United News of Bangladesh

A Dhaka court on Wednesday premitted police to question former IGP Shahidul Haque for seven days in remand and another ex-IGP  Chowdhury Abdullah-Al-Mamun for eight days in two separate murder cases. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Aktaruzzaman passed the orders after hearing their remand prayers. Earlier on Tuesday night, detectives of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested the two forrmer police chiefs and took them into their custody. Of them, Shahidul was shown arrested in a case filed over the killing of businessman Abdul Wadud with New Market police station and Chowdhury Mamun also faced another case filed, for allegedly killing a grocer, with a Dhaka court. However, former IGP Shahidul claimed himself innocent and demanded justice during the hearing of the remand. “I built the police as people's police. I don't know anything about this, let alone murder. I want justice,” he appealed. Though New Market police station’s Sub Inspector Morad Khan and Detective Branch’s Inspector Moktaruzzman produced the former IGPs before the court with the prayers for remands, the defendants’ lawyers appealed for bail. However, the court granted remand for them rejecting the bail prayers. Grocer Abu Sayed was killed in a police firing at Bosila under Mohammadpur Police Station on July 19 during the quota reform movement. On August 13, SM Amir Hamza, a relative of the victim, filed the case with the court. Seven people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, were accused in the case. The court accepted the statement of the plaintiff and ordered Mohammadpur Police Station to accept the complaint as a FIR.       On July 19, businessman Abdul Wadud was killed in police firing in the Nilkhet area under New Market police station during the anti-discrimination student movement. His brother-in-law Abdur Rahman filed a murder case against 130 people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader.

A Dhaka court has granted an 8-day remand for Abdullah Hil Kafi, former additional deputy police commissioner of Dhanmondi Zone, allowing police to question him over his alleged involvement in abduction and extortion case filed in Hazaribagh thana. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Akteruzzaman issued the remand order on Wednesday morning. Earlier in the day, the investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector Md. Abul Kalam Azad of Hazaribagh thana, presented Kafi in court and requested a 10-day remand. After the hearing, the court approved an 8-day remand for Kafi. According to the case statement, while serving as the additional deputy commissioner of Dhanmondi Zone, Kafi, along with former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, police officer Maruf Hossain Sardar, Officer-in-Charge of Hazaribagh Thana Ikram Ali Mia, another accused Moinuddin Kajol, and 10-12 unidentified individuals, allegedly abducted Engineer Arif Main Uddin from Dhanmondi on February 17, 2019. The abducted individual was then detained at an unknown location within the jurisdiction of Hazaribagh thana, and a substantial amount of ransom money was extracted from the victim's family.

Detectives of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested former Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) Shahidul Haque and Chowdhury Abdullah-Al-Mamun from Dhaka on Tuesday night, said the authorities. Rezaul Karim Mallik, additional commissioner of the Detective Branch of the DMP, confirmed the matter to UNB. But he didn’t provide details about the arrests. The arrestees were taken into custody of the DB. Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led government last month, several cases were filed against the former heads of the police in Dhaka and parts of the country and then they went into hiding. Shahidul began his career in the Bangladesh Police Force in 1986 as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) after passing the Bangladesh Civil Service examination in 1984. Over the years, he has served as a Superintendent of Police in various districts including Chandpur, Moulvibazar, Chattogram and Sirajganj. He held positions as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) at the Police Headquarters, Rajshahi Range, and Chattogram Range. He also served as a Police Commissioner for the DMP and occupied various other significant roles within the force. He took on the role of IGP on December 31, 2014, and retired on January 31, 2018. Shahidul hails from Narbalakhana village in Naria upazila of Shariatpur. Chowdhury Mamun, the 31st IGP of Bangladesh, was appointed to the position on September 30, 2022. Prior to this, he served as the Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and as the head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Former Housing and Public Works Minister RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, former lawmaker from Chattogram-2 and Chairman of Tariqat Federation Nazibul Bashar Maizbhandari, along with 67 others, were sued in a case filed over the killing of an autorickshaw driver in Brahmanbaria's Sarail upazila around three years back. Maulana Sultan Uddin filed the case on Tuesday naming 67 people and unnamed 200 to 300 persons with Sarail Police Station. Other accused in the case include former lawmaker from Brahmanbaria-2 Ziaul Haque Mridha, Reserved Seat MP Umme Fatema Nazma Begum (Shupli Azad), local Awami League leaders Nazmul Hossain, General Secretary of Sarail upazila Awami League; Saiful Islam Thakur Rabbi, Organizing Secretary; Sharif Uddin, President of the upazila Chhatra League; Ishtiaq Ahmed Bappi, General Secretary of the upazila Chhatra League; Rokeya Begum, Vice Chairman of the Upazila Parishad; and several union chairmen and Awami League activists. The violence occurred during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh on March 26, 27, and 28, 2021. On March 28, autorickshaw driver Liton Mia was shot and killed near Hotel Lal Shaluk on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway. Although a complaint was filed at the time, it was not accepted. Following a change in government, Liton's family decided to refile the case. Liton's wife, Sonia Akhter, authorized Maulana Sultan Uddin to file and manage the case through an affidavit. Meanwhile, since August 5, following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, former Minister Obaidul Moktadir Chowdhury has been in hiding. In the past month, six cases, including four murder cases and one abduction, have been filed against him in Brahmanbaria. Officer-in-Charge of Sarail Police Station Md. Rafiqul Hasan confirmed that a murder case was registered in connection with the killing of autorickshaw driver.

