dhaka on October 31, 2015.

A probe body formed to investigate last month's horrific accident in Uttara that saw a massive girder of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project crush five members of a family to death in their car, has found the Chinese contractor responsible for the tragedy. Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division ABM Amin Ullah Nuri revealed this at a press briefing on the probe report at the Secretariat on Sunday. The probe body found the contractor firm, China Gezhouba Group Corporation, or CGGC responsible for the accident, he said. Separately, the probe body pointed to twelve circumstantial reasons behind the accident. These are as follows: Also read: 10 people remanded over Uttara girder crash · The authorities concerned were shifting the girder in the daytime for the first time, which is among the prime reasons behind the accident. · The authorities concerned were ignoring the government holiday without taking any prior permission from the higher authorities concerned. · The crane was driven by an assistant operator or helper of the crane’s main operator. · Even the operator had no licence. · The crane was found driving on a bumpy road. · There was no digital monitor on the crane. · The workers did not take any prior approval for the work. · There was no specific traffic management. Also read: PM orders to find out those responsible for Uttara girder crash · Ineptitude of the traffic management workers. · Lack of a safety engineer. · There was no emergency plan management · Those found working that day were not approved by the contractor firm. Few days after the accident, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming said there would be no objections on their part if punitive actions is taken against those found responsible for the tragedy in an official probe. The probe body also provides some recommendations, including to continue the project work after ensuring safety as per the agreement; take prior approval for safety related issue; should be coordinated with the engineer, consultant, police, city corporation and other concerned for road related work; shifting heavy things like girder should take place from 8pm to 6am, after ensuring proper safety measure and must ensure emergency incident management plan and keeping standby capacity cranes or wrecker, ambulance, first aid and emergency doctor in the project area. The committee suggested bearing the cost of the victims injured in the accident as per prior consensus. On August 15, five members of a family, including two children, were crushed to death after a girder of the BRT project in Uttara fell from a crane on their private car. The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges formed the six-member probe committee to investigate the tragedy on the following day. Meanwhile, a police case has been filed in connection with the tragedy that occurred around 4.15pm when the girder of the Gazipur Expressway fell on the car from a crane while it was being moved in front of Gazipur Paradise Tower. The FIR for causing death due to negligence does not name anyone but lists the crane operator and the company responsible for the project, China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd, police said.

The probe committee, formed for looking into the incident of charged baton on the activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) during an infighting in Barguna, recommended taking punitive action against thirteen police officials, said an official of Barishal range police. The committee headed by its chief Additional Deputy Inspector General Faruk submitted the report to the Deputy Inspector General of Barishal Range Police Aktaruzzaman on Sunday. However, the DIG refused to make any comment in this regard. According to the sources of Barishal range police, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Muharram Ali, who was withdrawn earlier and 12 others were made responsible in the incident. On August 15, at least 20 people were injured in the infighting between two factions of the BCL Barguna unit during a National Mourning Day discussion. The groups got into a scuffle following a heated argument during the discussion. Read: ASP withdrawn after cops charge baton on Barguna BCL activists At one stage, they started hurling brick chips at each other and vandalised a police vehicle, SM Tariqul Islam, additional superintendent of Barguna police, said. "Later police had to use batons to bring the situation under control." "Two BCL activists were arrested from the spot, and several of them suffered injuries," Tariqul added. On August 16, ASP Muharram Ali was withdrawn from his duties. Muharram Ali was attached to Barishal Range DIG office, said Barishal range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) SM Aktaruzzaman on August 16. Besides, five policemen were withdrawn and attached to Pirojpur and Bhola district police lines Later, a three-member probe body headed by Additional Deputy Inspector General Faruk was formed to look into the incident.

