Cox’s Bazar
Cox’s Bazar schoolgirl rape: Prime accused, 2 others held
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have detained three people including the prime accused in a case over violating a schoolgirl in Cox’s Bazar.
They were detained from different parts of Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar district s on Monday, said Commanding officer of Rab-15 Lieutenant Colonel Khairul Islam Sarkar on Tuesday.
Read: Cox's Bazar gang rape: Another accused held
Md Ashique, 27, son of Nazrul Islam of Uttar Nunuachhara of Cox’s Bazar district town, was detained from Anwara upazila of Chattogram district around 11:30 pm.
The elite force members also detained Kamrul, no 4 accused in the case and Mohammad Shaheen, manager of Mom’s Guest House, from different areas of Cox’s Bazar district on Monday night, he said while speaking at a press briefing.
During preliminary interrogation, Ashique reportedly confessed to his guilt to Rab officials.
On December 13, Ashique along with two others picked the girl up in a vehicle when she was returning to her home.
Read: Woman raped by 3 in Chuadanga; 2 held
Later, they took the girl to Mom’s Guest House where they violated the girl repeatedly after keeping her confined there for two days.
On December 18, father of the girl, lodged a complaint against nine people and police later recorded the case.
Female tourist in Cox’s Bazar was gang raped for extortion money: Rab
Ashiqul Islam Ashique, the prime accused in the case of gang raping a female tourist in Cox’s Bazar, and his associates assaulted the woman after they failed to extort Tk 50,000 from her, Rapid Action Battalion said on Monday.
According to a Rab media release, Ashique, is the mastermind of an organised criminal gang of 30-35 members in the seafront resort town of Cox's Bazar.
Earlier, a team of Rab arrested Ashique, 29, from in Madaripur district on his way to Patuakhali from Dhaka, said Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of the elite force’s Legal and Media Wing.
The intelligence branch of Rab headquarters, Rab-8 and Rab-15 conducted an operation in the area of Mostafapur bus stand in Madaripur on Sunday night to nab Ashique, the release said.
Moin said Ashique and his associates have been involved in crimes like theft, robbery, kidnap, extortion and drug peddling in Cox's Bazar since 2012.
Also read: Cox's Bazar gang rape: Prime accused Ashiq arrested
Ashique was first arrested in 2014 for possessing illegal arms.
He used to blackmail tourists in collusion with the managers of different hotels, the release added.
In this latest incident on December 21 Ashique and associates committed the crime as the woman and her family refused to pay them Tk 50,000 demanded as extortion money.
Then Ahique and his men abducted the woman from Laboni point of the Beach area and took her Zia Guest Inn Hotel, where she was sexually attacked.
Besides, the woman along with her husband and child went to Cox’s Bazar few days ago. They family needed Tk 10 lakh for the child’s treatment. According to Rab release the family went there for collecting donation from the rich people for the treatment.
Also read: Cox's Bazar gang rape: 3 more arrested, although not prime accused
Rab said Ashique confessed his guilt during primary interrogation.
According to the police, there are 12 previous cases against Ashique, including assault on women, possession of drugs and illegal arms.
Earlier in the day, Cox’s Bazar Tourist Police arrested three more accused in the case- Rezaul Karim Sahabuddin, 25, Mehedi Hasan, 21, and Mamunur Rashid, 28, from different places in Cox’s Bazar district.
Police said the individuals arrested earlier today were found to be involved in the crime indirectly during investigation.
However two other prime accused in the case Esrafil Huda Joy and Mehedi Hasan Babu are still absconding. There are two police cases against Joy, said Additional DIG of Tourist Police of Chattogram Division Mohammad Moslemuddin.
Earlier on Saturday, Riaz Uddin Chhotan, manager of a hotel that was one of two locations where the woman was raped, was arrested and remanded for four days.
With Ashiq, five people have been arrested in the case.
On Friday, the court recorded the victim’s statement, said inspector Ruhul Amin, investigation officer in the case.
