Court
Man to die for killing wife in Khulna
A court in Khulna on Sunday sentenced a man to death for killing his wife in 2020.
The convict is Rafiq Sheikh of Fakirhat upazila in Bagerhat district. The court also fined him Tk 50,000.
Read: Faridpur man to die for killing wife in arson attack
The court also sentenced Rafiq to seven years imprisonment under another section of the case and fined him Tk 25,000, in default, to suffer one year more rigorous imprisonment.
Khulna District and Sessions Judge Mashiur Rahman Chowdhury handed down the verdict.
According to the prosecution, Mariam Begum, 25 of Fakirhat upazila got married to Rafiq in 2017 and the couple used to fight over family .
Rafique used torture Mariam suspecting that she had extramarital affair.
Rafique took Mariam to a betel leaf field where he killed her hitting with a brick and set her ablaze by pouring kerosene on August 12, 2020.
Police recovered the charred body of Mariam, two days after the incident on August 15.
Read:Feni man to die for killing wife on Facebook live
Halima Begum, mother of the victim, lodged a complaint with Rupsha Police Station.
A case was filed against four people in this connection.
On December 31, 2020, police submitted a chargesheet accusing Rafique.
After examining the records and 15 witnesses, Khulna District and Sessions Judge handed down the verdict.
HC rejects Shahed’s bail application
The High Court has rejected the bail application of disgraced Regent Hospital chairman Mohammad Shahed, in a case of fraud and embezzlement.
HC bench of Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim passed the order on Tuesday.
Advocate Sagir Hossain Leon stood in favor of the application in court. Deputy Attorney General Bashir Ullah stood on behalf of the state.
Bashir Ullah said the court did not grant bail to Shahed in the case filed by a businessman at Uttara West Police Station for non-payment of dues for sand bought for construction. The trader used to supply sand to Md. Shahed alias Shahed Karim's company.
Read: Sahinuddin murder: HC rejects former MP Awal’s bail
But Shahed kept turning around without paying. Shahed even called the businessman in the name of paying him and instead had him beaten up. After Shahed's arrest for irregularities at Regent Hospital , he filed a case with Uttara West Police Station, said Bashir Ullah
On July 6 last year, RAB raided the Uttara and Mirpur branches of Regent Hospital. During the operation, fake Covid test reports, and various irregularities including collection of money from patients in the name of Covid treatment were unveiled.
The next day, a case was filed against 17 people at Uttara West Police Station. On July 15, from the border area of Satkhira, Regent Group and Regent Hospital Chairman Shahed was arrested by RAB. Shahed has been imprisoned since then. Last year, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment in an arms case.
Court fixes Nov 15 for hearing on chargesheet against Pori Moni
A Dhaka court on Tuesday granted bail to actress Pori Moni and her two associates in a case filed under the Narcotics Control Act, and fixed
November 15 for the hearing on the acceptance of the chargesheet against them.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Court's acting judge Rabiul Alam passed the order after the three surrendered before the court and sought bail. The other two are Ashraful Islam Dipu and Kabir Hossain.
Also read: Two magistrates get another week to explain Pori Moni’s multiple remands
Earlier, on October 10, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sattabrata Shikder granted bail to Pori Moni and Ashraful in this case.
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.
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.
Also read: Pori Moni granted permanent bail in narcotics case
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.
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.
Court indicts ex-Rajuk chairman, three others over FR Tower fire
A Dhaka court on Monday framed charges against four people, including the former Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) chairman Humayun Khadem in a case filed over the FR Tower fire. Special Judge of Dhaka division, Syed Kamal Hossain indicted the four giving a go-ahead of their trials. The court fixed November 15 for the deposition of the witnesses.
The other defendants in the case are--Syed Md Hossain Imam Faruque, leaseholder of FR Tower, Liakat Ali Khan Mukul, chairman of Rupayan Housing Estate and former chief engineer of Rajuk Saidur Rahman.