A two-member committee has been formed by the district Chhatra League in connection with the attack on six officials of Mas-Ud Rumi bridge toll plaza over collection of tolls on Friday.Sourav Khan, vice president of Kushtia District Chhatra League and joint general secretary Shakeel Ahmed Tushar are members of the committee.It has been asked to submit a report within 72 hours, said a Bangladesh Chhatra League press release issued on Saturday night.Earlier, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists roughed up six officials of Mas-Ud Rumi bridge toll plaza over collection of tolls on Friday, leaving all of them critically injured.The injured were receiving treatment at Kushtia General Hospital. A video of the incident that has gone viral showed some BCL activists also snatching away money from the toll plaza.According to eyewitnesses, some leaders and activists of BCL’s Kumarkhali upazila unit were going to Kushtia Government College in Kushtia Sadar on 30-40 motorcycles to attend a programme.“Once the motorcycles reached the west side of the Mas-Ud Rumi bridge, one of our officials asked them to pay the toll. Read: BCL activists beat up six toll plaza officials in KushtiaThis angered the BCL activists, which resulted into the beating,” said Shamim Ahmed, Manager of the toll plaza’s contractor company M/S Micro Dynamic.General Secretary of BCL’s Kushtia district unit Sheikh Hafiz Challenge denied the allegations, saying that it was the toll officials who had swooped on the BCL activists.“Our activists were in a hurry and toll officials were causing them more delay.At one point, an altercation ensued and they beat up some of our men,” said Challenge.Officer In-charge (OC) of Kumarkhali Police Station Kamruzzaman Talukder termed the matter as trivial.

The probe body formed over Mirsarai tragedy has found the microbus driver and the gateman of the level crossing responsible for the accident that claimed 13 lives on July 29. The probe body led by its head Ansar Ali, divisional transport officer of Bangladesh Railway, handed over the five-page report to Mohammad Abul Kalam Chowdhury, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM),  on Wednesday. Gateman Saddam Hossain is now behind the bars while driver Golam Mostafa was among the 13 people died in the accident. Saddam also failed to probe that he was present at the level crossing during the accident, said Kalam. Also read: 11 tourists killed, 6 injured after train hits microbus in Ctg Thirteen people died when a speeding express train rammed into the microbus carrying the tourists at a level crossing in Mirsharai upazila on July 29. They met with the accident while returning to their respective homes after visiting the popular waterfall in the hills of Mirsarai. While 11 of them died at the scene, six others were injured. Two more victims died at the hospital, raising the death toll to 13. The divisional railway authorities formed a five-member committee to investigate the accident. The Railway police detained  the gateman who was in charge of Khoiyachora level crossing at the time of the accident.

The High Court (HC) on Wednesday ordered the formation of a committee headed by a professor of Chemical Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) to investigate the depot fire at Sitakunda in Chattogram. The court asked the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources to form the committee with other experts. The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order after hearing of a writ petition. The committee will submit their report by three months, it said. The court also issued a rule questioning why the deceased's family and injured victims of the depot fire should not be paid adequate compensation. In another rule, the HC wanted to know why the negligence of the authorities concerned should not be declared illegal and legal action will not be taken against the culprits through proper investigation of the depot fire. The rule also sought explanation as to why instructions should not be given to designate places for chemical storage and show the quantity of chemicals and type of chemicals to be stored in the depot. Read: Probe body finds owners, monitoring authority responsible for Sitakunda depot fire At the same time, the court also asked why the fire service authority was not provided with modern equipment. Home Secretary, Disaster Management and Relief Secretary, Industries Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense, Chittagong Port Authority Chairman, Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram, Chairman and Managing Director of Smart Group, BM Container Depot were made respondents to the rule. On June 29, Supreme Court Lawyer Barrister Mohammad Humayun Kabir Pallab, Barrister Mohammad Kawsar, Barrister Mohammad Majeedul Quader and AKM Faisal Haque filed the writ petition on behalf of ‘Law and Life Foundation’ and ‘CCB Foundation’. The writ petition sought necessary directives to pay compensation of Tk 2 crore to each deceased's family and Tk 50 lakh to each injured victim of the depot fire. The formation of an inquiry committee comprising of explosives experts, proper action against the culprits were also sought in the writ petition. As per the writ petition, at least 51 people were killed in a fire at BM container depot in Chattogram’s Sitakunda on June 4. The deceased included 10 firefighters. Over 200 people were injured in the fire. Besides, firefighters were unable to control fire caused by chemical due to lack of necessary training and modern equipment, it said. Earlier, the Law and Life Foundation Trust and the CCB Foundation had served separate legal notices seeking compensation for the victims, said Barrister Pallab.

