Law-&-Order
HC orders Grameen Kalyan to pay Tk 119 crore income tax
The High Court on Thursday upheld the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) claim of Tk 119 crore income tax from Grameen Kalyan, a nonprofit organisation founded by Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus.
The HC bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir passed the order after hearing seven income tax reference applications filed by Grameen Kalyan challenging the legality of the claims made by the NBR.
Lawyer Sardar Jinnat Ali stood for Grameen Kalyan in the court while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin and Assistant Attorney General Tahmina Poli represented the state.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said Grameen Kalyan had already paid Tk436 crore of the Tk555 crore claimed by the NBR. Now it has to pay the remaining Tk119 crore, he added.
Sardar Jinnat Ali, the lawyer of Grameen Kalyan said, "A decision will be taken on whether to appeal against the judgment of the High Court or not, subject to discussion with the management authorities of Grameen Kalyan."
Labaid Hospital fined Tk 2 lakh for operating unauthorised restaurant on its rooftop
A mobile court on Thursday fined Labaid Hospital Tk 2 lakh for housing a an unauthorised restaurant on its rooftop.
A team of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) led by Executive Magistrate Md Jahangir Alam imposed the fine conducting a drive from 3pm to 5pm.
During the drive, "We found a restaurant on the roof of Labaid Hospital in Dhaka's Green Road area and there was leakage in a gas cylinder kept in the restaurant's kitchen," he said.
“We also got the fault in the fire extinguishing system. Hence, LabAid Hospital authorities have been fined Tk 2 lakh."
The fine was imposed under Section 18 of the Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act, 2003.
Earlier, the mobile court conducted a drive in the Central Hospital on Green Road.
Among others, Deputy Assistant Director of Fire Service and Civil Defense Mohammad Fakhruddin were present during the operation.
Destiny's MD gets bail in money laundering case
The High Court on Wednesday granted one year bail to Rafiqul Amin, managing director of Destiny Multipurpose Co-Operative Society Ltd, who was jailed for 12 years in a case filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over money laundering.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Ebadat Hossain passed the order on Wednesday afternoon.
He was given bail on condition of submitting his passport to the court, said Rafiqul’s lawyer Mohaddes-ul-Islam Tutul.
Advocate Syed Mamun Mahbub and and Md Mohaddes-ul-Islam Tutul appeared for the petitioner while senior lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC.
Tutul said that the High Court granted bail to his client as his sentence was completed.
On May 12, 2022, a Dhaka court sentenced all 46 accused, including Rafiqul Amin, his wife Farah Diba, and Destiny-2000 president Lt Gen Harun (retd), to different terms of imprisonment in the money laundering case and fined Tk 2,300 crore.
Rafiqul Amin was given 12 years imprisonment with Tk 200 crore fine and his wife Farah Diba was awarded eight-years imprisonment in this case.
On June 16, Rafiqul Amin moved the High Court against the sentence.
On 31 July 2012, two separate cases were filed with the Kalabagan police station against Rafiqul and other officials of Destiny on the allegation of embezzling money from the investors in the name of Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society and Destiny Tree Plantation Limited and laundering it.
According to the case statement, Destiny group collected Tk 1,901 crore from the investors and embezzled Tk 1,861.45 crore of it. As a result, Its eight lakh investors faced loss.
DMP conducts drives targeting fire safety violations in Dhaka
In response to the recent tragic fire on the Bailey Road in the capital, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has been conducting drives targeting establishments with potential fire safety hazards.
The drive that started on March 3 resulted in the detention of 872 owners and employees from 1,347 hotels, restaurants, gas cylinder shops, and chemical warehouses till March 5.
DB increases surveillance on upscale restaurants after Bailey Road fire
The primary objective of the DMP drive is to assess and address fire safety shortcomings in various non-compliant buildings across the capital. Police inspected 1,132 hotels and restaurants, 207 gas cylinder shops, and eight chemical warehouses during the operation.
Fire safety: How safe are the restaurants in Dhaka’s upscale areas?
During the drive, 20 regular cases were filed at local police stations, resulting in the issuance of 887 additional prosecutions against individuals and businesses violating fire safety regulations, said KN Roy Nioty, ADC (Media and Public Relations) of the DMP.