On Thursday, the woman’s husband filed the case under the Prevention of Women & Children Repression Act at Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station accusing seven people.
The 22-year-old woman checked into a Cox's Bazar hotel on Wednesday morning with her husband and their eight-month-old baby.
In the afternoon, the family went out for a stroll on the sea beach. At Laboni point, the husband had an altercation with one of the accused - thought to be Ashiq, who has an extensive criminal record and only got out of his last stint in jail 2 weeks ago -after they accidentally bumped into each other.
What started as a small argument soon snowballed into a major altercation and the young man called his accomplices to the spot. Later in the day they kidnapped the family in two auto-rickshaws and took them to a desolate place near the golf club where three of them allegedly violated the woman.
Her ordeal did not end there. The woman was taken to Zia Guest Inn, of which arrested manager Riaz Uddin was a friend of Ashiq's, and there the three accused again took turns to rape her for hours. They released her in the early hours of Thursday and allegedly threatened to kill her family if she narrated her ordeal to anyone.
Lieutenant Colonel Khairul Islam Sarkar, commanding officer of Rab-15, said their team rushed to the family's rescue soon after they got the call from the woman. Earlier calls to 999 proved futile.
A Myanmar citizen and Bangladeshi held with arms and drugs
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has detained two drug smugglers including a Myanmar citizen with arms, crystal methamphetamine (Ice) and Yaba from Naf River of Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar.
The detainees were identified as Dwin Mohammad, 40, of Teknaf upazila and Myanmar citizen Bodi Alam, 30.
Read: 2 held with 1 kg Crystal meth, 50k Yaba in separate drives in Ramu
According to a media release of BGB, following a tip-off about a large shipment of drug being trafficked from Myanmar through Naf River near Domdomia area, a patrol team of BGB-2 Teknaf battalion detained the duo from a boat on Thursday night.
After searching the boat, BGB men seized arms, crystal meth and yaba worth Tk 5.79, said the release.
Read: Man held with over 2000 Yaba pills in stomach at Dhaka airport
The detainees were handed over to Teknaf Police Station to file a case in this regard, the release added.
3 out of 4 abducted students in Cox’s Bazar rescued; 7 Rohingya detained
Three of the four abducted students of Ramu upazila in Cox's Bazar were rescued from the hilly areas adjoining the Shalbagan in Teknaf upazila in separate drives of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Armed Police Battalion (APBn) on Friday evening.
The rescued students are Mohammad Kaysar and Mizanur Rahman Nayan, both students of class eight in Sonarpara High School, and Zahedul Islam, a student of class 10 at the same school. However, Mizanur Rahman, another student of class eight, has not been rescued yet.
Four Rohingya men were also detained from the spot. Their identities could not be known immediately.
SP Tariqul Islam, commander of APBn-16, said they rescued two students and detained three Rohingya men from Shalbagan hill area in the evening.
Meanwhile, Rab rescued one student and detained one Rohingya man from the spot, according to Rab-15 sources.
According to their information, efforts are being made to rescue the other student.
Earlier in the morning, Armed Police Battalion (APBn) detained three Rohingyas from the Leda camp on suspicion of involvement in abduction of four students of Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar.
Read: 4 Cox’s Bazar students allegedly abducted by 2 Rohingyas
The detainees were identified as Nur Salam, 50, Ranjan Bibi and Saddam Mia of Mochni Para in Rohingya Camp H-4 block.
So far, seven Rohingyas were detained in this connection.
On Tuesday, two Rohingya men allegedly abducted the school students for ransom from Khuniapalong in Ramu upazila of Cox’s Bazar.
The two alleged accused are identified as Jahangir and Ibrahim, residents of camp-26 at Noapara in Teknaf Upazila, and both staff of Batighar cottage in Cox’s Bazar, according to locals.
The two reportedly lured the boys with a promise to take them to Saint Martin’s Island on a visit.
Meanwhile, the family members of the students said the abductors already demanded Tk 20 lakh as ransom money.
