Court
Bhola double murder: 2 sentenced to death
A Bhola court on Thursday sentenced two people to death and another to life term in prison over a double murder case in Sadar upazila of the district.
The condemned convicts are- Mamun and Firoz. The lifer is- Mamun's son Sharif.
Bhola District and Sessions Judge Md Mohsinul Haque handed down the verdict.
The court also fined Sharif Tk 10,000, in default, to serve 6 months behind the bar.
Besides, Mamun's wife Rehana Begum and another son Arif were acquitted.
According to the case, Mamun and his associate Firoz hacked his brother Masum to death in front of their house in the upazila following a land dispute on May 13 in 2018.
Masum's brother-in-law Zahid was also hacked and seriously injured when he went to save Masum. Later, Zahid was rushed to Bhola Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
READ: Shahjahanpur double murder: Prime accused put on 7-day police remand
In this regard, a case was filed against five people at Bhola Sadar police station.
Meanwhile, Mamun and Firoz, the two main accused in the case, went into hiding. The other three accused, Mamun's wife Rehana Begum and two sons Sharif and Arif were arrested.
After evading the law for a long time, police arrested Mamun from Pabna district. However, Firoz is still on the run.
Elephant calves being tortured in the name of training: Court directs legal action
A Moulvibazar court on Monday directed the Forest Department to take legal action against what it described as the 'torture' of elephant calves under the guise of 'training' at Kchaital area in Juri upazila.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Judge Muhammad Ali passed the order after studying video footage of torture on Youtube and news published in different newspapers.
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The court also issued a rule as to why inactivity of Officer-in-Charge of Juri police station and a divisional forest officer of Wildlife Management & Nature Conservation Division to prevent torture on elephants according to Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012, and Animal Welfare Act of 2019, should not be deemed illegal.
The court asked the respondents to submit a reply within 15 March on why proper legal actions will not be taken against them.
Also raed: Elephant killings must be stopped: Environment Minister
Elephant calves are domesticated following an age-old training process known as ‘Hadani’. During the training the calves are kept tied with a log apart from their mother. The cubs are mercilessly tortured and are not given foods regularly during the period.
Court accept charges against 'Shishu Bokta' Rafiqul in DSA case
A Dhaka tribunal on Wednesday accepted charges against two people including Rafiqul Islam Madani who is popularly known as Shishu Bokta, in a case filed under the Digital Security Act for delivering ‘anti-state and provocative’ speeches.
The other accused is Mahmudul Hasan Murtuza.
Dhaka Cyber Tribunal Judge Ash Shams Jaglul Hossain took the charges into cognisance.
Read: ‘Shishu Bokta’ Rafiqul indicted in DSA case
The court also fixed February 22 for hearing on charge framing in the case, said the tribunal's counsel Shamim Al Mamun.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected Rafiqul's bail plea, who is currently in jail, and granted permanent bail to Mahmudul.
On January 26, a Dhaka court framed charges against Rafiqul Islam Madani in this case.
RAB members arrested Rafiqul from his home in Netrakona on April 7 last year on charges of making anti-state and provocative remarks and creating chaos.
Read: ‘Shishu Bokta’ Rafiqul sued under DSA; lands in jail
On April 8 last year, a case was filed against Rafiqul under the Digital Security Act at Gachha police station in Gazipur.
Later on April 11 of the year, another case was filed under the Digital Security Act at Basan Police Station in Gazipur.
However, Rafiqul Islam was granted bail by the High Court in a case filed under the Explosive Substances Act at Kotwali Police Station in Mymensingh on September 30.
Earlier, Madadi was arrested on March 25 in 2021 from Motijheel area during a demonstration protesting the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Independence and later he was freed.
Rafiqul, also director of Saoatul Hera Madrasha at Paschim Bilashpur in Netrakona district, reportedly delivered ‘provocative’ speech in a Waj Mahfil at Gachha.
He is also assistant vice president of Jubo Jamiat, a wing of Jamiat-e-Ulama- Islam, of Netrakona.
Court directs investigation on GD filed by Murad’s wife
A Dhaka court on Sunday directed police to investigate the General Diary filed against former junior minister Murad Hassan by his wife Dr Jahanara Ehsan.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mamunur Rashid passed the order, said Fuad Uddin, Officer of General Registration Office of Dhanmondi police station.
On Saturday, Investigation Officer, Sub Inspector Rajib Hasan appealed for permission to investigate the case.
Earlier in the day, three licensed firearms of former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Murad Hassan, and his wife Dr Jahanara Ehsan were handed over to Dhanmondi Police Station.
Also read: Embattled Murad, wife hand over licensed firearms to police
On Thursday, Dr Jahanara registered the GD against her beleaguered husband with Dhanmondi police station accusing him of torturing and issuing her a death threat.
She called 999, the National Emergency Service, seeking cooperation from the police to save her from her husband’s torture.
As police visited her residence, Jahanara told law enforcers that she has been subjected to physical and mental torture by her husband and even he threatened to kill her.
Also read: Murad in hot water again as wife files GD against him
On December 7 last, Murad Hassan resigned from the cabinet following the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for his offensive and indecent remarks on women.