READ: Banani double rape case: Court sets Oct 27 for delivering judgment
The court also exonerated Rajuk’s former authorized officer Syed Makbul Ahmed because of his death. All the four accused are now out on bail. The 23-storied FR Tower caught fire on March 28, 2019, leaving 25 people dead and 73 others injured.
Court says Ronaldo rape lawsuit in Vegas should be dismissed
A federal magistrate judge in Nevada has sided with Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers against a woman who sued for more than the $375,000 in hush money she received in 2010 after saying the international soccer star raped her in Las Vegas.
In a scathing recommendation to the judge hearing the case, Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts on Wednesday blamed Kathryn Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for inappropriately basing the civil damages lawsuit on leaked and stolen documents shown to be privileged communications between Ronaldo and his lawyers.
“Dismissing Mayorga’s case for the inappropriate conduct of her attorney is a harsh result,” the magistrate wrote in his 23-page report to U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey. “But it is, unfortunately, the only appropriate sanction to ensure the integrity of the judicial process.”
Also read: Will Cristiano Ronaldo be Able to Revive Manchester United's Glory?
“Stovall has acted in bad faith to his client’s — and his profession’s — detriment,” Albregts decided.
Stovall and other attorneys in his office did not immediately respond Thursday to telephone and email messages about Albregt’s report.
A date for Dorsey to take up the recommendation was not immediately set.
Ronaldo’s attorney in Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, issued a statement calling Ronaldo’s legal team “pleased with the court’s detailed review ... and its willingness to justly apply the law to the facts and recommend dismissal of the civil case against Mr. Ronaldo.”
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Mayorga gave consent through Stovall and attorney Larissa Drohobyczer to make her name public.
Albregts noted the court did not find that Ronaldo committed a crime and found no evidence his attorneys and representatives “intimidated Mayorga or impeded law enforcement” when Mayorga dropped criminal charges and finalized the $375,000 confidential settlement in August 2010.
Ronaldo, now 36, is one of the most recognizable and highly paid players in sports. He has captained his home country soccer team, Portugal, and plays for the English Premier League club Manchester United. He spent several years playing in Italy for the Turin-based club Juventus.
Also read: Ronaldo reportedly breaks coronavirus rules on 2-day break
Mayorga, 37, is a former teacher and model who lives in the Las Vegas area. She said in her lawsuit filed first in state court and moved to federal court that Ronaldo or his associates violated the confidentiality agreement by allowing reports about it to appear in European publications in 2017. She seeks to collect at least $200,000 more from Ronaldo.
She met Ronaldo at a nightclub in June 2009 and went with him and other people to his hotel suite, where she said he assaulted her in a bedroom, according to the lawsuit. She was 25 at the time. He was 24.
Ronaldo’s attorneys have acknowledged the soccer star and Mayorga had sex, but said it consensual and not rape.
Mayorga went to Las Vegas police, but the investigation was dropped at the time because Mayorga neither identified her alleged attacker by name nor said where the incident took place, Steve Wolfson, the elected prosecutor in Las Vegas, said in 2019.
Wolfson decided not to file criminal charges based on a new investigation by Las Vegas police in 2018 because he said too much time had passed and evidence failed to show that Mayorga’s accusation could be proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.
Word of the financial settlement became public after the German news outlet Der Spiegel published an article in 2017 titled “Cristiano Ronaldo’s Secret” based on documents obtained from “whistleblower portal Football Leaks.”
“The article makes it clear that these documents included privileged communications ... between Ronaldo’s European and U.S. attorneys about the settlement,” Albregts wrote.
Stovall “acted in bad faith by asking for, receiving, and using the Football Leaks documents to prosecute Mayorga’s case,” the magistrate judge found.
“Although Stovall never received — or even sought — an ethics opinion ... he had multiple opportunities to recognize the privileged nature of the documents, starting with the 2017 Der Spiegel article, which quotes privileged communications.”
Albregts rejected Stovall’s argument that using the documents was justified because Stovall wasn’t the one who stole them and he couldn’t prove they were stolen.
