United News of Bangladesh

The Supreme Court on Thursday acquitted BNP leaders Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin, and Mir Mohammad Helaluddin in separate corruption cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). A six-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, handed down the verdicts, accepting their criminal appeals and cancelling the High Court (HC) sentences previously issued against them. Senior advocates Zainul Abedin, Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, and Ragib Rouf Chowdhury represented the defence, while Advocate Shahin Ahmed appeared on behalf of the ACC. Case Against Mir Nasiruddin and Mir Helaluddin On March 6, 2007, the ACC filed a case with Gulshan Police Station against Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin, former state minister and BNP vice-chairman, and his son, Mir Mohammad Helaluddin, BNP’s assistant organising secretary. The case involved allegations of illegal wealth accumulation and concealment of property information. On July 4, 2007, a special judge court sentenced Nasiruddin to 13 years and Helaluddin to 3 years in prison. Although the High Court later overturned these convictions on appeal, the ACC challenged the acquittals. Following a fresh hearing, the HC upheld the original verdicts, prompting the father-son duo to file a leave-to-appeal petition with the Supreme Court. The apex court accepted their petition on March 17, 2025. Case Against Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku In a separate case, ACC Deputy Director Shahriar Chowdhury filed charges against former State Minister for Power Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku in March 2007, accusing him of concealing assets worth Tk 4.96 crore and failing to disclose the sources of income. The case was filed with Mohammadpur Police Station. On November 15, 2007, a trial court sentenced Tuku to nine years in prison. Later, he appealed to the High Court, which acquitted him on June 15, 2011. However, the ACC challenged this decision, and on January 21, 2014, the Appellate Division overturned the acquittal and ordered a retrial. Tuku’s subsequent review petition was also rejected. On July 26, 2023, the High Court directed Tuku to surrender within 15 days of receiving the verdict. When he failed to comply by the September 11 deadline, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

A Narayanganj court on Thursday sentenced a man to death and 17 others to life imprisonment for killing a young man over protesting drug selling in Narayanganj in 2012. Narayanganj District and Session Judge Mominul Islam handed down the punishment. The condemned convict is identified as Tawlada alias Zahirul, 48, son of Afsar Uddin while the lifers were identified as Mizan, 35, Md Ali, 38, Abdul Latif, 65, Hanif, 36, Sohel, 50, Sabuj, 35, Milon, 41, Selim, 43, Golzar, 39, Leda Faruk, 40, Russel, 40, Momen, 38, Saddam, Shahin, 39, Ruhul Amin, 38, Abul, 38 and Pandit, 43. Mob attack in Narayanganj claims 1 alleged robber’s life Among them, Md Ali was present at the dock while the others tried in absentia. According to the prosecution, Nazrul Islam Babu, son of Jalal Mia of Masimpur in Rupganj upazila was stabbed to death by the convicts for being obstructing for selling drugs on May 31, 2012. A case was filed in this connection.

Police have arrested seven members of a robbery gang who used to introduce themselves as DB police in the capital. The arrestees were gang leader Din Islam alias Kawsar Ahmed, Kamal Hawlader, Abdur Rahman Hawlader, Mehedi Hasan alias Hasan, Babul Hawlader, Romiz Talukdar, and Jannatul Ferdous. During the drive, police recovered a microbus, fake DB jackets, walkie-talkies, fake police ID cards, handcuffs, a toy pistol, a pocket router, mobile phones, an expandable baton, and a laser light from their possession. They were arrested on Wednesday night from near Laguna stand beside Golap Shah Mazar in Gulistan while preparing for a robbery, said Deputy Commissioner (DC-Ramna Division) Masud Alam at a press briefing at DMP Media Centre on Thursday. He said the gang used to target gold traders at Tantibazar and people withdrawing large amount of money from banks. Nine 'Kobji Kata' gang members held in Dhaka A team of police from Shahbagh Police Station conducted the drive and arrested them while 4-5 others managed to flee the scene. A case was filed with Shahbagh Police Station,DC Masud added.