A complaint was lodged at the Ramu police station by the victim’s families on Wednesday, said Arup Kumar Chowdhury, Officer-in-Charge of Ramu police station.
According to the complaint, the four students had a friendship with two Rohingya staff. On Tuesday the two staff took the students to Whoaikang area in Teknaf by telling them they are going to visit Saint Martin’s Island.
4 Cox’s Bazar students allegedly abducted by 2 Rohingyas
Two Rohingya men allegedly abducted four school students for ransom from Khuniapalong in Ramu upazila of Cox’s Bazar Tuesday.
The abducted students are, Mohammad Kaysar, Mizanur Rahman Nayan, and Mizanur Rahman, students of class eight in Sonarpara High school and Zahedul Islam, a student of class 10 at the same school.
The two alleged accused are identified as Jahangir and Ibrahim, residents of camp-26 at Noapara in Teknaf Upazila, and both staff of Batighar cottage in Cox’s Bazar, according to locals.
The two reportedly lured the boys with a promise to take them to Saint Martin’s Island on a visit.
Meanwhile the family members of the students said the abductors already demanded Tk 20 lakh as ransom money.
A complaint has been lodged at the Ramu police station by the victim’s families, said Arup Kumar Chowdhury, Officer-in-Charge of Ramu police station.
According to the complaint, the four students had a friendship with two Rohingya staff. On Tuesday the two staff took the students to Whoaikang area in Teknaf by telling them they are going to visit Saint Martin’s Island.
On Wednesday noon, calling from an unknown number the abductors demanded the ransom money and threatened to kill the students if their demand was not met, said the complaint.
Victim Zahedul’s father Abdus Salam said, the mobile numbers of the four students along with the two Rohingyas remained unreachable since Tuesday.
“The abductors claimed money identifying them as Rohingya terrorists,” he said.
OC Arup Kumar said they have advised the families to lodge a complaint with the Teknaf police station as the incident occurred there.
“With the assistance of the Teknaf police we will investigate the incident, “ he said.
Rohingya man who fled police custody arrested again
The Rohingya man, who had escaped from police custody at Chattogram court building, was arrested again from Ledapara Rohingya camp at Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar district early Monday.
Nezam Uddin, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, said fugitive Abul Kalam, was arrested conducting a drive at Ledapara Rohingya camp in Teknaf in the early hours Monday.
Read: 3 cops suspended as Rohingya man flees police custody in Ctg
He said a police team has been sent to Teknaf for bringing Abul Kalam back to Kotwali Police Station in Chattogram.
Meanwhile, one sub-inspector and two constables -- SI Mitu Khanam and two Constables Shahadat Hossain and Nazrul Islam -- were suspended on Sunday for neglect of duty.
All three were working in Kotwali Police Station.
A probe committee headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) was also formed on Sunday night, said a senior police official.
Read:1 killed in Ukhia Rohingya camp clash
Kalam had fled the scene while being produced in court along with other accused on Sunday afternoon.
Kalam was arrested along with 1,050 pieces of Yaba from the Station Road in the port city and then handed over to Kotwali Police Station on Sundar morning.
Rohingya relocation: 1,500 more going to Bhasan Char in 7th phase
Some 1,500 more Rohingyas are being relocated to the Bhasan Char Island in the seventh phase.
On the first day of the seventh phase, around 379 Rohingyas were taken to Chattogram from the camps in Cox’s Bazar in seven buses on Wednesday.
From there, the Rohingyas are scheduled to be sent to Bhasanchar on Thursday in a special navy ship.
Shamsuddauja, Additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner in Cox's Bazar, said the Rohingyas willing to go to Bhasan Char were brought to the temporary transit point at Ukhiya Degree College ground and provided with necessary items, including food, water and medicine.
Read: Bhasan Char: an excellent example for a safe, sustainable, and resilient place for Rohingya relocation
Another elephant calf found dead in Cox’s Bazar
Forest officials have recovered another carcass of wild Asian elephant calf on Sunday from Islamabad hill at Eidgaon upazila in Cox’s Bazar.
