United News of Bangladesh

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has launched an extensive drive to arrest the assailants who shot Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Osman Hadi in the capital’s Bijoynagar area on Friday afternoon. According to police, a group of motorcycle-borne attackers opened fire on Hadi around 2:25pm in the Box Culvert road area of Bijoynagar and fled the scene immediately.  He was critically injured and was undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Later, he was shifted to another hospital for better treatment. DMP condemned the attack as “heinous and cowardly” and said police visited the spot soon after the incident, collected CCTV footage from the area and are analysing it to identify and arrest those involved, said DMP's DC media Talebur Rahman on Friday evening. Alongside the local police station, detectives are conducting searches at suspected locations and among possible suspects. DMP expressed confidence that, as in other recent high-profile cases, the perpetrators would be arrested soon, he said. Hadi shifted to Evercare Hospital after surgery, no bullet found in head The city police urged residents not to panic and requested anyone with information related to the attack to contact the nearest police station or dial 999. DMP said it remains committed to maintaining law and order and ensuring the safety of city dwellers ahead of the upcoming national election.  

The Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn) Members on Friday arrested two individuals along with a large number of electronic spying equipment allegedly used for recruitment and admission test fraud from the outer area of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. A case has been filed against them under the Special Powers Act, 1974 (Sections 25B(1)(B)/25D) at the Airport Police Station, police said. The detainees were identified as Shaharun Ali (38) and Md Iqbal Hossain Jibon (35). According to APBn, acting on a tip-off, a team detained the duo and recovered 76 digital spy devices, 50 earpieces, three laptops, and six mobile phones from their possession. During primary interrogation, Shaharun admitted that he brought the devices from China, posing as a regular passenger, and was preparing to leave the airport together with Iqbal, who was waiting outside as part of the racket. Investigators said the seized devices are commonly used for sophisticated cheating in recruitment and admission tests. The credit-card–shaped devices, tiny invisible earpieces, and transparent extraction threads help fraud syndicates communicate answers to candidates inside exam halls. The main device automatically receives incoming calls when connected to a SIM card and kept on the body, while the micro earpiece inserted deep inside the ear allows covert communication. After the test, candidates extract the earpiece using the transparent thread. APBn Operational Commander, Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mozammel Haque, said, “These devices are banned items and have previously been used for fraud in various exams. We are conducting regular operations to curb such illegal activities.”

Police have arrested a man in connection with the killing of a freedom fighter and his wife at their home in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur district. The 22-year-old accused Morsalin was arrested from Shermosto Balapara area of Alampur union around 1:45 am on Friday, Ruhul Amin, officer-in-charge (OC- investigation) of Taraganj Police Station. During the preliminary interrogation, the arrestee confessed to his involvement in the murder and provided important information, the OC claimed. However, the details are being withheld for the sake of the investigation. Abu Saiyum Talukder, investigation officer of the case, said Morsalin worked of setting up tiles at the couple’s house two days back the incident. “A drive will be conducted on Friday afternoon to recover the weapon used in the murder upon information gleaned from the arrestee,” he added. Earlier on Sunday, police recovered the bodies of freedom fighter Jogesh Chandra Roy, 75, a retired headmaster of a government primary school, and his wife Suborna Roy, 60, from their home in Khiarpara village of Kursha union. According to police, the couple was murdered around 1 am inside their residence. Following this, the victims’ eldest son, Shoven Chandra Roy, filed a murder case with the police station accusing some unidentified people. Morsalin was later shown arrested in the case.

Thirty-three people were arrested during a weeklong drive by the joint forces, including Bangladesh Army from Dhaka and parts of the country on various charges. According to a Facebook post shared by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on its verified page on Friday, the operations were carried out between December 4 and 11 by different infantry divisions and independent brigades of the army, in coordination with police and other agencies.  During the drives, the law enforcers recovered 10 illegal firearms, 12 rounds of ammunition, 12 crude bombs (cocktails), various types of narcotics, and both local and foreign sharp weapons. The detainees have been handed over to local police stations for further action. Such drives by the Bangladesh Army will continue across the country to ensure public safety, according the ISPR. In addition to ensuring law and order, the army is assisting authorities in maintaining stability in industrial areas amid labour unrest. The army urged the public to report to the nearest army camp if any suspicious activity is noticed.

