United News of Bangladesh

A court here on Tuesday sentenced seven people, including four brothers, to death for killing a college student in Tarakanda upazila in 2021. Mymensingh District and Session Judge Mohammad Zakir Hossain also awarded seven years’ imprisonment to two women. The condemned convicts are Yunus Ali alias Yunus Ali, 62, his brothers Mohammad Ali, 52, Golam Hossain alias Gulu, 51, and Shamsul Haque, 44, sons of Jasim Uddin of Palashkanda Tanpara in the upazila; Asif Rana Naim, 24, son of Golam Hossain, Abdul Helim, 51, son of Abdul Mannan, and Farid Ahmed alias Babu, 19, son of Mohammad Ali. 5 get life imprisonment for killing farmer in Mymensingh The court also fined them Tk 50,000 each. The two other convicts are Khaleda Akter, wife of Mohammad Ali, and Rehena Khatun, wife of Yunus Ali. They were fined Tk 25,000 and in case of failure, they will have to serve one year more in prison. According to the prosecution, Shahinur Alam alias Iqbal, a student of Rumdo Institute of Modern Technology (RIMT), went missing on May 31, 2021, prompting his father Abdur Rauf to lodge a general diary in this connection. Later, police recovered Iqbal’s decomposed body from a septic tank at Palashkanda Tanpara village on June 5, 2021. Victim’s brother Selim Mia filed a murder case on June 6, 2021, accusing Asif Rana and his associates. Police submitted a charge sheet against nine individuals.

A total of 32.5 lakh metres of illegal fishing nets were seized during a joint drive by the Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard in the Karnaphuli River area of Chattogram, with an estimated market value of about Tk 312 crore, according to the ISPR. The operation was conducted in the Dangarchar area under Karnaphuli Police Station based on secret information that illegal nets had been stockpiled there. During the drive, law enforcers recovered a large quantity of banned nets from a godown named “Sea Heart” in the presence of a fisheries officer. Additional nets were also seized from two abandoned trucks at the scene. At the end of the operation, the nets were destroyed in the presence of the fisheries official. The drive is part of ongoing efforts to enforce the government-declared 58-day fishing ban and prevent the catching of jhatka. Authorities said such operations will continue to protect the country’s fisheries resources and curb illegal activities in coastal areas.

Police have arrested two youths in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a 15-year-old girl in the Savar municipal area on Thursday. The arrested individuals are Ashiq and Shanto, police said. The victim’s father filed a complaint with Savar Model Police Station on Sunday following the incident. Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (investigation) Noor Mohammad said the girl was sent to the One Stop Crisis Center (OCC) at Dhaka Medical College Hospital for medical examination. He also said legal action is underway regarding the incident. As per the complaint, the victim was returning home from her sister’s residence on Thursday evening when she reached the Dogarmora area adjacent to CRP Road. Police said one of the accused, Shanto, allegedly took away her veil, after which she followed him to his residence. Later, she was reportedly raped inside a room on the second floor of the house. The complaint also states that several other youths were involved in the incident. It further stated that when a neighbour named Rana tried to intervene, the accused allegedly beat him. Police said the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway to arrest other suspects involved in the incident.

The High Court on Sunday issued a rule asking why the authorities’ inaction in implementing a mandatory registration and regulatory system for domestic workers under the Domestic Servants Registration Ordinance, 1961 should not be declared illegal. The bench of Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury issued the rule following a preliminary hearing on a writ petition. The court also sought an explanation as to why directives should not be given to enforce such a system in line with the recommendations outlined in the writ petition. The court asked the Law, Labour and Employment, Home secretaries and director general of the Department of Labour to respond to the rule within four weeks. Advocate Tanzim Al Islam appeared for the writ petition alongside Advocate Khadijatul Kobra and Advocate Rowshan Ara. Earlier, on January 13, Advocate Khadijatul Kobra filed the writ with the High Court seeking directives to ensure registration of all domestic workers across the country including in the capital. Speaking to reporters, she said a widely reported murder incident on December 5 last year in Mohammadpur where a mother and her daughter were killed prompted the legal move. The accused in the case was a domestic worker employed at the residence. She said a legal notice has been served to the authorities attaching media reports of the incident and requesting implementation of the mandatory registration system under the 1961 ordinance. As no action was taken, the writ petition was filed on January 31. According to the ordinance, mandatory registration of domestic workers currently applies to certain police station in Dhaka including Kotwali, Sutrapur, Lalbagh, Ramna and Tejgaon. The law also allows the government to extend the provision to other areas through official gazette notification, she said.

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood on Sunday told Parliament that a total of 542,000 litres of fuel have so far been seized through mobile court drives conducted across the country. Mobile courts and vigilance teams are actively working nationwide to curb overpricing, illegal hoarding and smuggling of fuel, he said while replying to a scripted question from ruling party lawmaker Md Abul Kalam (Cumilla-9). “Through 9,116 drives, a total of 3,510 cases have been filed, fines amounting to Tk 1,56,09,650 have been realised, and 542,000 litres of fuel have been recovered,” said the minister. In his question, Abul Kalam MP asked what steps have been taken to prevent hoarding and black marketing of fuel as a group of unscrupulous businessmen is there to fall the government in trouble. In response, Iqbal Hassan mentioned 12 steps taken by the government to prevent the hoarding and black marketing of fuel. The steps include the formation of vigilance teams at district levels and at Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) were formed to monitor fuel supply and distribution, alongside a dedicated monitoring team at the ministry. A ‘central control cell’ has also been established comprising officials from the ministry, BPC, Petrobangla and marketing companies to oversee fuel import, storage, supply and distribution. Since March 9, 2026, the cell has been holding daily virtual meetings with deputy commissioners and relevant officials to address district-level fuel demand issues in real time, he said. To ensure transparency in supply, district administrations have been instructed to keep an executive magistrate present during fuel dispatch from depots while arrangements have been made to provide police escorts during transportation of fuel to filling stations, he added. Law enforcement patrols have been strengthened in waterways and border areas to prevent smuggling, while members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the army have been deployed to ensure depot security, said the minister. Police have been directed to intensify patrols around filling stations, and tag officers have been appointed for each petrol pump, he said. Regular drives are being carried out to stop illegal stockpiling, and a fuel pass system has been introduced at district levels, which has witnessed success in solving the problem, said the Minister.  