BNP on Tuesday formed a 10-member committee to probe the police firing at the party’s protest rally in Bhola that left local Swechchasebak Dal leader Abdur Rahim killed. The committee, headed by BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, will also talk to family members of Abdur Rahim and those injured in the incident and console them. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir formed the committee on Tuesday, said a press release. The other members of the committee are BNP vice chairmen Shamsuzzaman Dudu, advocate Zainal Abedin, former MP Zahir Uddin Swapan, organising secretary Bilkis Jahan Shirin, training affairs secretary ABM Mosharraf Hossain, joint organising secretary Akon Kuddusur Rahman, Mahbubul Haque Nannu, and Swechchasebak Dal president Mostafizur Rahman and Chhatra Dal general secretary Saif Mahmud Jewel. Contacted, Gayeshwar said the committee members will go to Bhola and meet the family members of those killed and injured in police firing. “On behalf of our acting chairman Tariq Rahman, we’ll express sympathy to them.” Besides, he said they will collect information from local people visiting the spot about the incident. Also read: Police fired at Bhola rally to silence dissent: BNP As part of BNP’s countrywide demonstration programme protesting the load shedding and mismanagement in the power sector, the leaders and activists of the party gathered in front of their district party office in Bhola on Sunday morning. At one stage, police blocked them when they tried to stage demonstrations at Kalinath Roy Bazar around 11:30 am, triggering a clash. Later, police fired bullets and lobbed teargas shells that left Abdur Rahim dead and injured many other leaders and activists of the party.  

 A three-member probe body was formed by Thakurgaon district administration on Thursday over the death of a nine-month old child allegedly in police firing during UP polls violence in  Ranisankail upazila of the district. Deputy Commissioner Md Mahbubur Rahman formed the probe committee  with district magistrate Ramkrishna Barman as its head and additional superintendent of police Mirza Tarek and district election officer Saiful Islam as members. The committee will submit a report within seven days, said Indrajit Saha, Assistant Commissioner Land  (AC Land) Meanwhile, the baby girl, Suraia Akter Asha, was buried after her Namaz-e-Janaza on Thursday. Also read: UP polls violence: Child killed in police shooting On Wednesday evening, when results of Bachor UP election in the upazila were announced at VF Nimno Maddhomik Bidyaloy center supporters of a defeated candidate attacked police. At one point of the clash police fired bullets to take control of the situation.  Unfortunately Asha, who was on her mother’s lap, at that time was shot in the head. Asha’s mother Minara Begum said, “I was standing beside the lane of my house when bullet fired by police killed my daughter.” Also read: Farmer shot dead in Chattogram After the incident, enraged locals besieged some police members including Officer-in-Charge of Ranisankail police station SM Zahid Iqbal for few hours at Khutiatuli area.  Later additional troop of police rescued them and sent two cops to hospital.

The authorities concerned of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) formed a five-member probe body to look into the death of a SUST student on the campus. Headed by Prof. Mohammad Akhtarul Islam, president of SUST Teachers Association, the other member of the committee are --- director of students counseling and guidance Amina Parvin, Shah Poran Hall Provost Prof. Mizanur Rahman Khan, Public Administration Department Head Prof. Shafiqul Islam and Assistant Proctor Abu Hena Pahil, said university registrar Mohammad Ishfaqul Hossain. Earlier, police detained three people in connection with the murder of a Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) student on the campus on Monday evening. Read:Three held over SUST student Bulbul's murder The identities of the detainees are yet to be disclosed by police. "We will let them go if we do not find their involvement in the crime after the primary investigation," Azbahar Ali Sheikh, deputy commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police, said. The deceased, Bulbul Ahmed, was a third-year student of the public administration department. On Monday night, a case was filed at Jalalabad police station over the murder. According to the case statement, Bulbul, along with his friends, went to the New Zealand area, adjacent to Shaheed Minar, on the campus that afternoon. At one stage, his friends rescued him as he was allegedly stabbed by muggers. Bulbul was first rushed to the university medical centre and later shifted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital, where on-duty doctor Kaniz Fatema declared him dead around 7.45pm. Meanwhile, hundreds of students of the university formed a human chain in front of the varsity's central library, demanding capital punishment for the killers of Bulbul.