A case has been filed accusing 73 leaders and activists of BNP for extracting sand legally from the Boro Feni River and grabbing government land to establish fishery projects in Sonagazi upazila of Feni district. Md Belayet Hossain, acting land assistant officer of Amirabad union under the upazila, filed the case naming 18 people and 50–55 unidentified ones with Sonagazi Model Police Station on Wednesday night. Some of the accused were former general secretary of Amirabad Union BNP Nuruzzaman, former joint vice presidents of the district Jubo Dal Mahiuddin Mahim, Nur Alam, Nizam Uddin, Mirsharai BNP leader Sheikh Farid Member, district Chhatra Dal members Shariful Islam Rana, Munshi, Jubo Dal executive committee members Mohammad Masud, Aziz Member, Shahjahan Saju, Haque Sahab, Chhatra Dal leaders Nur Alam Shamim, Masud, and Nizam Hazarir’s nephew Haidar Ali Masud Bhuiyan. Legal notice served to stop sand extraction from Kalidas Pahalia in Feni According to the case statement, the accused extracted sand and soil illegally from Ragunathpur and Mobarakhghona riverbanks in Nawabpur Union from August 14 to 29 and set up fishery projects on government land. Officer-in-charge of Sonagazi Model Police Station Bayezid Akon said legal action will be taken upon investigation.

The Appellate Division on Thursday upheld a High Court (HC) order that acquitted all convicts, including BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutforzzman Babar, in the sensational August 21 grenade attack case. A seven-member bench, led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, passé the order ending the long legal battle. On December 1 last year, the HC overturned the verdict of a lower court in two cases filed over the August 21 grenade attack, acquitting all convicts, including Tarique Rahman and Babar. On March 19, the state filed an appeal against the HC verdict in the 21st August grenade attack case. Top court sets Sept 4 for verdict on Tarique, others in grenade attack case On July 31, the SC set August 13 to hear the petition filed challenging the HC order. For the past few days, the court heard the petition and finally set September 4 to deliver the verdict. The grenade attack, a shocking incident, occurred on Dhaka's Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004. On October 10, 2018, a speedy trial tribunal in Dhaka issued a verdict in one of the cases (pertaining to murder and explosives). The tribunal sentenced 19 accused, including former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and former deputy education minister Abdus Salam Pintu, to death. Grenade Attack Case: SC adjourns appeal hearing against acquittal of Tarique, Babar Besides, 19 others, including BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, were handed life imprisonment sentences, while 11 accused received various terms of imprisonment and fines. The judgment was subsequently transferred to the HC in 2018, registered as a death reference case.

The Bangladesh Army has detected a training camp operated by the armed group known as the Bom Party, which identifies itself as the Kuki National Army (KNA), in a remote area of Bandarban’s Ruma upazila. The camp was detected during a month-long special military operation conducted from July 25 to August 26, 2025, in the remote and uninhabited Rang Tlang region, according to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Army patrol units identified and raided the training site, recovering a significant cache of training and combat materials.

A total of 102 people have been arrested during a special drive carried out by Adabor thana Police of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) following an attack on police in the capital’s Adabor area. The incident took place around 10:00 PM on Sunday when a police patrol team went to the Sunibir Housing area in Adabor to rescue a reported victim. As the team arrived at the location, a group of local miscreants launched a sudden and violent attack on the police team. During the assault, a police constable named Al Amin was severely injured after being struck with sharp weapons. The attackers also vandalised a police vehicle. In response to the incident, a daylong special operation was launched on Monday across different parts of the Adabor area, leading to the arrest of 102 people allegedly involved in the attack or linked to criminal activities in the area, DC media of DMP Talebur Rahman on Tuesday. Among those arrested, five were identified as Md. Mizan Matbar (28), Md. Rabbi (21), Md. Robiul Islam alias Robi Mondal (50), Jewel Sardar (26), and Sabuj Mia (26) – were shown arrested in a regular criminal case. The remaining 97 were detained under the DMP Ordinance. Police also recovered a cache of locally made weapons from the suspects’ possession, including 25 wooden sticks, 12 samurai-style swords, 11 iron rods, and two motorcycles. Army seizes drugs in special drives in Kurigram The arrested people were produced before the court on Monday. Police say further investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the involvement of the accused and to prevent such incidents in the future.

Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun has said the massacre during the July-August mass uprising was carried out on the orders of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ex-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. He made the statement on Tuesday while giving testimony before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 led by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder as a state witness in a case filed over crimes against humanity committed during the uprising. In his statement, Abdullah Al-Mamun revealed that coordinators of the July-August movement were detained and subjected to psychological torture in an effort to force them to get back from the protests, acting on the orders of then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. He said political interference in the police force intensified following the 2018 national elections. Certain police officers, he said, gained significant influence and maintained direct contact with senior political leaders. According to Mamun, these officers held frequent secret meetings, almost every night, at the residence of former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. The meetings often continued late into the night. Among those in attendance, he named several high-ranking police officials, including former DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman, DB Chief Harun ur Rashid, SB’s Monirul Islam, Dhaka Range DIG Nurul Islam, Additional DIG Biplob Kumar Sarker, ASP Kafi, OC Mazhar, Forkan Apurba, and others. He claimed that some of them were directly in contact with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Mamun alleged that these officers often bypassed the official chain of command due to their political connections. "I tried to ensure they performed their duties professionally," he said, adding, "But the force became divided into two groups, each competing to place their allies in key positions, especially within Dhaka." He also revealed information about various detention centres used during his tenure in the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), including the notorious Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell. Former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun also offered an apology to the martyrs, the injured, their families, the nation and the tribunal. The High Court will, however, decide whether he will be granted a pardon. Acknowledging his role in the July Uprising, Abdullah Al-Mamun said, “If the full truth comes to light through my honest and complete account, and if Allah grants me more time, I will be relieved of at least some of the guilt I carry for the rest of my life.” The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has formally framed charges against three accused in the case, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The prosecution has brought five charges of crimes against humanity against them. So far, 35 people have testified in the case related to the July-August uprising, revealing harrowing accounts of massacres carried out across the country during last year’s student and public uprising. Statements from witnesses have detailed various incidents of violence, painting a grim picture of what unfolded during the unrest. Families of the victims and witnesses have demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible, placing blame squarely on figures including Sheikh Hasina and Kamal. Earlier on July 10, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun publicly admitted responsibility for crimes against humanity committed during the mass uprising.      

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has seized a luxury hotel and frozen assets worth Tk 33.81 crore belonging to Rongdhonu Group owner Rafiqul Islam, in connection with an ongoing money laundering case. The case, filed under sections 4(2) and 4(4) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, is currently under investigation by the CID's Financial Crime Unit (Gulshan Police Station Case No-14, dated 07/08/2025). Rafiqul Islam, owner of Rongdhonu Builders, allegedly obtained massive loans through fraud and forgery—taking Tk 400 crore from Islami Bank’s Baridhara Branch, Tk 270 crore from First Security Islami Bank’s Bashundhara Branch, and Tk 200 crore from Union Bank’s Gulshan Branch, among others. Instead of repaying the loans, he reportedly laundered the funds abroad and acquired foreign citizenship, said Special Super of the CID (Media Wing) Jasimuddin Khan on Monday . During the investigation, the CID traced a 9-storey luxury hotel named “Hotel Unique Regency,” built on 6.02 decimals of land in Banani's Road 17, along with Tk 33.81 crore kept as collateral with the Co-operative Bank Bangladesh Ltd. Prof Yunus talks to Nur; govt decides to form judicial probe body Following a court order, the CID seized the hotel and froze the identified funds, he said. The Financial Crime Unit continues its investigation to trace the source of the funds, identify other properties laundered abroad, and arrest others involved in the case, officials said.  

A mobile court in Sirajganj’s Kazipur upazila has seized 343 sacks of government rice, weighing approximately 3.5 tons, from two separate warehouses. The raid was conducted on Thursday afternoon in Meghai village by a mobile court led by Executive Magistrate Niamat Ali Khan, as part of an operation targeting misappropriation of rice allocated under the government’s Food-Friendly Programme. According to court sources, the team first recovered 45 sacks of 50 kg and 44 sacks of 30 kg rice from the warehouse of Solaiman Hossain, the former president of the BNP’s Sadar Union unit. Later, the team conducted an operation to a nearby warehouse owned by Sabbir Hossain, son of the late Akbar Ali, where an additional 28 sacks of 50 kg and 226 sacks of 30 kg rice were found. In total, 343 sacks of government rice were recovered from the two warehouses. The seized rice has since been transferred to the Kazipur upazila food warehouse for safekeeping. Both warehouse owners reportedly fled the scene during the raid. Authorities have said that legal action will be taken against those responsible for hoarding government-subsidized food grains. Kazipur Upazila Food Inspector Sayem Raihan Chowdhury and members of the local police assisted in the operation.