The High Court on Thursday dismissed a rule challenging the legality of the rule that parties forming an alliance cannot share the electoral symbol in the upcoming national elections. The HC bench comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Fatema Anwar handed down the judgement. As a result, all parties will have to contest elections under their own symbols, even if they form alliances, experts said. The writ petitioners, including Advocate Ahsanul Karim, Barrister Rashna Imam, Barrister Reshad Imam, and Barrister Shahedul Azam, had challenged the provision. Meanwhile, Advocate Mohammad Hossain Lipu, Advocate Zahirul Islam Musa, Advocate Ajmal Hossain, and Advocate Nazmus Shakib represented the NCP in opposition to the writ. Advocate Yarul Islam appeared on behalf of the Bangladesh Congress. Earlier, on December 1, the High Court issued the rule questioning why the Representation of the People Order (RPO) amendment, which mandates voting under respective party symbols even in alliances, should not be declared illegal. The Election Commission was asked to respond within ten days, and the final hearing was held on Thursday. The RPO amendment ordinance, issued by the government on November 3, stipulates that if multiple parties contest in an alliance, candidates must use their own party symbols. Previously, a candidate from a smaller party in an alliance could adopt the symbol of a larger allied party. The provision faced objections from the BNP and some smaller parties, while Jamaat-e-Islami had also expressed concerns about the government’s initial approach. The writ, filed on November 27 by Mominul Amin, Secretary General of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) led by Bobby Hajjaj, sought the cancellation of the provision. The Chief Election Commissioner and other relevant authorities were made respondents in the writ.

The High Court on Thursday ordered that all marriage and divorce records in Bangladesh be compulsorily registered through a digital system. The HC bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Ashif Hasan passed the order after hearing a writ petition. Advocate Ishrat Hasan stood for the petitioner. The HC bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Ashif Hasan passed the order after hearing a writ petition. Advocate Ishrat Hasan stood for the petitioner. Ishrat Hasan said the decision would be a historic step for protecting families, safeguarding women, preventing child marriage, ensuring legal transparency and most importantly, curbing fraud related to marriage and divorce. She added that digital registration would significantly reduce issues such as secret marriages, hiding multiple marriages, concealing prior information and difficulties in proving divorces. The writ petition was filed on March 4, 2021, by three people including Rakib Hasan, former husband of cricketer Nasir’s wife Tamima Sultana and one organization seeking directives to implement digital registration of marriages and divorces. Other petitioners included Sohag Hossain from North Kamalapur, Dhaka, Kamrul Hasan from Kashipur, Noakhali, and the Aid for Man Foundation. The petition highlighted that the lack of technology-driven registration had led to fraudulent practices, with spouses sometimes concealing marriage information and entering into multiple marriages. The absence of a digital archive often caused uncertainty and disputes over children’s paternity, making digital registration essential to prevent fraud and uphold family honor. On March 23, 2021, the High Court issued a rule asking why a central website should not be created for the digital registration of marriages and divorces. Secretaries of the Law Ministry, Post, Telecommunications and ICT Ministry, Religious Affairs Ministry, and the BTRC chairman were directed to respond to the rule. The final hearing was held on November 20.

Police have arrested five people, including a police sub-inspector, a TV journalist and a Krishak League leader, over a major gold robbery on the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway in Gajaria upazila of Munshiganj. Police also recovered about 95 bhori gold, Tk 13.5 lakh, a microbus, police uniforms, handcuffs and a walkie-talkie. Superintendent of Police Md Menhajul Alam said, “The robbery took place on December 7. Two gold traders were travelling by bus from Dhaka to Chattogram when robbers wearing police uniforms stopped them. The robbers handcuffed them, took them off the bus and forced them into a microbus.” The victims were beaten, and the gang looted 145 bhori gold ornaments, two mobile phones, cash, two ATM cards and a national ID card. A bhori (11.664 grams) of 22-carat gold is currently priced at over Tk 2.1 lakh in Bangladesh, making the robbery worth nearly Tk 3 crore. The traders were later left tied up in Kaliganj upazila of Gazipur. Using technology, the Munshiganj DB police identified the suspects and arrested five of them from Tuesday to Wednesday. Police first arrested the microbus driver Zakir Hossain from Dhaka’s Kafrul and recovered 10 bhori gold and Tk 7 lakh from him. Soon after, Sub-Inspector Akhtaruzzaman Munshi was arrested from the third floor of the same building. Police recovered 43 bhori gold, handcuffs, a walkie-talkie and three sets of police uniforms from him. Based on their information, police arrested another suspect, Romjan, from Mirpur–Shah Ali area and recovered 20 bhori gold, a gold-measuring scale, an ID card and Tk 5 lakh. Another suspect named Romjan Ali, was arrested from Harirampur in Manikganj with 13 bhori gold and Tk 1.5 lakh. According to police, one member of the gang had already sold part of the stolen gold to Islam Jewellers in Mirpur. The shop owner, Ismail Hossain, has also been arrested. SI Akhtaruzzaman is a member of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Special Branch, Romjan works as a reporter for the private television channel ‘My TV’, and another Romjan Ali is a leader of Bangladesh Krishak League in Manikganj. The Superintendent of Police further said, “Police are trying to arrest one more fugitive suspect and are continuing efforts to recover the rest of the stolen gold.”