This recent surge in enforcement comes after a devastating fire ripped through a seven-storey commercial building on Bailey Road in Dhaka on February 29, killing 46 individuals, including 26 women and three children, and critically injuring 22 others.
Petition filed seeking closure of restaurants in residential buildings
75 teen gang members arrested in Dhaka
Detectives in separate drives have arrested 75 members of ‘teen gangs’ from different areas of the capital in two days.
They were arrested from Tejgaon, Gulshan, Uttara and Motijheel areas on Tuesday and Wednesday.
DB Chief and Additional Commissioner of Police Harun-or-Rashid revealed this information while briefing reporters today at DB’s Minto Road office.
Most of the arrestees were wanted in different cases, he added.
Recently, police found the involvement of so-called ‘elders brothers’ in patronising them.
The arrestees have long been involved in eve-teasing, stalking and mugging in Uttara, Rampura, Badda, Bhatara, Turag and 300-feet areas, he added.
They are also involved in drug peddling, said the DB Chief.
These gangs have turned into a menace in society. Due to them, the law and order of the society is being destroyed, he added.
.Thirty four teenagers were killed in attack by these gangs in the last two years, he added.
Harun said, "We once thought that children from floating and low-income families were getting involved in teen gangs.But now it is seen that the children from upper middle class and wealthy families are also getting involved in these gangs.”
Hoarders of essential commodities to face action under Special Powers Act: Law minister
Issuing a warning against hoarders, Law Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday said action will be taken against those involved in hoarding of essential commodities under the Special Powers Act.
“If anyone tries to destabilises the market by hoarding commodities, action will be taken against them under the Special Powers Act,” said the minister while talking to reporters after attending the 3rd day of the Deputy Commissioners’ conference.
RAB busts extensive network of brokers exploiting DMCH
He also asked the DCs to dispose of the cases filed with mobile courts speedily and sought their help to clear the backlog of cases.
Replying to a question about the PM's directives to take steps against illegal hoarders, Anisul said, “The Prime Minister herself ordered to take immediate steps in this regard. The Special Power Act was enacted in 1974 now I am saying through you (media) that if they do it, action will be taken under the Special Powers Act.”
Indian BSF delegation in city to attend the 54th border conference
A nine member delegation led by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) Director General (DG) Nitin Agrawal has arrived in the city to attend the five-day long 54th border conference at DG level in Dhaka’s BGB headquarters on Tuesday.
BGB DG Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui and his spouse Nawrin Ashraf welcomed the BSF delegation with flowers upon their arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the morning. Smita Agrawal, wife of the BSF head, is accompanying him during his visit to Bangladesh.
Later, the Indian delegation was taken to the BGB headquarters where the BSF chief paid respect to the BGB members who sacrificed their lives during the country’s liberation war in 1971.
Moreover, another delegation of ‘BSF Wives Welfare Association’ also came to the country at the invitation of the BGB Shimanto Paribar Kalyan Samity (SHIPKS) Chief Patron Nawrin Ashraf.
The delegates of the Indian welfare association are scheduled to attend several events hosted by the SHIPKS and Shimanto Ladies Club.
This visit of BSF DG will play a very effective role in resolving the border problems of both the countries including strengthening the existing mutual trust, cordial relations and strengthening bilateral cooperation between the border guarding forces of Bangladesh and India.
The BSF delegation will return to India on March 9 wrapping up the five day DG level border conference.
RAB busts extensive network of brokers exploiting DMCH
In a major crackdown, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) -3 has arrested 58 active members of an extensive broker network at Dhaka Medical College Hospital involved in financial exploitation and commission gains through patient transfers to various private hospitals in the capital, including.
From the morning until noon on Monday, a comprehensive operation was conducted at DMCH, said Md Arifur Rahman, RAB- 3 deputy director (media).
ACC finds irregularities in providing medical services to patients at DMCH
The crackdown aimed at curbing financial exploitation and commission gains through patient transfers to several private hospitals where brokers played a significant role, he said.
