Law-&-Order
HC directs to protect 952 ponds in Rajshahi city
The High Court on Monday directed Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) to protect 952 ponds under its jurisdiction.
A bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Kazi Ebadat Hossain made the direction during hearing on a writ petition filed by environment human rights organization Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
The court also asked to ensure no more ponds get occupied or filled in the city. RCC mayors, Rajshahi Directorate of Environment and Deputy Commissioner have been asked to implement the order.
Also read: Writ petition challenges legality of raising fuel prices
The court also directed to return the ponds of RCC to their previous state and said the trial in this regard will continue, said HRPB president Manzil Morshed.
Manzil Morshed said the writ petition was filed in 2014 to stop the filling up of ponds in the RCC area.
The High Court then issued a rule questioning why a direction to stop filling and protecting the ponds in the RCC area will not be issued and asked Rajshahi DC to inform the numbers of ponds.
Also read: People suffer as demand for a RCC bridge goes unheeded
After that, Rajshahi DC submitted a report to HC informing there are a total of 952 ponds in RCC.
On February 23, this year, a supplementary appeal with the writ was submitted adding a report published in a national daily titled, `'Conserved pond filled up to sell as plots'", said the HRPB president.
4 rescued from Cox's Bazar cottage; 11 extortion gang members held
Police claimed to have arrested eleven extortion gang members and rescued two children and youths from their captivity at a Kolatoli cottage in Cox's Bazar Sunday night.
The children are from Dakshin Dikkul of Cox's Bazar and youths from Shahpari Dwip and Satkania of Teknaf.
The arrestees are Md Alamgir, Md Salim, Akash Das, Md Jobair, Md Mamun, Nazir Hossain, Sekander Ali, Md Sohail, Md Jahangir Alam, Md Jasim and Md Parvez.
Read: Fugitive death-row war criminal held in city
A team of Tourist Police raided Sheuli Cottage at night and rescued four people from captivity, Rezaul Karim, additional superintendent of Tourist Police, said.
However, the gang members managed to flee through a secret route. Later, they were arrested during separate drives.
"Two of the rescued people came to Kolatoli with patients and went to Sheuli Cottage to spend the night as some of the gang members offered them rooms at low rates," Rezaul said.
"But they later asked the tourists for higher room prices. The gang members locked the rooms from outside as the tourists refused to pay the extra price."
Fugitive death-row war criminal held in city
A team of the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU), a specialized unit of Bangladesh Police, arrested a fugitive death-row convict of war crimes from Dhaka's Shah Ali area on Sunday.
The arrestee is Md Nazrul Islam, 75, son of Nayon Ali Joardar of Noyaltola village in Khulna district.
Mohammad Aslam Khan, superintendent of police (Media and Awareness Wing) of the ATU, disclosed it at a press briefing on Monday.
Read: Students stage protest against fuel price hike at Nilkhet
Tipped off, a special team of ATU conducted a drive at Block-E of Mirpur's Shah Ali area and arrested Nazrul, the officer said.
On July 28, 2022, the International Crimes Tribunal of sentenced five people including Nazrul to death for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
Nazrul was tried in absentia.
Writ petition challenges legality of raising fuel prices
A writ petition was filed with the High Court on Monday challenging the legality of the latest hike in fuel prices in the country.
Supreme Court Advocate Md Eunus Ali Akond filed the writ petition.
The writ petition sought the HC’s directive to stay the gazette issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources raising fuel prices.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo may hear the writ petition on Wednesday.
Lawyer Eunus Ali said Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has the authority to raise the fuel price according to the law. But the fuel prices were increased through issuing a gazette by the ministry.
Read: Accidents at level crossings: Writ petition seeks judicial probe & compensation
According to that gazette, this decision was taken as per the order of the President. But the constitution does not give the president the authority to raise the fuel prices and for this reason the writ petition was filed, he added.
The government hiked the price sof fuel by a big margin on Friday.
Diesel price has been increased by Tk 34 to Tk 114 per litre while octane price hiked by Tk 46 to Tk 135 and petrol by Tk 44 to Tk 130.
