United News of Bangladesh

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 on Wednesday ordered the start of trial proceedings against 30 accused in the murder case of Abu Sayed, the first martyr of the July Mass Uprising. A three-member tribunal led by ICT-Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury passed the order. The tribunal set August 27 and 28 to record testimonies from the witnesses in the case. All six arrested accused were produced before the tribunal in the morning. Those produced are Shariful Islam, former proctor of Begum Rokeya University, Sujan Chandra Roy, a former police constable, Imran Chowdhury Akash, a banned Chhatra League leader, Amir Hossain, a former assistant sub-inspector, Rafiul Hasan Russell and Anwar Parvez Apil, activists of the banned Chhatra League. Mother of Abu Sayed wishes to see her martyred son's dream for Bangladesh fulfilled Earlier, on July 30, the tribunal heard the state defence’s petition seeking exemption for 24 absconding accused. The prosecution formally filed charges on June 30 which were accepted by the tribunal the same day. Abu Sayed, an English department student of Begum Rokeya University, was shot dead by police on July 16 last year near Park Mor in front of the university, triggering severe outrage across the country.

A regional leader of the banned Purbo Banglar Communist Party was shot and hacked to death by unidentified assailants in Khulna on Tuesday night. Police identified the deceased as Sheikh Shahadat Hossain. Officer-in-charge (OC) of Sonadanga Police Station Shariful Islam said a group of attackers chased Shahadat and attacked him near ‘Sangeeta Cinema Hall’ in the city around 9 pm. At one stage, the attackers left the scene and locals rushed him to Khulna Medical College Hospital where physicians declared him dead around 9:30 pm, the OC said.  Former ‘member of outlawed party’ shot dead in Pabna Shahadat had been released on bail earlier this year after serving over 15 years in jail.  He had since been living a normal life, the OC added. Shahadat was accused in a number of murder cases, including one involving the killing of two policemen.

Police arrested a local leader of Awami League from Islampur village in Mithamoin upazila of Kishoreganj district on Monday. The arrestee was identified as Omar Faruk Chowdhury, 58, member of Mithamoin Sadar Union unit AL’s Advisory Council and paternal uncle of former DB Chief Harun-or-Rashid. Alamgir Kabir, officer-in-charge of Mithamoin Police Station, said police arrested Omar from Islampur village around 8 pm on Monday. Later, he was handed over to Sadar Police Station. Omar was wanted in a case filed over the July uprising with Sadar Police Station.

Dr. Md. Rashidul Islam, a professor in the Statistics Department at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR), has been suspended following allegations of sexual harassment brought by a female student of the department. The suspension was based on recommendations made by the investigation committee formed in response to the complaint, and was approved at the 113th meeting of the University Syndicate, in line with the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018. Acting on the directive of Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Shawkat Ali, the university issued a formal suspension letter on Sunday (August 3), signed by Registrar Dr. Md. Harun-or Rashid.  

Detectives in a drive arrested eleven leaders and activists of Awami League and its associate’s bodies from different parts of the capital in the past 24 hours till Monday morning. The arrestees were identified as Sultana Ahmed Lipi, 46, Women councilor of Kadamtoli 58-59-60 ward, Sabur Hossain, 48, Aps of former AL leader of Gaibandha-2 constituency, Shah Bipul Khandaker alias Bodi, 40, general secretary of Pabnapur union unit Kreshak League in Gaibandha, Kamal Pasha Chowdhury, 65, AL blogger and online activist, Sohagh Mia, 33, vice-president of Kishoreganj district unit banned Chhatra League, Matlab Munshi, 55, vice-president of Dhaka Cantonment unit Awami League, Ramij Uddin Sarkar, 58, president of Subol union unit Awami League in Cumilla, Ayub Ali Tarafdar, 47, president of Sariakandi upazila unit Jubo League, Saidur Rahman Titu, 48, vice-president of Bongshal unit Jubo League, Syed Amanullah Hossain alias Apu, 59, general secretary of Tejgaon Induatrial unit AWami League and Ariful Islam, 38, vice-president of Dhaka North city unit Chhatra League. Tipped off, a team of DB police conducted drives in different parts of the capital and arrested them, said Talebur Rahman, DC (Media) of the DMP. All of them were wanted in different cases filed during the July uprising.

Stressing the government’s ongoing efforts to recover illegal arms and improve the law-and-order situation, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Monday said the nationwide special drive will continue until the national election. “Although we haven’t been able to recover all the arms that have gone missing, efforts are going on. This special drive is being carried out across the country and will continue until the election,” he told reporters after a meeting of the Law and Order Core Committee at the Secretariat. He said mob violence will come down to zero and no leniency will be shown in such cases. The election will be held under the current law enforcement agencies and it will be conducted smoothly, the adviser said. The Adviser emphasised that discussions at the meeting covered all aspects of national security, including recent incidents and potential future challenges. People-friendly policing key to restoring public trust: Home Affairs Adviser “We focus particularly on drug-related crimes, which have become a major issue. While many Yaba smugglers are being held, the big players are still at large. We are working to bring them under the law,” Alam Chowdhury said. Asked whether there was any security concern surrounding August 5, he replied, “You are better judges of how things were on August 5 after the Awami League had left office. Compare that with today. Whether there’s been any improvement is for you to assess.” Admitting that the law-and-order situation in Bangladesh has never matched international standards, he said they could not reach that level but prayed for the future government to do so. On public concerns over unrest, especially on August 5, Alam Chowdhury dismissed any fear, saying, “There’s no reason to panic. All programmes will be held peacefully, InshaAlah. We just need your cooperation in covering these events responsibly.” On election-related violence, he reaffirmed that the government is training forces and increasing deployment to maintain peace. 92 arrested, 216 looted arms recovered from Sept 4 to Sept 25: Police HQ In response to concerns about unequal police protection, the adviser said all parties receive security based on vulnerability assessments provided by agencies and media inputs.