After the resignation from the cabinet, Murad had left the country in his desperate bid to hide amid widespread criticism at home, but his attempt to stay abroad went in vain as he had to get back home having failed to enter Canada and the UAE.
Cumilla councillor murder: arrestee makes confessional statement before court
One of the arrestees in the Cumilla ward councillor Syed Mohammad Sohel murder case gave his confessional statement on Thursday.
Accused Emran Hossain Rishat, 23, a member of the killing squad gave his confessional statement before Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate Trial Court-1 judge Farhana Akter.
During his three-day remand, Rishat agreed to record his confessional statement, said Parimal Das, deputy inspector of detective branch of the district police.
Rishat, in his statement, confessed that he participated in the killing and supplied arms for the mission, said Parimal.
READ: Cumilla Councillor Murder: 4 remanded, DB to investigate case
Earlier on Monday, police arrested Nazim and Rishat, two of the suspected hit squad members who were not named as accused in the case.
On Tuesday, a Cumilla court placed them on a three-day remand each for interrogation and the next day Nazim gave his confessional statement before the magistrate.
On November 22, Sohel, Cumilla City Corporation (CCC) councilor of Ward-17, and one of his aides were killed, while four others sustained injuries when gunmen opened fire in his office in Pathuariapara.
Based on his younger brother Syed Rumon's complaint, as many as 21 people, some 10 of them unidentified, were booked by the Kotwali police for the double murder.
READ: Cumilla councillor's murder: 2 more accused arrested
So far, seven accused and four suspects were arrested in this case, while another accused Rony remains absconding.
Meanwhile, prime accused Shah Alam, Sabbir Hossain, Sajon Mia were killed in alleged gunfights with police.
Pandora Papers' names should not be discussed as the issue pending with court: Finance Minister
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said on Wednesday that it will not be wise for him to discuss Bangladeshi businessmen named by the Pandora Papers.
He said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted names of 42 persons to the High Court. Now the matters remain pending with the court.
"So, I should not discuss the matter while the issue is pending with the court", he told reporters while responding to a question after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPA) on Wednesday.
Read: I’ve no mechanism to gather money-laundering info: Finance Minister
Eight Bangladeshis and five addresses with links to Bangladesh were included in the latest document released under the Pandora Papers late Monday night; all of them owned business establishments in the British Virgin Islands.
The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021.
The leak exposed the secret offshore accounts of 35 world leaders, including current and former presidents, prime ministers, and heads of state as well as more than 100 billionaires, celebrities, and business leaders.
Mohammad Bhai, Sakina Miraly, Nihad Kabir, Anita Rani Bhowmik, Islam Manzurul, Walter Pollak, Daniel Ernesto Iubatti and Sayedul Huda Chowdhury are named on the latest list.
The finance minister said some 43 names of individuals and firms were submitted to the court.
"Gradually more names will be submitted", he added.
Meanwhile, the ICIJ said that the names being mentioned on the list do not necessarily mean they were involved in any illegal activities.
The leaks show that the names of the entities are largely foreign sounding but the addresses used are located in Bangladesh.
The "Pandora Papers" investigation -- involving some 600 journalists from media including The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian -- is based on the leak of documents from 14 financial services companies around the world.
Read: ‘No idea who’re siphoning off money; give me a list’: Finance Minister
It began in October earlier this year, where current and former leaders were featured in the latest vast trove of documents analyzed by the ICIJ -- facing allegations ranging from corruption to money laundering and global tax avoidance.
The new list contains some 740,000 individuals and organizations, from countries (apart from Bangladesh) such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Argentina.
Among the eight Bangladeshis, Nihad Kabir, president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has set up a company in the British Virgin Islands named Capital Fair Holding Limited. The company was registered on August 8, 2008.
Manzurul also owns a company in the British Virgin Islands named Oriental Agricultural Chemical Company.
He used an address in Gulshan, Bangladesh, as well as a UK identity.
Among others, Saidul Huda, Sakina and Mohammad Bhai have cited Gulshan addresses while Anita Rani gave an address of Chawkbazar.
Saidul owns a company named Beben International, Anita owns Enterprise Holdings Limited, Sakina owns Moon Wrecker Services Corporation, Mohammad Bhai owns 1936 Holdings Limited, Prahmad owns Slint Link Enterprise Limited and Daniel owns Cudel Limited.
Earlier, in a document published by the Pandora papers in the first phase, the name of a Bangladeshi businessman Abdul Awal Mintoo was mentioned along with a businessman from Nepal.
The ICIJ did not disclose the data of Pandora Papers publicly but exchanged it with the stakeholders.
In most countries, the ICIJ stresses, it is not illegal to have assets offshore or to use shell companies to do business across national borders.
But such revelations are no less of an embarrassment for leaders who may have campaigned publicly against tax avoidance and corruption, or advocated austerity measures at home.
13 to die in Aminbazar students' lynching case
A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced 13 people to death and 19 others to life imprisonment for beating to death six students at Aminbazar in Savar on the outskirts of the capital in 2011.