A Dhaka tribunal on Sunday sentenced two people to life imprisonment and another to 14 years in prison in a case filed over the  killing of an 11-year-old boy in Kafrul area of the capital in 2008. Judge of the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-4 Munshi Md Mashiur Rahman handed down the judgment. The lifers are Masud Rana and Al Amin Gharami  while the other convict is Saiful Islam alias Saiful. The tribunal also issued arrest warrant against Saiful and Gharami as both were tried in absentia. 16 fishermen jailed for catching jatka in Chandpur The tribunal also fined each convict Tk 1 lakh with an additional one year of rigorous imprisonment in default of payment. The tribunal also asked the district magistrate to provide the fine amount to the family members of the victim realising the money after selling all properties of the convicts. According to the prosecution,  Shafiqul Islam Milon, son of Shafiqul Islam, went missing on March 6, 2008, after leaving his residence to play in Kafrul area of the capital. The kidnappers demanded Tk two lakh as ransom from the family members of Milon and   Milon’s father filed a case with Kafrul Police Station on March 13. Police arrested five accused from different parts of the capital through checking the call list of Milon’s father. Following the confessional statement of the accused police recovered the bones, teeth and a blood-strained stone from Ranchandrapur Karnapara in Savar. Mir Abul Kalam Azad, sub-inspector of Kafraul Police Station and also the investigating officer of the case, submitted a chargesheet against five people. After examining records and witnesses, the tribunal also acquitted two others—Abdul Motaleb alias Mota and Amirul Islam alias Rubel---as allegations brought against them could not be proved.

A total of 67 suspected criminals have been arrested in drives conducted by the Tejgaon Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). The drives were conducted in different crime-prone areas on Saturday, said NM Nasiruddin, deputy commissioner of police (Media and Public Relations Division, DMP). Of those, 31 were from Mohammadpur, eight from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar , 11 from Adabor , seven from Tejgaon Industrial Zone , and 10 from Hatirjheel Police Station. During the drives, police recovered 51 Yaba tablets, 195 small packets of heroin, a motorcycle, and a switch gear (knife) from their possession. Later, the arrestees were sent to a court, the police official said. NM Nasiruddin said that such drives will continue to curb crime and maintain law and order in the area.  

Mobile courts on Thursday sentenced nine fishermen to different jail terms after 16 were arrested for catching jatka in violation of restrictions in the Padma-Meghna river sanctuary area of Chandpur Sadar upazila. The remaining seven detainees, all minors, were released after giving undertakings, officials said. The operation was conducted from 12pm to 5pm in several areas of the sanctuary, including Baharia, Lakshmipur, Dokanghar, Rajrajeshwar and nearby locations, said Chandpur Sadar Upazila Assistant Fisheries Officer Md Mizanur Rahman. He said the joint task force arrested the fishermen for illegally catching jatka (juvenile hilsa) during the ongoing ban period. During the drive, authorities seized four engine-powered wooden fishing boats, one large behundi net and about 10,000 metres of current nets. The seized nets were later destroyed by burning at the Chandpur Coast Guard station. Officials said the joint operation was conducted by the district administration, fisheries department, Coast Guard and naval police. Mobile court proceedings at the Coast Guard station were conducted by Executive Magistrate Tanvir Rabbani. The court sentenced two fishermen to three months’ imprisonment and fined them Tk 500 each, three others to one month’s imprisonment and Tk 500 each, another three to 15 days’ imprisonment and Tk 200 each, and one person to 15 days’ imprisonment and Tk 500 fine.    

Chinmoy Krishna Das, the suspended ISKCON leader and spokesperson of Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagran Jote, has been granted bail in one case on Thursday while remaining in custody in Chattogram jail. The order was issued by Chattogram Judicial Magistrate Shakhawat Hossain after a hearing, court officials said. According to court sources, the case was filed by BNP leader and former minister Moir Nasir Uddin, alleging land grabbing, intimidation and assault in the Mekhla area of Hathazari upazila. The case, filed in 2023, named Chinmoy Krishna Das and five others as accused. After investigation, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) submitted its report. Court bench assistant Mizanur Rahman confirmed that the bail petition filed on behalf of Chinmoy Krishna Das was granted after hearing. However, he still faces multiple other cases, including one over the killing of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, along with at least six pending cases against him. Earlier, on April 7, the court had allowed a petition to show him arrested in the case. Notably, violence erupted on November 26, 2024, following a sedition case over alleged disrespect to the national flag, during which lawyer Saiful Islam was beaten and stabbed to death. Following the incident, his father, Jamal Uddin, filed a murder case naming 31 individuals.