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday filed a case against 16 individuals including Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, two of his sons — Sadat Sobhan, Managing Director of Bashundhara Import and Export Ltd, and Safiat Sobhan, Director of the same company - on charges of embezzling Tk 600 crore from National Bank. ACC Director General (Prevention) Md Akhtar Hossain briefed reporters about the development on Wednesday. The case was lodged at the ACC’s Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1, by ACC Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam as the complainant. According to the ACC list, the other accused are National Bank directors Monowara Sikder, Parveen Haque Sikder, Moazzem Hossain, Rick Haque Sikder, Ron Haque Sikder, Md Anwar Hossain and AKM Enamul Haque Shamim; the bank’s Credit Risk Management Division Vice President Hasina Sultana; Senior Executive Vice President and Manager Arif Md Shahidul Haque; Senior Assistant Vice President and Credit In-Charge Anisul Haque; Senior Assistant Vice President Sultana Parvin; Senior Assistant Vice President Subal Chandra Roy and Vice President Mohammad Kamrul Hasan Mithu. They have been charged under Sections 420/409/109 of the Penal Code, Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012. According to the case statement, the accused “violated banking rules and approved and disbursed” Tk 600 crore in funded loans and Tk 750 crore in non-funded facilities — a total of Tk 1,350 crore — in favour of Bashundhara Import & Export Ltd without fulfilling loan conditions. The ACC alleges that the accused later embezzled the Tk 600 crore in funded loans through collusion by not returning the money. To “conceal the illegal source, location and ownership” of the embezzled funds, salaries and benefits of employees of East West Property Development Pvt Ltd were paid from the Bashundhara Branch of Social Islami Bank, which is linked to the Bashundhara Group. Another portion of the funds was allegedly transferred to the accounts of Rongdhonu Builders and other entities to adjust loans, withdraw cash, and facilitate transfer, conversion and layering of the money. The case cites the period of the alleged crime as between 2018 and 2024. Following the mass uprising that ousted the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, state agencies intensified probes into alleged corruption and irregularities involving major business groups close to the former regime. As part of this, the ACC has been investigating allegations against the Bashundhara chairman and his wife and sons, including “tax evasion, land grabbing, loan embezzlement, fund transfers, and money laundering and were also summoned for questioning.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Wednesday ordered the publication of a notice in two national dailies to summon Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a case related to crimes against humanity during the July-August uprising in 2024. A two-member judicial panel led by Chairman Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder with Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmud, issued the directive after hearing from Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, who informed the tribunal that Joy, against whom an arrest warrant had been issued, was absconding. The tribunal granted the prosecution’s application to publish the notice and fixed December 17 for the next hearing. The other accused in the case, former ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, is in custody and was produced before the tribunal on Wednesday. Lawyer Liton Ahmed stood on behalf of Palak. The charges against Joy and Palak include concealing information about killings during the mass uprising by shutting down the internet, incitement to massacre, conspiracy, and involvement in the killings.

As the schedule for the 13th National Parliamentary Election is set to be announced on Thursday, the interim government urged people to refrain from holding any rallies or gatherings. All kinds of rallies and gatherings will be prohibited in the city once the election schedule is announced, said Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Wednesday. Legal action will be taken against anyone found violating this directive, it said. DMP has also sought the cooperation of all stakeholders to maintain law and order during this period.