Netrakona govt officer stand released for alleged sexual assault
Netrakona Social Welfare officer has been stand released from his post on allegations of sexual harassment of some female college students.
Abdullah Al Mamun, the alleged officer of sadar upazila was transferred to Sunamganj district on August 2, after the victim students of Social Welfare Department from Netrakona Government Women's College submitted a written complaint, said the authority.
The complaint was submitted to the Deputy Director of the Social Welfare Department.
Read: Benapole press club president gets death threat
According to the complaint, a total of 12 students of the college joined the Social Welfare office for 60 days from July as trainees.
Since their joining, alleged Abdullah Al Mamun was sexually harassing them with the threat of decreasing their marks.
When contacted, Abdullah Mamun accepted the punitive measure taken against him but refused giving any statement in this regard to the UNB reporter on Sunday.
Gangrape on moving bus in Gazipur: 5 arrestees give confessional statement
Five people who were arrested over gang rape of a woman on moving bus after pushing her husband off it gave confessional statements before a Gazipur court on Sunday.
Gazipur District Judicial Magistrate Court recorded their statement and sent them to jail after they were produced before court seeking remand to interrogate them, said Md Moniruzzaman, officer-in-Charge of Sreepur police station.
The arrestees are Md Rakib Molla, 23, from Narayanganj, Sumon Khan, 20, from Netrakona, Md Sajib, 23, from Mymensingh, Md Shahin Mia from Haluaghat upazila, and Md Sumon Hasan, 22, from Khulna.
Meanwhile, in forensic test of the rape survivor, primary evidence of rape was found, said Dr ANM Al Mamun, forensic department of Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Medical Coollege and Hhspital.
Read: Benapole press club president gets death threat
“For further confirmation her DNA sample will be tested. We suggested conducting an x-ray of her head as she had injuries on forehead,” said the doctor.
According to police, the couple hailing from Naogaon reached Gazipur Bhogra Bypass early Saturday by a bus and got on another bus of Takwa Paribahan heading toward Mawna union in Sreepur upazila.
As the bus reached near Chandna intersection on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, three more staff of the bus got on it.
When the bus reached near Hotapara bus stand the bus became empty as all the passengers except the couple got down.
Read: Schoolgirl raped by 6 in Panchagarh
After crossing the bus stand the five transport staff snatched money and mobile phones of the couple and shoved the husband down from the bus after beating him up.
They then gang raped the woman until the bus reached Rajendrapur intersection, where they dumped the woman on road and absconded.
Later, the woman’s husband filed a case with Sreepur police station.
The five accused were arrested and the bus was seized after the case filing conducting a drive, said OC Moniruzzaman.
Benapole press club president gets death threat
Alhaj Mohsin Milon, senior journalist and president of Benapole Press Club allegedly received a death threat over his cell phone.He filed a general diary (GD) against Zahid Hasan at Benapole Port Police Station on Sunday noon seeking security, said Mohsin Milon.
Read: HC rules on forming commission to recognize armed rebellions against Bangbandhu’s killingMilon said on August 4 around 1 pm, he received a call from 01919011629 while Zahid humiliated him with appalling words.Later, journalists Nazrul Islam and Kamal Hossain tried to restrain Zahid, but he started speaking more provocatively.On August 6, Zahid posted my photo on Facebook and made derogatory remarks to defame me. Not only that, Zahid is now publicly threatening to kill me, claimed the press club president.
Schoolgirl raped by 6 in Panchagarh
A tenth -grade schoolgirl was allegedly raped by six men including her boyfriendwho had promised to marry her in Tetulia upazila of Panchagarh district.
The crime occurred at a tea garden at Bandarpara village in Atoari upazila of the district on Saturday night.
The girl has been undergoing treatment at Panchagarh Modern Sadar Hospital.
Yusuf Ali, superintendent of Panchagarh Police, said the girl developed a love affair with one Hasan, 25, son of Rahman of Atoari upazila over mobile phone and she met him several times while visiting her maternal uncle’s house.
On Saturday, Hasan made a phone call to the girl and asked her to meet him as he wanted to marry her now.
When the girl reached in Panchagarh, Hasan and Sabuj, 30 son of Khamiruddin along with took the girl to a tea garden in Old Atoari in Atoari upazila around 8 pm.