The attorney’s efforts to make confidential documents public through court filings were “audacious,” “impertinent” and “abusive,” the magistrate said.
Albregts recommended Dorsey also dismiss Stovall’s claim that because Mayorga had learning disabilities as a child and was pressured by Ronaldo’s representatives she lacked the mental capacity to sign the 2010 confidentiality agreement.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled early this year that it would be up to Dorsey to decide that question.
“Mayorga's case against Ronaldo would probably not exist had Stovall not asked for the Football Leaks documents,” Albregts wrote, and Mayorga’s knowledge of the documents’ contents "cannot be undone.”
“There is no possible way for this case to proceed where the court cannot tell what arguments and testimony are based on these privileged documents,” he said.
Evaly CEO, chairman placed on 3-day remand
A Dhaka court placed Evaly CEO Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima Nasrin, the chairman of the troubled company, on a three-day remand on Friday, a day after the couple was arrested on charges of embezzlement and fraudulence.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Atiqul Islam passed the order after rejecting their bail plea on Friday noon.
Read: Evaly CEO, chairman arrested from Mohammadpur residence
The couple was arrested by Rab on Thursday from their flat in Mohammadpur.
They were produced before court at noon.
Aminul Islam, Inspector (Investigation) of Gulshan Police Station, said police sought 10-day remand for Rassel and Shamima for quizzing them over the allegation that they misappropriated several hundred crores of taka taken in advance from the e-commerce company’s customers and deceiving them by not delivering the products.
During interrogation after arrest Rassel informed that Evaly has liabilities of more than TK 1,000 crore, Khandaker Al Moin, Rab's Legal and Media wing director revealed during a press briefing at the elite force’s headquarters on Friday.
Read:Travel ban imposed on Evaly chairman, MD
The Evaly couple was held after an aggrieved customer Arif Baker lodged a case with Gulshan police station accusing Rassel, Shamina and few other company executives of embezzlement and fraudulence.
Sub-inspector Ahidul Islam, the investigation officer of the case, said the case was registered over the allegation of embezzlement of money and fraudulence.
Besides, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), an arm of the Bangladesh Bank that specializes in financial crime investigations, directed all commercial banks and financial institutions through a common letter on August 27 to freeze all the bank accounts operated by top executives of Evaly.
Read: Evaly is under ACC probe for alleged misappropriation
The Directorate of National Consumer Right Protection, a department under the commerce ministry, also received allegations from consumers about “cheating” by Evaly.
Bangladesh Bank officials said that one of the major allegations against Evaly is forcing its consumers to deposit their money in the e-wallet of the firm which was totally illegal.
Man gets death penalty for killing 4 of a family
A court here on Tuesday sentenced a man to death in a case filed over killing his elder brother and three members of his family last year.
The convict is Raihanur Rahman, 36, son of Shahjahan of Khalisha village in Kalaroa upazila of the district.
Read:Bangladesh introduces death penalty for rape
Satkhira Senior District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Mafizur Rahman handed down the verdict.
According to the prosecution, Raihanur was unemployed and used to depend on his elder brother Shahinur. Raihanur and Shahinur’s wife Sabina Khatun had been at loggerheads over the issue.
On October 14, 2020, Raihanur stabbed Shahinur Rahman, 40, Sabina Khatun, 30, their two children—Siam Hossain Mahi, 10 and Tasnim Sultana, 8, to death after tying up their hands and legs.
Read:Man gets death penalty for carrying heroin in Gaibandha
Moyna Khatun, mother-in-law of Shahinur, filed a case in this connection.
Later, a team of Criminal Investigation Department arrested Raihanur and three others in this connection.
Raihanur gave his confessional statements under section 164.
Arms case: Verdict against DGHS driver on Sept 20
A Dhaka court on Monday fixed September 20 for delivering its judgment in an arms case against Abdul Malek , a driver of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court-3 Mohammad Rabiul Alam passed the order after closing the law-point arguments in the case.
Earlier, on March 11, a court framed charges against him in the case. Abdul Malek pleaded not guilty and demanded justice when Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge K M Imrul Kayesh framed charges against him.