Law enforcers have recovered 3,880 arms looted in recent times from police stations, police lines, police outposts and other places, till September 3 (Sunday). Police headquarters shared this information this afternoon. Moreover, a total of 2,86,082 rounds of bullets, 22,139 tear gas shells, and 2,116 sound grenades have been recovered till date, it said. A large number of arms and ammunition were looted from the police stations and other protected zones after attacking law enforcers before and after August 5. Members of the Bangladesh Army have also been working to recover the looted arms across the country.

Police arrested two ansar members, who allegedly instigated and coordinated the recent ansar movement in the capital. They were arrested from Dhaka’s Savar and Cox’s Bazar’s Ramu upazila on Tuesday. A media release, signed by Enamul Haque Sagar, additional inspector general (media and public relations) of the Police Headquarters, was issued in this regard on Tuesday night. The arrestees are Md Sohag Mia, a resident of Parmastal village under Daulatpur upazila of Manikganj and Md Mizanur Rahman Tuhin, of Chaufaldandi village under Cox’s Bazar Sadar upazila. Sohag was arrested from Savar and Tuhin from a hilly forest in remote Kawyarkhop union under Ramu upazila. On August 25, many ansar personnel blocked all five gates of the Secretariat, demanding the nationalisation of their service. The ansar members took position in front of the Secretariat and its various gates, effectively sealing off the administration hub. The ansar battalion called off their protest and returned to work following discussions with Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam. Around 9 pm, a clash erupted between Dhaka University students and Ansar members at the Secretariat as the news spread that key figures from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement including Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah were confined to the Secretariat. Students from several halls of Dhaka University gathered at the Raju Bhashkorjo on campus. They marched towards the Secretariat area, resulting in a clash between students and ansar members that left several injured.

A court has granted a five-day remand for Hasanul Haq Inu, President of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and former Information Minister, in connection with the murder of truck driver Sujan during the anti-discrimination student movement in the capital's Basila area of Mohammadpur. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Saiful Islam approved the remand on Tuesday following a hearing. Inu was produced in court after completing a seven-day remand in another murder case under the New Market Police Station. During the hearing, the investigating officer petitioned for a ten-day remand in the truck driver murder case, requesting the court to officially show him as arrested in this case. After the hearing, the court approved the request to show him arrested and granted a five-day remand. Earlier, on the afternoon of August 26, a team from the Detective Branch (DB) arrested Inu from a house in Uttara, Dhaka. The following day, on August 27, he was presented in court, where police sought a seven-day remand for further investigation into the murder of businessman Abdul Wadud, who was shot dead in the New Market area. The court granted the seven-day remand in that case.

