Law-&-Order
Sabotage case: 7 including Jubo Dal leaders Tuku, Nayan remanded
A Dhaka court on Sunday placed seven persons, including the president and vice president of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, the BNP's youth front, on four days' remand each in a sabotage case filed at Paltan model police station.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shafi Uddin pronounced the order after investigation officer Sub Inspector Bijan Kumar Biswash of Paltan police station produced the accused before court and sought seven-day remand for interrogation.
The remanded are- Jubo Dal President Sultan Salahuddin Tuku , Vice President Noor Islam Nayan Mokhles Mia, Mosharof Hossain Khokan, Joj Mia, Farid Uddin Rana and Md Abdullah.
Read more: Jubo Dal president, VP arrested while returning from Rajshahi rally
Senior advocate Borhan Uddin appealed for bail of the accused seeking cancellation of the remand.
The defense lawyer said the government is indiscriminately filing cases against BNP activists and leaders fearing the December 10 rally of BNP in Dhaka.
Police are also arresting the BNP activists in these false cases and seeking remand, he said in his appeal.
Dhaka Metropolitan public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu represented the state during the hearing.
According to the complaint, the accused brought out a torch procession at the city's Paltan area illegally, gave provocative statements against the government, vandalized vehicles and injured police members in an attack.
Read more: BNP leader Ishraque comes under attack by BCL in city
SI Kamrul Hasan filed a case against 30 people including BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and also accused 150 more anonymous people in this regard at Paltan police station.
On December 3, around 11 pm, Jubo Dal leader Tulku and Nayan were arrested from the capital's Amin bazar area while returning from BNP’s Rajshahi divisional rally.
HC: Writ petition filed challenging Taqsem Khan’s appointment as Wasa MD
A writ petition was filed at the High Court on Monday challenging the legality of Taqsem A Khan’s appointment as Managing Director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) alleging his recruitment process was rigged.
Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman, a former prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal and popular social media figure submitted the writ petition upon the green light of the High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat.
Seven people including Local Government and Rural Development Cooperatives Secretary, Public Administration Secretary were made respondents to the writ petition.
Read: HC orders govt to submit documents of house occupied by Salam Murshedi
The court is likely to hear the petition this week.
Barrister Suman said Taqsem A Khan has been serving as Wasa MD for the last 13 years since 2009.
During his tenure he has raised the water price to Tk 15 per unit from Tk 6 per unit. Despite, allegation and probe of embezzling thousands of crores of Tk against him, he has remained in his post securely, he said.
In 2009 he was appointed after rewriting and rigging his recruitement exam result as it was required to have 20 years of experience for that position and he had no such relevant experience, said Barrister Suman.
Read: HC upholds bdnews24.com editor’s bail order
“His appointment letter mentions that the authority is requesting to maintain caution while examining and considering contractual appointments in future. Which means there was some sort of rigging that happened yet his tenure was extended later,” he explained.
The writ petition was filed as his recruitment process needs to be probed, he said.
Taqsem A Khan was appointed as Wasa MD on a three-year contract in 2009. His contract has been extended three times after that.
14 get life terms in 2018 Khulna triple murder case
A Khulna court on Sunday sentenced 14 people to life imprisonment, including ousted chairman of Daibagnyahati Union Parishad Shahidul Islam Fakir, in a case over the murders of three people.
Khulna Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Md Nazrul Islam Howlader pronounced the judgment in presence of accused of this case.
The court also imposed a Tk 5,000 fine on each of the convicts and they will have to serve an additional one year in jail in failure to pay.
The convicted are, Abual Fakir, Md Humayun Howlader, Milan Khan, Md Mofiz Khan, Md Faruq, Md Abul Hossain Sheikh, Md Modasser Sheikh, Sunil Das, Biswanath alias Biswa Pramanik, Md Lion Sikder, Subrata Kumar Sah alias Poltu (absconding), Mehedi alias Rubel Fakir, and Md Mohi Billah.
read more: 6 get life term for murder during robbery in Kushtia
On October 1, 2018, a group of people led by Shahidul Fakir shot union Awami League General Secretary Ansar Ali Dihidar, 53, and activist Sukur Sheikh, 42, after torturing and beating them with sharp weapons at Daibagnyahati UP office in Morelganj upazila.
They killed them over a rivalry between Shahidul Fakir and Ansar Ali over creating dominance in local AL politics.
Meanwhile, Ansar Ali Dihidar’s wife Manju Begum was severely injured after being beaten up on the same day.
On October 4, 2018, slain Sukur Sheikh’s brother Faruq Sheikh filed a murder case at Morelganj police station over the incident. Police and victims filed another case later.
On June 4, 2019, police submitted a charge sheet against 58 people over the two murders.