On January 11, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) submitted a chargesheet in the case.
Rab members arrested Malek from Turag area in the city on September 20, 2020 for extortion and running illegal firearms trade in Turag thana area.
Based on secret information, an operational team of the Rab-1 battalion conducted a drive at a 7-storey building at Kamarpara under Turag police station and arrested him.
One foreign made pistol, one magazine, five rounds of bullets, fake currency worth around Tk1.50 lakh, one laptop and one mobile phone were recovered from his possession.
He was allegedly involved in many illegal activities and made huge wealth by transferring employees of different departments through lobbying.
Court accepts charges against cartoonist Kishore, 6 others
A tribunal on Sunday accepted the charges against seven people, including cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) Act on charges of spreading rumours and carrying out anti-government activities.
Judge of the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal Ash-Shams Jaglul Hussein accepted the chargesheet in the case.
Writer Mushtaq Ahmed’s name was dropped from the charge sheet as he died on February 25.
Read: DSA case: Charges pressed against cartoonist Kishore, 6 others
The three others accused who were exonerated from the charges are-- US-based journalist Shahed Alam, Germany-based blogger Asif Mohiuddin, and Philip Schuhmacher.
The tribunal also fixed September 30 for framing charges against them.
Besides, the tribunal also issued arrest warrant against Shamiul Islam Khan alias Zulkarnain Saer Khan, Netra News Editor Tasneem Khalil, Ashik Imran and Swapan Wahid.
On June 13, police submitted a supplementary charge sheet against seven people, including cartoonist Kishore.
Afsar Ahmed, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit (CTTC) sub-inspector and also the investigative officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court.
The chargesheeted accused are---Shamiul Islam Khan alias Zulkarnain Saer Khan, cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, Dildar Bhuiya, former managing director of BLE securities Minhaj Mannan Emon, Netra News Editor Tasneem Khalil, Ashik Imran and Swapan Wahid.
Read:Court asks PBI to investigate case over cartoonist Kishore’s torture in custody
In February, police submitted a charge sheet against three of the accused, dropping the names of eight others.
Later, a Dhaka court ordered the DMP CTTC unit to further investigate all the 11 accused in the case.
On May 6 last year, RAB filed the case against the 11 people with Ramna police station on charges of spreading rumours and carrying out anti-government activities, under the DSA.
Court takes cognizance of charges against photojournalist Kajol
A cyber tribunal in Dhaka on Tuesday accepted charges against photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA).
Judge Ash Sams Joglul Hossain of the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal relieved 31 others from the charges after a hearing, and fixed October 20 for framing charges against Kajol in the case.
Already enjoying bail from the High Court, the tribunal also granted him bail in the case.
Also read: DSA case against journalist Kajol shifted to Cyber Tribunal
On April 4, the case against Kajol was shifted to the Cyber Tribunal.
Investigating officer Md Rassel Mollah submitted the charge-sheet on March 14.
Jubo Mohila League central leader Sumaiya Chowdhury Bonnya filed the case on March 11 last year accusing Kajol of writing defamatory remarks on various MPs on his Facebook profile.
He was freed from the Dhaka Central Jail on December 25 last year.
On December 17, the High Court granted him bail in two cases filed under the DSA, clearing the way for his release.
Also read: Digital Security Act: Charges pressed against Kajol
On November 24 that year, the photojournalist secured bail in another case filed against him under the DSA.
Kajol had gone missing on March 10, 2020, a day after Magura-1 MP Saifuzzaman Shikhor filed the case against him and 31 others, including Manab Zamin Editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury.
They were sued under the DSA for publishing and sharing an article on social media about expelled Jubo Mohila League leader Shamima Noor Papia.
Two other cases were filed against Kajol with KamrangirChar and Hazaribagh police stations under the same act on March 10 and March 11.
On May 3, Kajol was shown 'detained' by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) along the Benapole border after 53 days of his disappearance and was produced in a Jashore court, which sent him to jail.