Later, they violated the girl in turns.
Four more people—Aminul Islam alias Dipjol, 25, son of Abdur Rahman, Nazrul, 40, son of Khazimuddin, Amar, 30, son of Koilash and Abdur Rahman, 50 appeared there, forcing Hasan and Sabuj run away.
Later, they also raped the girl getting her alone in the area.
Amar took the girl on a road near the garden and left her abandoned. A pedestrian took the girl to the house of one Nayeb Ali who informed the girl’s uncle. She was rescued on Saturday morning by her uncle from the house.
“Police are investigating the incident and a number of people were detained in this connection,” said SP Yusuf.
HC rules on forming commission to recognize armed rebellions against Bangbandhu’s killing
The High Court on Sunday issued a rule questioning the government's inactivity in identifying the armed protesters of August 15 killing of Bangabandhu and his family to acknowledge and rehabilitate them.
The court asked why the inactivity of the concerned authority will not be announced illegal and questioned why a high level commission should not be formed to acknowledge and rehabilitate the resistance fighters of August 15.
The bench of Justice Md KLhasruzzaman,and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir issued the rule during a hearing on a writ petition filed in this regard.
Also read: HC issues rule on thalassemia info in NID
The court has asked the law secretary, home affairs secretary, liberation war affairs secretary , social welfare secretary, and cultural secretary to respond to the rule within four weeks.
Advocate Md Bakir Uddin Bhuiyan along with advocate Md Abu Hanif represented the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar appeared for the state.
Advocate Md Bakir Uddin said, after the brutal killing of Bangabandhu and his family members on August 15, 1975, a horrifying situation arose in the country as the then military government banned all kind of rally, meetings.
But on that day protests were held against the killing in Mohanganj, Kishoreganj, Narsingdi, Khulna, Jessore, Faridganj in Chandpur and Gafargaon in Mymensingh.
Later two armed resistance forces were formed under the leadership of freedom fighter Abdul Kader Siddique ‘Jatiya mukti Bahini’ and ‘ Jatiya Mujib Bahini’ led by Chittagong's freedom fighter ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury,.
Then thousands of Bangabandhu devotees, students, young people, joined the forces and engaged in armed rebellion against the ruling government.
But in 1977, when Indian 'National Front Government' led by Morarji Desai handed over the members of Jatiya Mukti Bahini and Jatiya Mujib Bahini to BDR in Bangladesh, their lives came down to extreme hardship, imprisonment, oppression and torture.
On August 1, a petition was filed in the High Court seeking directions for identifying the armed protesters and giving them national recognition and rehabilitation.
Also read: 7 years in condemn cell despite acquittal: HC orders judicial inquiry
Anis Khondkar of Netrokona, Saidul Qadir, Yusuf Ali of Sunamganj, Parimal Sarkar and Swapan Chand of Gazipur filed this writ at the High Court.
HC issues rule on thalassemia info in NID
The High Court on Sunday issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the authorities concerned should not be directed to add information about thalassemia to the National Identity (NID) card.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo issued the rule after hearing a writ petition.
Advocate Eunus Ali Akond stood for the writ petitioner while deputy attorney general Arbind Kumar represented the state.
Also read: 7 years in condemn cell despite acquittal: HC orders judicial inquiry
Secretaries to the Cabinet, health. law, home ministries, Election Commission, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services, Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council have been made respondent to the rule.
The HC also issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the authorities concerned should not be directed to enact a policy for inserting information about thalassemia in the NID card of a person.
Eunus Ali Akond filed a writ petition seeking insertion of thalassemia information into the NID card on May 31.
On May 25, a legal notice was served in this regard.
According to the petition, if any thalassemia patient marries a person carrying thalassemia disease then there is a risk of their children getting affected. But if a thalassemia-free is married to a patient of thalassemia, in that case, their children will be free from the risk of thalassemia.
Also read: HC summons ACC IO over exemption of accused in Sonali Bank loan scam case
They wanted an option at the NID card to insert information about thalassemia to clarify whether the card holder has been infected with the decease or not to prevent marriage of two thalassemia patients