Read more: 3 get life term for killing man in Kushtia
But after Manju Begum succumbed to her injuries on July 30, 2020, the accused were charged with killing her too.
Mehedi Hasan, son of Ansar Ali Dihidar, said he is not satisfied with the judgement and will move High Court seeking death penalty for Shahidul Fakir and others accused.
Jubo Dal president, VP arrested while returning from Rajshahi rally
Three BNP leaders including Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, president of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, the BNP's youth front, were arrested while returning from the party's divisional rally held in Rajshahi on Saturday.
The two other arrestees are Jubo Dal vice president Noor Islam Nayan and Tuku's personal assistant Mokhles.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi confirmed this matter at 11:10 pm Saturday night.
He said that when they reached Dhaka's Amin Bazar area on their way back from the Rajshahi public rally, DB police waylaid and arrested them.
Rizvi strongly condemned and protested this incident and demanded their immediate release.
Read more: Crude bomb blast in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan office
Sources said police have started an arrest drive across the country ahead of BNP's rally scheduled on December 10. A search operation is also underway in the capital.
After the cocktail explosion in front of the BNP central office in the capital’s Nayapaltan on Saturday evening, police arrested several people from there as well, sources added.
BNP's Naya Paltan office has also been kept under police surveillance.
Read more: BNP won't be allowed to orchestrate violence surrounding December 10 rally: Quader
Police raid hotels in Banani, Motijheel
Police said they conducted "block raids" on several hotels in Banani and one in Motijheel in the capital Saturday night, suspecting the presence of militants, wanted criminals, and drug peddlers.
Police suspect that members of banned militant outfits, drug dealers, and wanted criminals are staying in several hotels and messes in Banani's Kakoli, according to Abdul Ahad, deputy commissioner (DC) of the Gulshan Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
They barricaded different roads and set up check posts on different roads in Gulshan and Banani, including the one near BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia's Gulshan residence.
"The raids started at 9pm and will continue. No one has been arrested so far," Ahad said.
Police also started conducting a raid in a hotel near Motijheel's Doinik Bangla intersection suspecting the presence of criminals, Yasir Arafat, officer-in-charge of Motijheel Police Station said, adding: "The drive will continue."
Police are conducting 15-day operations in hotels across Bangladesh to ensure security ahead of Victory Day.
Read more: Kuakata hotel & eatery owners go on indefinite strike over raids
Man detained in horrific rape-and-burn case of mute woman
A 25-year old man was detained on Friday over burning a speech-impaired woman to death after raping her in Keraniganj.
The detainee is Sujan, son of Dadan Mia from Shariatpur upazila, said Keraniganj Superintendent of Police Asaduzzaman in a press briefing on Saturday.
He said police detained the accused Sujan from Kalapara area in Patuakhali after identifying him from CCTV footage.
Sujan used to work in a construction material shop in Keraniganj and formed a romantic relationship with the 35-year old victim who was his neighbor, said SP Asaduzzaman.
Read more: Young girl ‘gang raped’ in Cumilla: 5 held
On November 28, Sujan took the victim from her house to Subhadda Saban Factory Road area in Keraniganj and raped her several times. At one stage she fell unconscious. Later he set fire to her while she was unconscious and fled from the spot.
Police rescued the severely injured woman from the spot after locals spotted the fire and called the national emergency hotline number 999.
However she died under treatment at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Barn and Plastic Surgery the next day.
Read more: Rangpur: 5 get life in prison for 2015 rape, murder of teen
The victim's sister filed a case in this regard at South Keraniganj police station on November 30.
“Sujan confessed to setting fire to the victim after raping her. He will be produced before Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Monday for recording his statement,” said SP Asaduzzaman.
Horrific death on DU campus: Ex-teacher sued
A case has been filed against expelled DU teacher Azhar Zafar Shah in connection with the death of a woman who was hit by his car and then dragged on the Dhaka University (DU) campus on Friday.
The case under the Road Transport Act was filed at the Shahbag police station early Saturday, officer in-charge of Shahabag police station Noor Mohammad told UNB.
Zakir Hossain, brother of the deceased woman, filed the case as the plaintiff, he said.
Kamrunnahar, sub-Inspector of Shahbag police station, said accused Zafar Shah is undergoing treatment at DMCH under police custody as he was thrashed by an agitated mob after the accident.
Read: Woman dies after getting dragged along road in horrific road crash in DU area
Zafar Sah’s car had struck the motorcycle of deceased Rubina Akter, 45, was on around 3 pm Friday at Shahbagh. Then he dragged her along the road till Nilkhet intersection as her clothes got entangled with the tier after falling.