According to locals, around 7 am some wood cutters found the elephant dead in a 2.5 feet deep hole and informed the forest department.
Md Alauddin, Rajghat bit officer under Fulchari range said the male elephant was approximately two years old and it was seven feet long, five feet wide and its trunk was 2.5 feet long.
Read: Another Asian elephant found dead, this time in Chakaria reserved forest
“The elephant might have died around Saturday night,” he said.
Faruq Ahmed Bulbul, another officer from the Fulchari range, said the elephant might have slipped into the hole while getting down the slope.
“The actual reason of death can be confirmed after the Cox’s Bazar upazila livestock officials conduct an autopsy but they have confirmed finding injury marks on its body,” said Dr Prantosh Chandra Roy Assistant Conservator of Forest of Fulchari range.
Read: Elephant carcass found along Sherpur border
Dipak Sharma Dipu, president of Cox’s Bazar Forest and Environment Conservation Council said in the last one year at least 10 elephants died in Cox’s Bazar.
He did not rule out planned killing of the calf too.
“Elephants are being killed all over the country due to forest grabbing, cultivation in forest land and for selling elephant teeth,” he said.
You can now travel to Saint Martin's
Here's some good news for tourists. After a hiatus of over seven months, tourist ship operations have resumed on the popular Saint Martin's Island-Teknaf route in Cox's Bazar.
On Tuesday, a ship belonging to KEARI Cruise & Dine with some 310 tourists on board left for Saint Martin's from Damdamai Teknaf point around 9am and reached its destination three-and-a-half hours later.
Local people led by the chairman of Saint Martin's Union, Nur Ahmed, welcomed the tourists with flowers.
Pervez Chowdhury, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Teknaf, said, “The local administration has given permission to KEARI Cruise & Dine authorities to operate on the Saint Martin's-Teknaf route on a trial basis.”
Read: Tourist ships return to St Martin's island
Already the local administration has carried out repairs on the Saint Martin's jetty aiming to ease the transportation of tourists, he said, adding that other vessels will also be allowed on the route gradually.
People are happy with the resumption of tourist ship services on the popular route.
Tabassum, a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), said, “I came here with my family after getting the news of the resumption of the tourist ship operations on the route. Now, we will all enjoy the beauty of nature on the island.”
Besides, hotels on the island are leaving no stone unturned to make the stay of tourists a pleasant one.
Shah Alam, manager of KEARI Cruise & Dine, said, “We have resumed our operations as per the directives of the local administration and we will also refrain from overloading and taking extra charges from passengers.”
Every year, the local administration suspends the movement of tourist ships on the popular tourist route from March till September due to inclement weather.
But this year, the local administration did not allow any ship on the Saint Martin’s-Teknaf route till November 15 due to the repair work at the island jetty, considering the safety of the tourists.
The jetty sustained severe structural damage due to Cyclone Yaas that made landfall in Bangladesh and eastern India in May this year.
Tk 1.5 crore worth Burmese Yaba recovered in Cox’s Bazar
BGB members on Tuesday recovered 50,000 pieces of Burmese yaba worth Tk 1.5 crore from Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhia upazila.
On basis of a tip-off on drugs being smuggled from Myanmar, members of Ghumdhum BOP under BGB's Cox's Bazar Battalion took up strategic position at the 5th Palangkhali UP costoms intersection turn of Ukhia.
READ: RAB apprehends trio with over 65,000 Yaba pills
At around 7 pm, yaba smugglers realizing the presence of the BGB patrol and anticipating the possibility of arrest, started firing at the patrol team. When the patrol team retaliated by firing on the smugglers, they dropped the bags and fled to Myanmar through the dense jungle, said a BGB media release.
READ: 7.8 lakh yaba pills seized from St Martin's, but culprits escape
Later from those bags 50,000 pieces of Burmese yaba worth Tk 1.5 crore was recovered.
Appropriate legal action is being taken in this regard, said the release.