Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has started an investigation against former vice-chancellor of Khulna Agricultural University (KAU), Dr Shahidur Rahman Khan, for his alleged involvement in irregularities in the recruitment of 426 teachers and staff members for the university. KAU authorities on Monday (January 23, 2023) submitted documents related to last three years’ recruitment to the ACC. The development came after a national daily published a report in September last year stating the irregularities in the recruitment process of Khulna Agricultural University. It said some 426 teachers and staff members were appointed for KAU against 350 students and also 43 departments were opened in just three years. Read more: Corruption in NSU’s land acquisition: Hearing on 4 trustees’ bail plea Thursday Later, the University Grants Commission (UGC) conducted an investigation and found anomalies in the recruitment. Based on the report, the education ministry on August 3 last year ordered cancellation of the appointment of 73 teachers and staff members including the relatives of the vice-chancellor. In November last year, ACC took a decision to investigate the irregularities in the recruitment process of KAU and assigned Ershad Mia, deputy director of the ACC, to lead the investigation. The investigation officer on January 2 sent a letter to the university authorities asking to submit recruitment related documents including recruitment notices, candidates' applications, and written test records by January 10. Read more: Irregularities in recruitment: PUST VC freed after 4 hours of confinement The anti-graft agency also requested university authorities to submit a probe report if any investigation was conducted previously in this connection. Later, the inquiry officer extended the deadline till January 23 following the application of university authorities. KAU Registrar Dr Mazharul Anwar on Monday submitted the documents to the investigating officer. Ershad Mia, investigating officer, said he has received some documents and these will be inspected. Read More: UGC asks 4 private universities to stop enrollment for failing to fulfill conditions

The High Court has asked the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to submit an update on the ongoing investigation against Taqsem A Khan, managing director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) on Tuesday. Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order on Monday after hearing a writ petition challenging the legality of the Taqsem’s appointment as Wasa MD since 2009. Advocate Khurshid Alam, ACC lawyer, said that he will inform the court about the progress of the probe on Tuesday. Read: HC: Writ petition filed challenging Taqsem Khan’s appointment as Wasa MD Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman, a former prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal filed the writ petition challenging the legality of Taqsem’s appointment as MD of Wasa alleging flawed process in hiring him. Seven officials including LGRD secretary, public administration secretary were made respondents to the writ petition. Barrister Suman said Taqsem has been serving as Wasa MD for the last 13 years since 2009. During his tenure he has raised the water price to Tk 15 per unit from Tk 6 per unit. He has remained in his post despite allegations of corruption against him, he said. In 2009 he was appointed after rewriting and rigging his exam result as it was required to have 20 years of experience for that position and he had no such relevant experience, said Suman. Read: HC Chamber Judge asks Wasa MD to submit salary statement “His appointment letter mentions that the authority is requesting to maintain caution while examining and considering contractual appointments in future. Which means there was some sort of rigging that happened yet his tenure was extended later,” he explained. The writ petition was filed as his recruitment process needs to be probed, he said. Taqsem’s tenure as Wasa MD has been extended three times after his 2009  contractual appointment for three years, he said.

Law enforcement agencies that are probing Buet student Fardin Noor murder case have made progress, Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Rab’s legal and media wing, said today. The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) official said this while briefing the media on Monday at its media office in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar. “Rab along with other law enforcement agencies are working to find out the motive behind the murder, identify the culprits, and bring them to justice,” he said. Read: Fardin murder: Bushra lands in jail after remand Rab personnel have spoken to those who were at the locations where Fardin went before the murder, the Rab commander added. Rab has also collected footage. Fardin was a 3rd year student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s civil engineering department and a resident of Qutubpur area in Narayanganj's Fatullah. Police recovered Fardin’s body from the Shitalakhkhya river, behind a cotton mill at Siddhirganj, on November 7, three days after he went missing. Read: Fardin wasn’t murdered in Narayanganj’s Chanpara, police say Sheikh Farhad, a physician at Narayanganj General Hospital where the autopsy was done, said there were several injury marks on Fardin’s head and body. Kazi Nuruddin Rana, Fardin’s father, filed a case in connection with his son’s killing with Rampura Police Station on the same day and the case was later transferred to Detective Branch (DB) Police.

Expressing deep concern over the death of a man in police custody in Narsingdi, Manabadhiker Songskriti Foundation (Foundation for Human Rights & Culture), a human rights organisation, demanded a fair and neutral probe over the incident.     It is the duty of police to ensure security to people under their custody. MSF, a vehicle founded by rights icon Sultana Kamal after she left the Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), is demanding legal steps against those involved in the killing after the fair probe,” said a press release of MSF issued on Friday. Read: HC grants 6 months bail to accused Sylhet cop in custodial death case Earlier on Wednesday morning, police recovered the hanging body of the accused, Sujan Mia, from the washroom of Raipura police station on Wednesday. The body was found hanging from the ventilator of the washroom, with the shirt he wore.             Sujan Mia, son of Majibur Rahman of Raipura municipal area, allegedly stabbed and killed his wife, Lovely Akhter, on November 5. He was later arrested from the Atroshi area in Faridpur sadar upazila and remanded for two days.   The MSF release said the statements about the death of the accused cannot be credible in any way. It is being said his body was recovered from the washroom. Many people are kept detained there. So, it is quite impossible that nobody will notice such a serious incident. Read: Cop withdrawn over youth’s alleged custodial death in Lalmonirhat Though the district police formed the three-member probe body, the concerned authorities will have to be cautious to ensure the fair investigation. As per the constitution, the state is responsible for protecting the detained accused in custody. Therefore, legal action will have to be taken promptly against the persons responsible after the fair investigation is carried out, the MSF demanded.