Rubina’s body was handed over to her family Saturday afternoon after the postmortem at DMCH.
As her body was taken to her residence at city’s Tejkunipara area, her 13-year old son Rehan, other family members and neigbours broke down into tears.
Her family members said she will be buried at Ajimpur graveyard.
Rubina was a housewife whose husband passed away two years ago.
Rubina Akter's brother-in-law Nurul Amin told UNB that he was taking Rubina to her sister's house in Hazaribagh from Tejgaon on motorcycle.
Read: Jashore: Father, son among 5 killed as covered van ploughs into restaurant
"When we reached in front of Shahbagh museum, a private car hit us from behind and dragged her till Nilkhet intersection from Shahabagh," he said.
"I was shouting from behind to stop the car but the driver didn’t hear me," he added.
Later, police came and took severely injured Rubina and Zafar Shah to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she was declared dead.
Goods worth Tk134 crore seized in November: BGB
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has said it seized goods, arms, and drugs worth Tk134.37 crore in November.
The seized items include 521,989 yaba pills, 2.162kg crystal meth, 12,576 bottles of Phensedyl, 18,910 bottles of foreign liquor, 214 litres of local liquor, 1,315 cans of beer, 1,881kg hemp, 4kg heroin, 23,974 stimulant injections, 8,592 Eskuf syrups, and 1,618 bottles of MkDil/Cofidil, Shariful Islam, public relations officer of the BGB headquarters, said Friday.
Read more: BGB, BSF agree to cut border killings
Also, 55.546kg gold, 7kg silver, 212,563 cosmetics, 10,494 imitation jewellery, 17,424 sarees, 6,011 three-piece sets, blankets and shirt pieces; 1,631 pieces of readymade garments, 2,989 cubic feet of timber, 6,080kg tea leaves, 78,533kg coal, one touchstone idol, 68 motorcycles, two trucks/covered vans, five pickup vans, 24 CNG and battery-run auto-rickshaws were also seized.
The seized arms include seven pistols, eight guns, as many cocktails, 24 mortar shells, 56 rounds of bullets, and a magazine.
Read more: Gold bars worth Tk22 crore seized at Benapole: BGB
Also, legal action was taken against 216 smugglers, 104 Bangladesh nationals and six Indian nationals for illegally crossing the border, Shariful said.
HC orders govt to submit documents of house occupied by Salam Murshedi
The High Court(HC) has asked the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Works and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripokkho (Rajuk) to submit the records and probe report of the house which is alleged to be occupied by former footballer and Member of parliament (MP) Abdus Salam Murshedi within January 16.
A HC bench of justices Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Khijir Hayat passed the order on Thursday.
The HC has also ordered the Ministry and Rajuk to submit the probe report to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
During the hearing, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin stood for the Ministry, Khurshid Alam Khan stood for ACC, Saeed Ahmed Raja represented Murshedi and Anik R Haque represented petitioner Syed Sayedul Haque Sumon.
Read: High Court asks government to urgently appoint five recommended BCS cadres
On October 30, Sumon filed a writ petition accusing Murshedi of occupying the deserted house and asking for an investigation.
On November 1, the HC issued a rule in this regard, asking the defendants to submit the records of the house as affidavits within 10 days.
After extending the deadline twice on November 13 and November 27, the HC fixed December 1 for submitting the records. Today’s hearing was a consequence of these extensions.
Besides, various media outlets published news today blaming Murshedi for illegally occupying the house through forgery.
“The whole matter is currently under trial but the media have published news accusing Murshedi of occupation, which is like giving a decision,” said Amin during the hearing.
Read: Termination of 3 Khulna University teachers illegal: High Court
Murshedi’s lawyer Saeed said that the way the news have been published is one kind of media trial.
Later, the HC gave a directive to the media not to publish such news that touches on the contents of the petition, while stating that the media will have complete freedom to write about court procedures.
High Court asks government to urgently appoint five recommended BCS cadres
The High Court Thursday asked the government to urgently appoint five candidates who were recommended for different cadre positions after taking the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) exams.
The HC bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Ebadot Hossain gave the order after hearing five separate writ petitions filed by as many candidates.
The court asked the government to appoint Md Shafayet Hossain from 33rd BCS, Shaheen Sultana from 34th, Md Arifuzzaman from 35th, and Md Saiful Islam and Mehrin Akhter Sarwar from 39th.
Deputy Attorney General KM Masud Rumi represented the state and Md Siddique Ullah Miah stood for the petitioners during the hearing.
Read: 45th BCS circular published; applications open December 10
Siddique said despite the Bangladesh Public Service Commission's recommendation to the government to appoint his clients, the authorities neither appointed them nor provided an explanation for why they were not recruited.