Law-&-Order
HC upholds bdnews24.com editor’s bail order
The High Court (HC) on Thursday upheld the trial court’s order granting bail to bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accusing the journalist of amassing wealth illegally.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after disposing of the rule seeking cancelation of the bail order.
Read more: Top court upholds bdnews24.com editor’s anticipatory bail order
However, he will have to seek permission from the trial court for going abroad.
Senior lawyer Yusuf Hussain Humayun, advocate Shahriar Kabir and barrister Mahbub Shafiq appeared for Khalidi in the court while Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC.
ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar filed the case on July 30 in 2020.
According to the case statement, Khalidi has Tk 42 crore in different bank accounts which have no legal source.
On August 26, the High Court granted anticipatory bail to Khalidi for eight weeks.
Later, the ACC filed the petition with the Appellate Division challenging the HC order. However, the Appellate Division upheld the HC order on September 21.
Read more: HC grants bail to ex-LGRD minister’s APS in money laundering case
On October 20, Khalidi surrendered to Dhaka Senior Special Judge's Court and sought bail. After the hearing, the court granted him interim bail till November 25.
On November 25, the court granted him the permanent bail.
Later on December 8, 2020, following ACC’s petition seeking cancellation of the bail order, the HC issued a rule questioning why the bail granted to bdnews24.com rditor by the trial court should not be canceled.
Ayat’s head recovered from Ctg canal, PBI says
Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), this morning, recovered the severed head of five-year-old Ayat, who was abducted and murdered in Chattogram, from a canal in the port city.
Illias Khan, PBI inspector in Chattogram, said that they recovered the head from a canal near a sluice gate in EPZ area on Akmal Ali Road, following information from the accused Abir.
He said two teams of 25 PBI personnel have been searching for Ayat’s remains for the last three days at the spot where the remains were dumped.
Read more: Remains of 5-year-old Ayat recovered from Chattogram canal
“Ayat’s face has been disfigured and it is difficult to identify, but it should be her head,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ayat’s remains were recovered from the canal on Akmal Ali Road in Chattogram city.
On November 25, PBI arrested Abir Ali (20) for kidnapping and murdering Alina Islam Ayat, 10 days after the child went missing.
Accused Abir, an ex-tenant of the victim’s family, kidnapped the child on November 15 for ransom when she was on her way to a mosque for Arabic lessons, at Bandartila area in Chattogram.
Abir strangled the girl to death and later chopped her body into six pieces. He subsequently dumped the body parts, wrapped in two bags, on the beach in the city’s Kattali area.
Read more: Ayat murder in Ctg: Accused’s parents put on 3-day remand
Ayat’s father, Sohel Rana, lodged a general diary at the local police station after she went missing, police said. Abir was put on another seven-day remand on Monday on completion of his two-day remand. Abir’s parents Azharul Islam and Aleya Begum were placed on a three-day remand on Tuesday.
GM Quader cannot perform duties as JaPa Chairman, Chamber Judge stays HC order
The Appellate Division on Wednesday stayed the High Court order allowing Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader to perform the duties of his post.
Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division M Enayetur Rahim passed the order following an appeal against the HC order.
The Appellate Division stayed the HC order till Monday for hearing in the full bench.
Read more: GM Quader can perform party activities: HC
With this order, the restriction on the activities of GM Quader as party chairman has been upheld, said plaintiff’s counsel Barrister Sayed Ahmed Raja.
On Tuesday, HC cleared the way for GM Quader to perform his duties as Jatiya Party Chairman by staying the lower court embargo till January 3 following a revision petition.
Jatiya Party's suspended leader and former lawmaker Ziaul Haque Mridha filed the case against GM Quader on October 4.
On October 30, Dhaka Joint District Sessions Judge court-1 issued a temporary embargo on the political activities of GM Quader.
On October 6, several lawyers including Sheikh Sirajul Islam and Kalim Ullah Majumdar stood for GM Quader with a petition to withdraw the ban on his political activities at the court.
In the petition, the lawyers also urged the court to lift the embargo to play his role as Chairman as per the constitution of the party that was dismissed by the same court on November 16.
Read more: JP: Court clears petition on withdrawal of ban of GM Quader’s party activities
Later, Quader filed a revision petition with the HC challenging the lower court order.
According to the case statement, the party’s founder HM Ershad died on September 14, 2019.
Quader declared himself as chairman of the party through forgery at a council on December 28, 2019 when a writ petition case was pending at the High Court.
Later, Quader as party chairman fired several leaders including Ranga, Gazipur metropolitan unit’s advisor Ataur Rahman Sarkar and Organising Secretary Sabur Sikdar, among others, by exercising his power as per the constitution of the party.
Besides, Ranga was also removed from the post of presidium member of the party on September 14 and Advocate Ziaul Hoque Mridha from the party on September 17.
In the case, orders were sought to declare all removals from December 28, 2019, to September 17, 2022 and council as illegal while the next council of the party to keep stayed unless the HC writ petition is disposed of.