Some SSC examinees formed a human chain in Kurigram demanding investigation in question paper leak and timely completion of their exams. The students formed the human chain in front of Kurigram Press Club on Thursday morning.  “Despite repeated assurances from the Education Minister, questions got leaked at the Bhurungamari Nehal Uddin Girls High School center. We urge the authorities concerned to find out those responsible for the leak and take action against them,” said Zakiul Islam, a SSC examinee from Kurigram Government High School. The students also said that the question leak occurred due to utter failure of the administration and the law enforcement agencies. Read: SSC question paper leak: Three more held in Kurigram They demanded for holding the postponed exam within October 1. Copies of English 1st paper and 2nd paper of the ongoing SSC examinations went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp on Monday and Tuesday.   Lutfur Rahman, the headmaster and secretary of Bhurungamari Nehal Uddin Pilot High School, and two assistant teachers of the school- Zubaiyer Hossain and Aminur Rahman, Hamidul Islam, an assistant teacher of agricultural science, and Sohel Chowdhury, assistant teacher of Bangla and a peon of the school, Sujon have so far been arrested in this connection

BNP lawmaker Md Harunur Rashid on Thursday demanded an investigation to determine whether there is actually a conspiracy to kill prime minister Sheikh Hasina. He came up with the demand while taking part in an unscheduled discussion in the parliament. Abul Kalam Azad, a member of parliament of the ruling Awami League and former information minister, on Wednesday claimed that there is a conspiracy to kill the prime minister and some AL people are also involved in this plot in exchange for money. Referring to Azad’s allegation, Harun it deserves a clear explanation since a ruling party lawmaker made the claim in the House. “There is no way to brush it aside. A deep investigation is needed to find out whether such a conspiracy is really happening or not and who is involved in it,” he added. Slamming the government on the issue of enforced disappearance Harun said the victims are unable to get protection of the law. "People being shot dead in the moveent is one thing and missing is a completely different matter. Human rights and freedom of expression need to be discussed. The ruling party says that the country is on the highway of development," he said. He questioned whether corruption, money laundering, rising commodity prices, or road accidents have decreased or not. He also questioned what has been the development of the electoral process. The BNP MP said that India is using the ports of the country. But transit is not being given to Bangladesh. He criticised Bangladesh’s very soft attitude towards India. Protesting the attack on BNP’s procession, another BNP MP Rumeen Farhana, said that the prime minister had given clear instructions that the programmes of the opposition would not be obstructed. “But the behaviour of police administration is different. The prime minister is giving some sort of assurance. And the activists of Juba League, Chhatra League are behaving differently with the opposition party,” she said. Rumeen dismissed Awami League’s claim that they are in the field to prevent sabotage. “Why are police being used if Awami League leaders and activists are in the field to prevent vandalism?” Rumeen said that the government claims that there is democracy in the country, but it does not exist in practice. About the death of two members of the BNP in Bhola, Rumeen said that there was no investigation into the murders. She claimed that more than 70 places were attacked in the programmes of BNP which started on August 22. Responding to Rumeen, AL lawmaker Tofail Ahmed said that before the start of the procession that day, BNP leaders and activists attacked the police with sticks and bricks. Awami League leaders and activists did not take to the streets that day, Tofail said adding in the 2001 election, they could not even stay at home, he said. Also read: Plot to assassinate PM Hasina on, warns AL lawmaker