Interrogation of the arrested members revealed that a complex network had evolved around patients seeking emergency medical care and their relatives. The primary focus of this network was new patients arriving from rural and suburban areas and the families of existing patients. Members of this broker network actively engaged in deceptive practices, misleading patients into being admitted to various private hospitals in the capital, said the RAB official.
Woman hit by van succumbs to injuries at DMCH
Furthermore, the brokers were involved in activities such as patient admission, seat allocation, collecting examination reports, providing trolley services, and wheelchair assistance, all aimed at financial gains and commissions. Additionally, they misled patients about their diagnostic reports, convincing them to pay extra charges at different diagnostic centres.
During interrogation, it was uncovered that the wheelchair and trolley-centric broker network aggressively demanded higher amounts of money from the families of vulnerable patients, acting as a hurdle until the payment was made. Until the payment was settled, these brokers pressured the helpless patients and their families, added Arifur.
RMG worker injured in clash with law enforcers dies at DMCH
These brokers operated prominently near the emergency department, outdoor departments, OTs, wards, and cabins of the hospital. Besides providing false assurances of prompt and quality healthcare services, they quickly deceived patients into paying substantial amounts through misleading medical treatments within a short period, he also said.
Moreover, they collected blood from the streets during late hours and stored it in unsanitary conditions, later selling it at exorbitant prices to the families of critically ill patients. Exposing their malpractices could lead to aggressive and hostile actions against the patients and their families.
Legal procedures are now in progress against the arrested individuals to address the extensive exploitation and corruption within the hospital environment, the RAB official said.
DB increases surveillance on upscale restaurants after Bailey Road fire
In the wake of the recent fire incident on Bailey Road in the capital, Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has initiated increased surveillance on upscale restaurants across the city.
The focus is on ensuring proper fire safety measures and assessing emergency exit routes.
Two multi-storied buildings in Dhanmandi declared 'Risky'
Additional Commissioner and DB Chief Mohammad Harun or Rashid on Monday revealed that steps are being taken to avoid negligence in the aftermath of such accidents. He emphasized the importance of adhering to building regulations and conducting thorough inspections of establishments.
The DB chief highlighted that if proper checks had been in place earlier, incidents like those in Bangabazar, Nimtoli, and Banani's FR Tower might have been prevented.
High Court issues rule on compensation for Bailey Road fire victims
“I do not know whether all these restaurants were approved or not, whether the fire service supervised them properly. And the rooms were arranged in such a way that there was no chance of air to pass. If there was proper ventilation, there would not have been so many casualties. Even if there is an accident, people will go to the roof and survive, there was no way to go there as restaurant has been built there,” he said.
"After an incident happens, we grieve, we give knowledge. But if all the agencies in charge do their job, we wouldn’t have to witness so many loss of lives in the past, including the Bailey Road. So this time DMP police and DB police are keeping an eye on various restaurants in the capital,” said the DB chief.
Ensure punishment of those responsible for Bailey Road inferno
"We are investigating the compliance of every restaurant with safety standards. We are checking if any restaurants in Dhaka lack fire safety measures. We are also assessing the availability of emergency exit routes. If any irregularities are found, we will promptly inform the concerned authorities for appropriate action,” Harun added.
Madrasa girl raped in Bhola; one of two accused arrested
Locals rescued a minor madrasa student, hearing her cry for help when a man was raping her in Bhola’s Chor Fashion upazila on Sunday.
Police detained the accused Utpal Chandra Shil, 22, after locals handed him over.
On Monday afternoon, accused Utpal was sent to the Char Fashion Senior Judicial Magistrate Court by Shashin Bhushan Police Station.
According to locals, the girl was raped in a secluded garden of a farm named Daulatganj Agro and Dairy Farm adjacent to Daulatganj Bazar of Ewajpur village in the upazila.
One of the eyewitnesses took a video shot and submitted it as proof to police.
According to locals and police, about 10/12 days ago, the accused Utpal introduced himself to the girl on the streets. On Sunday afternoon, Utpal called the child to the Basharat Ullah Chowmuhani area. From there, he and his accomplice Suman forcibly took her to that spot.
Police couldn’t arrest the accomplice Suman yet.