6 get life term for murder during robbery in Kushtia
A Kushtia court on Wednesday sentenced six people to life term imprisonment for killing a man during a robbery in Daulatdia upazila of the district over 20 years back.
Kushtia Additional District and Sessions Judge Court Md Tajul Islam also fined the convicts Tk 25,000 each, in default, to suffer one year more imprisonment, said Anup Kumar Nandy, public prosecutor of the court.
Read more: 3 get life term for killing man in Kushtia
The convicts are Swapon, Naharul, Mokbul, Shafi, Shahjahan, and Ajmal, all are residents of the upazila.
The court also acquitted eight other people as the allegations brought against them could not be proved, the lawyer said.
Of them, Swapon, Mokbul and Naharul were tried in absentia.
According to the case statement, a group of robbers equipped with lethal weapons committed robbery at the house of one Shahjahan Ali in Philipnagar village under the upazila on April 27, 2002.
The robbers killed Shahjahan Ali when he tried to resist the robbers while they were fleeing with valuables.
Read more: 7 get life term for murder in Chattogram
On the following day, victim’s son Borhan Uddin Bappi filed a murder case at the local police station.
Gold worth over Tk 8.5cr seized in Chuadanga, Jhenaidah; one detained
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members seized 91 gold bars weighing 11.73 kg from Chuadanga and Jhenaidah districts on Tuesday.
Tipped off, a team of BGB conducted a drive in Darshana Thana in Jhenaidah on Tuesday and detained a man while he was taking six gold bars to Jibannagar upazila, said Mohammad Saiful Islam, assistant director of BGB-58 battalion.
Read more: 9 gold bars seized in Benapole
The detainee is Abdus Shukur,35, son of Tabir Rahman of Nutanpara village of Chuadanga's Jibannagar upazila.
Later, the gold bars worth around Tk 51 lakh were recovered from his possesion, the officer said.
A case will be filed against the detainee, he said adding that the gold bars will be handed over to Darshana police.
In Jhenaidah, a special patrol team of Jadavpur BOP under Maheshpur Battalion conducted an operation in Gopalpur village in Maheshpur upazila.
Read more: 80 gold bars seized from Jashore border
During the drive, 85 gold bars weighing 11.390 kg were recovered by digging soil in a banana orchard.
The seized gold worth over Tk 8 crore will be deposited at the Jhenaidah Treasury Office after filing a case at Maheshpur Police Station, said Saiful Islam.
Rohingya leader shot, stabbed to death in Cox’s Bazar
Unidentified assailants shot and stabbed to death a Rohingya leader in a refugee camp in Ukhiya upazila of the district early Tuesday.
Shahab Uddin, 35, was a sub-leader, locally known as sub-majhi, of the No 12 Rohingya camp. He was also son of Monir Ahmed of the H/14 Block of the same camp.
Sheikh Mohammad Ali, officer-in-charge of Ukhiya police station, said a group of criminals numbering 20 to 30 swooped on him after entering his house around 4.30am.
Read more: 29 indicted for killing Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah
The criminals stabbed him in the chest, right hand and other organs of the body and shot him to ensure his death, leaving him dead on the spot, he said.
“Primarily it was learned that trying to establish influence over several groups at the camp led to the killing,” he said, adding that the exact reason for the murder could not be known from the victim’s family and others.
Read more: Two more Rohingya community leaders killed in ambush inside camps
The patrolling by the law enforcers was beefed up to ward off any further incident, the OC said, adding that the body was sent to Cox’s Bazar Sadar hospital morgue for autopsy.
Basic Bank loan scam: HC orders ACC to complete probe in 3 months
The High Court (HC) on Tuesday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to complete the probe into the loan scam cases of Basic Bank in the next three months.
HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order dismissing the rule regarding the bail of Mohammad Ali, former manager of Basic Bank's Shantinagar branch, in three cases.
HC also directed to take action against the ACC according to the law if the probe is not completed within this time frame.
Read more: ACC prosecutes 3 BASIC Bank officials for graft
The HC also asked for the probe report of these cases filed seven years ago to the court concerned within the next three months. An affidavit must also be filed in the High Court after submitting the report.
Mohammad Ali was made the accused in 12 cases out of 56 cases of Basic Bank loan scam. ACC arrested him on June 9 in 2019.
On April 20 this year, the High Court issued a rule on hearing of his bail plea filed in three cases at Paltan police station over embezzling Tk 178 crore.
Following the rule, a hearing was held in the HC on November 8 and asked for updated information on the Basic Bank loan scam.
Read more: HC stays Basic Bank’s move to change salary structure
According to the ACC report, about 56 cases over embezzlement of around Tk 2,590 crore from different branches of the bank have been filed so far. But the probe of the 56 cases over the Basic Bank loan scam has not been completed yet.
One of the reasons why the probe is taking so long is that the embezzled money has been fully withdrawn in cash to conceal the location of the money, ACC said in their report.