The High Court (HC) on Tuesday issued a rule seeking to know why directives won’t be given to compensate, with an amount of Tk 10 crore, the family of Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (BUET) student Abrar Fahad, who was brutally killed by Chhatra League men on October 6, 2019. An HC bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Mohammad Mahbub-ul-Islam passed the order after holding an initial hearing of the petition. Lawyer Md Mahbub Morshed represented the writ petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Redwan Ahmed Ranjib and Assistant Attorney General Mujahid Islam Shaheen stood for the state during the hearing in the court. State-lawyer Ranjib said a compensation of Tk 10 crore was sought for the BUET student Abrar and the court issued the rule after hearing in this regard. Abrar, a second-year student of electrical and electronics engineering (EEE) department of the BUET, was beaten to death by activists of Chhatra League, at the university's Sher-e-Bangla Hall on 6 October in 2019. On the following day, the victim’s father filed a murder case against 19 Chhatra League members with Chawkbazar police station then a massive outrage sparked across the country centring the issue. On November 13 of the same year, police submitted chargesheet while a Dhaka court framed charges against the accused on December 8 in 2021. The court sentenced 20 people to death and five to life term in jail. The death row convicts were- Mehedi Hassan Rasel, Anik Sarker, Mehedi Hassan Robin, Ifty Mosharaf Sakal, Moniruzzaman Monir, Meftahul Islam Jiyon, Majedur Rahman, Muzahidur Rahman, Tabakhairul Islam Tanvir, Hossen Mohammad Toha, Shamim Billah, Nazmus Shadat, Muntasir Al Jemi, Mizanur Rahman, Mahmud Setu, Shamsul Arifin Rafat, Morshed Omorto Islam, Ehtesamul Rabbi, Morshed Uzzaman Jishan and Mujtaba Rafeed The lifers were- Muhtasim Fuyad, Akash Hossain, Mowaz Abu Horaira, Omit Shaha and Istiaq Hassan Munna.

The deadline set by the Police Headquarters to surrender looted firearms and ammunition ends today (September 3, 2024). The directive was issued on Sunday. According to authorities, a total of 3,880 firearms stolen -- from police stations, police lines, and outposts -- during the recent unrest have been recovered from various locations, as of September 1. In addition, 286,353 rounds of bullets, 22,201 tear gas shells, and 2,139 sound grenades have also been retrieved. The Bangladesh Army has been actively assisting law enforcement agencies in recovering the looted arms and ammunition across the country, ensuring a swift return of all stolen items.

The High Court has accepted a petition seeking reinvestigation against the PBI’s report that cleared Bashundhara Group Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir and his co-accused in the murder case of college student Mosarat Jahan Munia. The bench of Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md. Atabullah accepted the petition on Monday (September 2). Munia’s sister still undaunted in search  for justice; demands Anvir's arrest and reinvestigation Munia’s body was found on April 26, 2021, in a flat owned by Ibrahim Ahmed Ripon in Dhaka’s Gulshan area. Following the incident, her elder sister, Nusrat Jahan Tania, filed a case against Anvir at Gulshan Police Station, accusing him of abetting Munia's suicide. Police submitted a final report to the court on July 19, 2021, stating that they found no evidence linking Anvir to the incident, and recommended his acquittal. Munia rape, murder: PBI finds no evidence against Bashundhara MD, 8 others   Subsequently, on September 6, 2022, Tania filed another case at the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-8, accusing Anvir of raping and murdering Munia. In this case, Anvir was named the main accused, along with Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan alias Shah Alam and six others, including Shah Alam’s wife Afroza Begum, Anvir’s wife Sabrina Sayem, model Faria Mahbub Piasha, Saifa Rahman Mim, Ibrahim Ahmed Ripon, and his wife Sharmin. Munia murder case: Saifa Mim lands in jail The PBI submitted its investigation report on October 12, 2022, recommending acquittal for Anvir and the others accused. On March 20, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-8 dismissed Tania's petition against the PBI’s final report. Following Tania’s appeal, the High Court bench agreed to hear the appeal against the acceptance of the investigation report.