A Jashore court on Sunday sentenced three people to death and another to two years in jail in a case over the killing of a three-wheeler driver in Bagherpara upazila of the district around five years back.   Jashore Additional District and Sessions Judge of the 2nd court Jayanti Rani Das passed the order in the presence of one of the death-row convicts; said the court’s Additional Public Prosecutor SM Abdur Razzak. Those sentenced to death are Jewel Khan, son of Jahangir Khan of Rampur village in Shalikha upazila of Magura, Harun-or-Rashid, son of Selim Hossain of the same upazila, and Alamin, son of Hazrat Ali, a resident of Uttar Lalitadah village in Jashore Sadar. They were fined Tk 40, 000 each while only Harun was present during the delivery of the judgment. Besides, Russell Mollah, son of Sultan Mallik of Shabuj Nagar village in Pirojpur Sadar, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. He was also fined Tk 10, 000, in default of which he will suffer three months’ more in jail. According to the case statement, three-wheeler driver Al Amin, a resident of Harishpur village under the Shalikha upazila of Magura, went missing since he went out of home for work on December 9 in 2021. Man gets death penalty for violating daughter in Manikganj His vehicle was recovered by Chasda police  in Jashore a day after his missing. On the same day, locals spotted his body lying along a road in Budhopur village under Bagherpara upazila. On December 11 of the same year, the victim’s father Mostafizur Rahman filed a case accusing some unidentified people with the police station concerned. On December 25, police arrested four accused and submitted the chargesheet against them on December 14 in 2022. The convicts hijacked the vehicle after killing Al Amin and sold it to Russell, according to the chargesheet.

A fish enclosure owner was hacked to death by miscreants in Moheshwarpasha Bonikpara area of Khulna sadar on Sunday night. The deceased was identified as Al Amin, son of Sahed Ali. According to the police and local sources, some unidentified attackers intercepted Amin while he was passing the area and hacked him with a sharp weapon around at 10 pm, leaving him dead. Youth stabbed to death in Khulna Zahidul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) of Daulatpur Police Station, said they found the body with throat silted and a motorbike beside it. Police collected CCTV footages near the crime scene.

The Bangladesh Navy has detained 14 Indian fishermen along with a fishing trawler for illegally entering and fishing in Bangladeshi waters in the Bay of Bengal. The arrest was made on Saturday night by the Navy’s warship BNS Bishkhali from the deep-sea area near the fairway buoy off Mongla Port. Mohammad Zahidul Islam, senior fisheries officer of Mongla Upazila, said that a significant quantity of marine fish, including hilsa, was found on board the Indian trawler. The recoveries will be auctioned, while the trawler and the fishermen have been handed over to Mongla Police Station for legal proceedings, he said. “All of the detained fishermen are residents of various parts of the South 24 Parganas district in India,” he added. Mongla Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Anisur Rahman said a case will be filed under the maritime boundary law for illegal entry and fishing. The detainees are expected to be produced before the Bagerhat court on Monday. Earlier on July 14, Navy detained 34 Indian fishermen along with two trawlers, FB Jhar and FB Mangal Chandi, for illegally fishing in Bangladesh's territorial waters.

Police have arrested Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Mohammad Ali in connection with the killing of Shaikh Ashabul Yamin, a student of the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), during last year’s July Uprising. The arrest was made during a raid in the Murapara area under Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj in the early hours of Sunday, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Rupganj Police Station Md Tariqul Islam confirmed Sunday night. ASI Mohammad Ali, who had been on the run, was later handed over to the investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). According to police sources, an arrest warrant had been issued against Mohammad Ali in connection with a case filed with the ICT. On July 18, 2024, Yamin, a third-year student at MIST, was fatally shot near the Savar bus stand in a police firing incident involving an armored personnel carrier (APC). Eyewitnesses and video footage circulating on social media alleged that police dragged his body from the scene and dumped it near Pakijar More, sparking nationwide outrage. Although at first the body looks lifeless, it was later established that Yamin was still alive at that point. That made it a shocking abdication of responsibility on the part of police, who completely neglected their duty to get him medical assistance. Amnesty International came in possession of three separate videos showing different phases of the incident, where none of the 12 officers seen in them attempted to provide medical aid to Yamin.  Amnesty said this was a violation of Section 5(c) of the United Nations Basic Principle on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, that requires law enforcement officials to ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment. Derrick Pounder, an independent forensic pathologist who examined photographic evidence of the wounds to Yamin’s chest, told Amnesty that the cause of his death could reasonably be presumed to have been due to the birdshot pellet injuries to the left front chest visible on his body.