The House Jan. 6 committee said Sunday it will interview more former Cabinet secretaries and is prepared to subpoena conservative activist Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, who's married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as part of its investigation of the Capitol riot and Donald Trump's role. Lawmakers said they are deepening their inquiry after a series of eight hearings in June and July culminating in a prime-time session Thursday, with plans to interview additional witnesses and reconvene in September to resume laying out their findings to the public. “We anticipate talking to additional members of the president’s Cabinet,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee's vice chair. “We anticipate talking to additional members of his campaign. Certainly, we’re very focused as well on the Secret Service.” Cheney, R-Wyo., did not identify the Trump administration officials who might come forward, but the committee has previously made clear its interest in speaking with those believed to have considered invoking a constitutional process in the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office after the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when hundreds of Trump’s supporters violently stormed the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s election. The committee has aired testimony from former Attorney General William Barr, who said he told Trump that widespread voter fraud claims were “bull——” and had “zero basis.” In last week’s hearing, the committee played testimony from then-Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, who said he urged Trump to call a Cabinet meeting to discuss an orderly transition of power. Other Cabinet members have indicated they may have important details to share. Betsy DeVos, the education secretary at the time, previously told USA Today that she raised with Vice President Mike Pence the question of whether the Cabinet should consider invoking the 25th Amendment, which would have required the vice president and the majority of the Cabinet to agree that the president could no longer fulfill his duties. Read: Capitol riot panel blames Trump for 1/6 'attempted coup' DeVos, in her resignation letter on Jan. 7, 2021, blamed Trump for inciting the mob. “There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me,” she wrote. On the same day, Elaine Chao quit as transportation secretary. Chao, who is married to Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the attack had "deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.” Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state at the time who is considering a 2024 presidential run, and Steven Mnuchin, Trump's treasury secretary, also were reported to have discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment, according to Jonathan Karl of ABC News in his book “Betrayal.” “The floodgates have opened,” said Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., regarding the next phase of its investigation. Committee members also hope to learn more about Ginni Thomas’ own effort to keep Trump in office and the potential conflicts of interest for Clarence Thomas as a result on Jan. 6 cases that have come before the Supreme Court. The committee sent a letter to Ginni Thomas last month seeking an interview and hopes she will comply, Cheney said. Thomas communicated with people in Trump’s orbit ahead of the 2021 attack and also on the day of the insurrection. “We certainly hope that she will agree to come in voluntarily,” Cheney said. “But the committee is fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena if she does not.” Cheney also said that while the committee hasn’t decided whether to make a criminal referral regarding Trump to the Justice Department, “that’s absolutely something we’re looking at.” Added Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.: “I certainly think there’s evidence of crimes and I think it goes all the way up to Donald Trump.” While a possible Trump prosecution is a matter for the Justice Department, the committee has used its hearings to try to make a case about his political viability as he mulls running in 2024. Some of the most damning testimony aired by the committee has come from Trump’s own top Republican advisers, military leaders and confidants, who admitted to a loss of confidence in his judgment and dedication to the rule of law in the days leading up to and after the Jan. 6 attack. The committee also wants to get to the bottom of missing Secret Service texts from Jan. 5-6, 2021, that could have shed further light on Trump’s actions during the insurrection, particularly after earlier testimony about his confrontation with security as he tried to join supporters at the Capitol. Lawmakers also are interested in hearing from Steve Bannon, a Trump ally who was found guilty last week on criminal contempt of Congress charges for refusing to comply with the House committee’s subpoena. Cheney spoke on CNN's “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday,” Kinzinger appeared on ABC's “This Week,” and Luria was on NBC's “Meet the Press."

Different environmental organizations have demanded an impartial inquiry into the detention of local resident Syeda Ratna and her son for protesting against the construction of a police station at Tetultala playground in capital’s Kalabagan. The organizations made the demand at a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) on Monday in protest against the harassment and detention of the two. Architect Iqbal Habib, Joint-Secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) read out a written statement at the press conference. Also read: 7 parks, playgrounds opened for city dwellers

A four-member committee was on Sunday formed to find out the cause of a fire that earlier in the day broke out on a launch named ‘Adventure-9’ at Sadarghar launch terminal. The committee, headed by Deputy Director (Development) of Fire Service and Civil Defense headquarters Nur Hasan Ahmed, was asked to submit its report within 10 days, said Rozina Akhtar, duty Officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters control room. Also read: Sadarghat launch fire doused Adjutant of Fire Service and Civil Defence training complex Iqbal Bahar Bulbul will act as member secretary of the committee, while two other members are—Senior Station Officer of Sadarghat Fire Station Abu Sayam Masum and Warehouse Inspector Dulal Acharya. The committee will also determine the extent of damage caused by the fire that was extinguished by fire fighters in about three hours. No casualties were reported.

As many as five Russian employees of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant have died in the past 11 days, prompting the police to initiate a probe. On January 28, Barcenko Alexei, 48, died during treatment at Ishwardi Upazila Health Complex, while Shakiroff Alexei, 40, passed away in his sleep on February 2. Three days later, Schukin Pavel, a 48-year-old mechanical engineer of sub-contractor firm Trest Rossem, died at the same upazila medical facility after suddenly falling sick. Also read: 2 Russian employees of Rooppur nuke plant die  Tolmasoff Vassiliev, 59, another employee of another sub-contractor firm, died on the stairs of his 14th floor flat at a tower in the Green City housing project for the Russian officials of the power plant the same day. On Sunday, Vortonikov Alexander, a 45-year-old employee of Nikim Atomstroya firm of the plant, was found dead in his flat at the same residential complex. Asadussaman, officer-in-charge of Ishwardi police station, said that the autopsy reports of the deceased Russian nationals "did not show anything suspicious". Also read: Rooppur NPP Unit-2: Inner containment construction completed "One of them used to have drugs, while another had a cardiac ailment. However, we are probing all the deaths," he said.