Besides, identifying important witnesses in the case and taking their statements (under Section 161) has become difficult.
GM Quader can perform party activities: HC
The High Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader to perform the duties of his post.
The HC bench of Justice Sheikh Abdul Awal passed the order following a revision petition filed by Quader challenging the lower court order, his lawyer Sheikh Muhammed Serajul Islam, said.
There is no legal bar for GM Quader to perform the duties of Jatiya Party chairman following the HC order, he said.
Read more: JP: Court clears petition on withdrawal of ban of GM Quader’s party activities
Advocate Sheikh Muhammad Sirajul Islam stood in the court on behalf of GM Quader while Deputy Attorney General Sahida Khatun, Assistant Attorney General Kohinoor Akhtar and Sabina Parveen represented the state.
Jatiya Party's suspended leader and former lawmaker Ziaul Haque Mridha filed the case against GM Quader on October 4 and the court on October 31 had issued the order.
On October 6, several lawyers including Sheikh Sirajul Islam and Kalim Ullah Majumdar stood for GM Quader with a petition to withdraw the ban on his political activities at the court.
In the petition, the lawyers also urged the court to lift the embargo to play his role as Chairman as per the constitution of the party.
Dhaka Joint District Sessions Judge court-1 issued a temporary embargo on the political activities of GM Quader after the plaintiff of the case lodged a petition on October 31.
The party-backed lawmaker Mashiur Rahman Ranga filed another case against four people including GM Quader on the same demand at the same court on October 3.
Read more: Govt cheating nation in name of development before democracy: GM Quader
According to the case statement, the party’s founder HM Ershad died on September 14, 2019.
Quader declared himself as chairman of the party through forgery at a council on December 28, 2019 when a writ petition case was pending at the High Court.
Later, Quader as party chairman fired several leaders including Ranga, Gazipur metropolitan unit’s advisor Ataur Rahman Sarkar and Organising Secretary Sabur Sikdar, among others, by exercising his power as per the constitution of the party.
Besides, Ranga was also removed from the post of presidium member of the party on September 14 and Advocate Ziaul Hoque Mridha from the party on September 17.
In the case, orders were sought to declare all removals from December 28, 2019, to September 17, 2022 and council as illegal while the next council of the party to keep stayed unless the HC writ petition is disposed of.
3 get life term for killing man in Kushtia
A court here on Tuesday sentenced three people to life imprisonment in a case over killing a man in Kushtia sadar upazila in 2009.
The lifers are- Ali Reza Siddique Bulbul alias Bara Kalu, the regional chief of Jasad Gana Bahini, Manowar alias Mono, son of late Asem Ali of Mrittikapara area of the same upazila and Liakat son of Jalil of Maijpara area.
Kushtia District and Sessions Judge Tajul Islam handed down the judgment in the absence of the convicts at noon.
Read: Ayat murder in Ctg: Accused’s parents put on 3-day remand
The convicts were fined Tk 25,000 each, in default, to suffer another year of imprisonment, said Anup Kumar Nandi, Public Prosecutor (PP) of Kushtia Judge Court.
According to the statement, on June 27, 2009, Liton Biswas, 30, went missing and police recovered his severed head from near the Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway in front of the main gate of Kushtia Islamic University.
Later, a case was filed at the Islamic University Police Station. After an investigation, police submitted a charge sheet before the court on February 28, 2011.
The court also acquitted 21 others due to a lack of evidence.
Ayat murder in Ctg: Accused’s parents put on 3-day remand
A court in Chattogram on Tuesday placed parents of Abir Ali, the prime accused in a case over kidnapping and murdering of seven-year-old Ayat in the city, on a three-day remand.
Those remanded are Van puller Azharul Islam and his wife Aleya Begum.
Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Oliullah passed the order when Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) produced them before the court seeking a seven-day remand.
Read more: 1 arrested involving murder of 7-yr-old girl in Ctg
After interrogating them, it will be known whether Abir killed the child and threw the body into the sea after slicing it into six pieces only for ransom or any other reason, said plaintiff’s counsel Advocate Selim Ullah Chowdhury.
Police arrested Abir’s parents Azharul and Aleya from their residence at Bandartila of the city on Monday night.
Abir was put on another seven-day remand on the same day on completion of his two-day remand.
On November 25, PBI arrested Abir for kidnapping and murdering seven-year-old Alina Islam Ayat 10 days after she went missing.
Read more: Ayat murder: Accused again put on 7-day remand
Illias Khan, PBI inspector in Chattogram, said that Abir Ali, an ex-tenant of the victim’s family, abducted the girl on November 15 for ransom on her way to a mosque where she used to learn Arabic at Bandartila area in Chattogram.
Ali strangled the girl to death and later he chopped her into six pieces after taking to a residence on Akmal Ali Road in the city. He subsequently dumped the body wrapped with two bags at a beach in the city’s Kattali area, the PBI officer said.
The victim’s father, Sohel Rana, lodged a general diary at the local police station after she went missing, police said.