Judge Ismat Jahan of the Dhaka Second Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court handed down the punishment to the 32 convicts. The court, however, acquitted 25 others as the police and the prosecutors failed to prove the charges against them.
Read: Aminbazar 6 students killing: Verdict on December 2
Earlier, on November 22, a Dhaka court fixed December 2 as the judgment day in the case.
In the early hours of July 17, 2011, the six students were beaten to death by an angry mob that branded them as robbers.
Three of the deceased were students of Mirpur Bangla College, while the others had been studying at Tejgaon College, Bangladesh University of Business and Technology, and Maple Leaf International School, respectively, in the capital.
Read:SC upholds top fugitive militant Salehin’s death penalty
Savar Model police filed a murder case against a total of 60 people in connection with the killings. And on January 7, 2013, investigators pressed charges against the 60 accused.
The trial in the case started on July 8, 2013, after a court framed charges against the accused. Of the accused, three people died during the course of the trial.
FR Tower design forgery: Court indicts building owner, Rupayan Group Chairman, 14 others
A Dhaka court on Monday framed charges against 16 people including the building owner and Rupayan Group’s chairman in a case filed over fabricating the design of FR Tower.
Dhaka divisional special judge Syed Kamal Hossain passed the order and officially started the trial of the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), said ACC lawyer Mahmud Hossain Jahangir.
Read:Court indicts ex-Rajuk chairman, three others over FR Tower fire
Meanwhile the court has acquitted two people of the charges and set December 1 for recording testimonies.
The indicted accused include Syed Md Hossain Imam Faruque, leaseholder of FR Tower, Liakat Ali Khan Mukul, chairman of Rupayan Housing Estate, and President of FR Tower Owners’ Society and Managing Director of Quasem DryCell Tasvir ul Islam.
Also included among the accused are Md Shamsul Alam, former director of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), it’s assistant director Shah Md Sadrul Alam, assistant authorized officer Md Nazrul Islam, former supervisor Jahanara Begum, assistant director Meheduzzaman, high quality assistant Md Saiful Alam and Md Shafiullah, building inspector Imrul Kabir and Md Shawkat Ali, former authorized officer Md Shafiqul Islam, low quality assistant Mhuhammad Mojibur Rahman Molla, and office assistants Md Enamul Haque and Shawkat Ali.
The two acquitted are-Md Mofazzel Hossain and Abdullah Al Baki.
The 23-storied FR Tower caught fire on March 28, 2019, leaving 25 people dead and 73 others injured.
The Anti-Corruption Commission found that the building had narrow exit points and staircases, and no fire alarm. Also, the fire exits were blocked.
Read: FR Tower fire: Former Rajuk chairman excluded from charge sheet
The FR Tower authority had permission for a 15-story building, but they had allowed builder Rupayan to illegally add eight more floors over time.
On June 25, 2019, ACC Deputy Director Abu Bakar Siddique filed the case with ACC's integrated district office Dhaka-1 over RAJUK’s approval, fee submission, fabricating design and approving it along with another case over the fire incident.
Court accepts charges against Pori Moni, 2 others in narcotics case
A Dhaka court on Monday accepted the charges against film actress Pori Moni and two others in a case filed under the Narcotics Control Act.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Emrul Kayesh took the charges into cognisance and fixed December 14 for hearing on charge framing.
The two other accused are Ashraful Islam Dipu and Kabir Hossain.
Earlier on October 26, a Dhaka court granted bail to the three accused in the case.
The court also fixed November 15 for hearing on the acceptance of the chargesheet against them.
On October 4, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted a chargesheet against Pori Moni and the two others in the case.
CID inspector and also the investigating officer in the case Kazi Mostafa Kamal submitted the chargesheet to Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court.
READ: Multiple remands of Pori Moni: 2 magistrates seek unconditional apology to HC
Pori Moni was arrested on August 4, following a raid by Rab on her Banani residence.
A case was filed against her under the Narcotics Control Act the following day.
On August 22, she was sent to jail after inspector Kazi produced her in a court on the completion of a day's police remand, her third.
READ: Court fixes Nov 15 for hearing on chargesheet against Pori Moni
On August 31, a Dhaka court granted bail to Pori Moni in the drugs case until submission of the chargesheet. She walked out of jail the following day.
German court sentences mother to life for killing her 5 kids
A 28-year-old mother in Germany was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the murder of five of her six children at their home in the western city of Solingen, German news agency dpa reported.
The regional court in Wuppertal established the particular gravity of the crime in its verdict. In most cases, such a finding rules out release from prison after 15 years, the amount of time often served by people given live sentences in Germany.
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The children - Melina, Leonie, Sophie, Timo and Luca - were killed in September 2020. Prosecutors said their mother first sedated the youngsters and then either drowned or suffocated them, dpa reported. The children ranged in age from 1 to 8.
Prosecutors think a photo the woman's ex-partner sent showing him with a new companion prompted the killings. The mother had written back to the ex-partner that he would never see his children again, dpa reported.
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The woman sent a sixth child, her eldest, to stay with his grandmother before the killings. She then tried to kill herself by jumping in front of a train at the Duesseldorf railway station and suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries.