United News of Bangladesh

Members of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested two operatives of the banned Islamist outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir from Turag area of Dhaka on Friday. The arrestees are Jahangir Alam, 34 and Farhad Hossain, 26. A team of CTTC conducted a raid in the area on Thursday at 11:45pm and arrested them, Muhammad Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (DC-media) of the DMP said on Friday. The arrestees have since been sent to the court, he added. Earlier on October 4, the CTTC arrested the banned outfit’s media coordinator Imtiaz Selim from the Bashundhara residential area in Dhaka.

The government on Thursday promoted six deputy inspectors general to the position of additional inspector general and assigned them new postings. The Public Security Division under the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification in this regard. According to the notification, DIGs at the Police Headquarters Md Akram Hossain, Abu Naser Mohammad Khaled and Mosleh Uddin Ahmed have been made additional IGs at the Police Headquarters, while Gazipur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Khondaker Rafiqul Islam has been transferred to Special Branch as its additional IG, DIG Md Mostafa Kamal of Police Bureau of Investigation and DIG Md Sibgatullah of Industrial Police have been made additional IGs of their same respective units. The order will be effective soon, read the notification.

The interim government has reaffirmed its commitment to swiftly bringing to justice those responsible for the July-August genocide, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Mohammad Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said on Thursday.Many individuals connected to the killings have already been arrested, with ongoing operations by law enforcement agencies to apprehend the remaining suspects, the adviser said. To prevent any possibility of escape, stringent surveillance measures have been implemented at borders and airports, ensuring that no one involved can evade justice, he said.The Home Affairs Adviser also stressed the importance of conducting these operations with caution to avoid any harassment of innocent individuals.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued a warning on Thursday, saying that it will take necessary action if any media organizations come under attack. In a press release, the Ministry expressed serious concern over reports of planned siege and threats aimed at certain media outlets in Bangladesh. The interim government, reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding media freedom, strongly condemned the threats and any attempts to intimidate the press. “If such incidents occur, those responsible will face legal consequences,” the statement emphasized.

A Dhaka court on Thursday sent 26 HSC students to jail in a case over Wednesday’s demonstration at the Secretariat demanding the re-evaluation of their results terming those as ‘discriminatory’. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Belal Hossain passed the order after investigation officer Ekramul Haque, a sub-inspector from Shahbagh Police Station, produced the accused before the court and pleaded to keep them behind bars. They are Zahirul Islam, 20, Foysal Hasan, 21, Raihan Hossain, 21, Rubel Ahmed, 18, Riad Mahmud, 21, Mezbaul Rahman Millad, 18, Mehedi Hasan, 18, Md Soan, 21, Imran hossain Arman, 18, Md Mehedi Hasan Antar, 19, Md Sagar, 18, Md Rohan, 18, Shahrier Hossain Soad, 18, Ahad Molla, 22, Md Sohan, 18, Md Masnun, 18, Md Naim, 18, Imam Hasan, 18, Md Shakil, 18, Md Selim, 18, Md Saklain Mustak, 18, Md Hanjalal, 22, Mashiur Rahman, 18, Md Prantik, 18, Md Tasim Rahman, 18 and Rabin Mia, 18. Police filed the case against them with Shahbagh Police Station today. On Wednesday, some 60-70 students who failed to pass the exams or got poor scores stormed the Secretariat around 3:30 pm demanding cancellation of the recently published HSC results. Police detained 54 people from the Secretariat and freed 28 of them on bond from the guardians of the students.      

A Dhaka court has acquitted BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, along with Standing Committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, in the long-standing Gatco corruption case. Judge Abu Taher of Dhaka Special Judges’ Court-3 gave the order following a hearing on Thursday. Former OC Rafiqul remanded in case over blocking Khaleda Zia's residence with sand trucks The Gatco corruption case has been a point of contention for over a decade, with the original complaint filed at the Tejgaon Police Station on September 2, 2007. Initially, 24 individuals, including influential figures from the previous four-party alliance government, were named in the charge sheet submitted by the ACC in 2008. As the case progressed, several accused passed away, including former ministers Saifur Rahman and Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, among others.

The traffic division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) filed 1,731 cases and imposed fines totaling Tk 65,48,500 during operations against traffic rule violators on Wednesday. Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, shared the information in a media release on Thursday afternoon. Additionally, 103 vehicles were impounded, and 33 others were towed. The DMP's drives will continue to enforce traffic regulations in the Dhaka metropolitan area, he added

Former State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossain has been arrested from Dhaka's Mohammadpur area. Former EC secretary Helal Uddin arrested in Chattogram Members of Mohammadpur Police Station have made the arrest, Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police confirmed the matter on Thursday.    

The Appellate Division has scheduled a hearing for November 17 on three separate review petitions over the cancellation of the caretaker government system, which was abolished through the 16th amendment to the constitution. The hearing was initially scheduled for today (Thursday), but Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman sought a four-week deferral, prompting the court to reschedule it. The upcoming hearing will take place before a six-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed. Earlier, on October 20, the Appellate Division’s chamber judge had set October 24 as the date for hearing two of the petitions challenging the ruling on the abolition of the caretaker government system. The review petitions address the cancellation of the system, which was previously enshrined in the 13th amendment to the constitution in 1996. One of the petitions was filed by Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), in August this year. On October 16, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also submitted a separate review petition, followed by Jamaat-e-Islami on October 23. The caretaker government system was introduced through the 13th amendment in 1996 to ensure neutral oversight of national elections. But in 2011, the Appellate Division, led by then Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, declared the system unconstitutional and abolished it. The court did, however, allow for the 10th and 11th general elections to be held under a caretaker government, contingent on parliamentary consensus over the appointment of the chief adviser. Since the abolition of the system, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have persistently demanded its reinstatement. The then ruling Awami League, on the other hand, firmly rejected these calls.

Khelafat Majlish Secretary General Maulana Mamunul Haque has been acquitted in the rape case related to an incident at Royal Resort in Sonargaon of Narayanganj district. Judge Jasmine Ara Begum of the Narayanganj District Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal delivered the verdict on Thursday in Mamunul Haque’s presence in the courtroom. Defence lawyer Advocate AKM Omar Faruq Nayan said that Maulana Haque was found not guilty of the charges brought against him in connection with the case. This case stems from an incident that took place at the Royal Resort in April 2021. After the trial, the court ruled in favour of the accused. On April 3 in 2021, local Jubo and Chhatra league activists confined the Hefazat leader along with a woman to Royal Resort. Mamunul then claimed the woman to be his second wife. On information, Hefazat fellows and madrasah students rushed to the spot and snatched him from the resort after carrying out an attack. On April 18, a team of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested him from a madrasah in Mohammadpur area.   On April 30, the woman, who was said to be Mamunul’s wife, filed a case under Women and Children Repression and Prevention Act with Sonargaon police station in Narayanganj. On September 10, the investigation officer of the case submitted a chargesheet to the court against Mamunul. On November 3, the court framed charges against him. Twenty-six, out of 40 witnesses, including the woman, gave testimonies against the Khelafat Majlish leader.