United News of Bangladesh

A Dhaka court on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her niece  British MP Tulip Siddiq to different jail terms in two separate cases filed over the misuse of power in securing a 10-katha government plot in Purbachal area of the capital. Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 judge  Md. Robiul Alam pronounced the judgment, said Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lawyer Tarikul Islam Tarik. Sheikh Hasina, earlier sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, was handed 10 years’ imprisonment, while Tulip Siddiq  four years of jail. Hasina’s nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq and another niece Azmina Siddiq were each sentenced to seven years in jail. Besides,  the court imposed a fine of Tk 100,000 on each of them with six months’ additional imprisonment in case of non-payment. Other accused in the cases received five-year prison term each and a Tk 100,000 fine each. According to the case statements, the former Prime Minister misused her power to allocate two government plots, each measuring 10 kathas to her sister Sheikh Rehana’s children- Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq . A total of six cases were filed in connection with the Rajuk plot scam against Sheikh Hasina and her family. Her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul, sister Sheikh Rehana,  her daughter Tulip Rizwana Siddiq,  Azmina Siddiq Ruponti, son Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby were among the accused. On November 27, last year, a court sentenced Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in jail in three cases over irregularities in plot allocation by Rajuk. On December 1, a Dhaka court sentenced Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and Rehana’s daughter and British MP Tulip Siddiq to different jail terms in another case filed over the misuse of power in securing a 10-katha government plot in the Purbachal area. On July 31, last year, the court framed charges against the accused. Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to 26 years in jail in four cases filed over plot scam while her son and daughter Joy and Putul get five years imprisonment. Bangladesh expresses shock as Hasina speaks at New Delhi event Sheikh Rehana and her daughter Tulip were sentenced to different jail terms in the case. On January 13, last year, ASM Rashedul Hasan, assistant director of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against 16 people for obtaining a 10-katha plot at Purbachal New Town through abuse of power and procedural irregularities.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday approved the filing of a regular case against former Managing Director of Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL) Dr Ehsanul Kabir and six others on charges of abuse of power and fraud. Deputy Director and Public Relations Officer of ACC Aktarul Islam said the accused illegally appointed five officials on a contractual basis without prior approval from the EDCL Board of Directors. He said this caused financial losses of more than Tk 36 crore to the state-owned company through collusion and misuse of authority. The other accused are Muhammad Khurshid Alam, former Finance Director and Company Secretary; Syed Bahir Uddin Jamal, former General Manager (Procurement); Md Shawkat Ali, former Deputy General Manager (Procurement); A. Kaiyum Khan, former Deputy General Manager (Store); and Bikash Kumar Sarkar, former Manager (Production) of EDCL. The ACC has formed an investigation team led by Assistant Director Nurul Islam, with Sub-Assistant Director A.M. Taher as a member, to probe the allegations. Meanwhile, the ACC has also decided to initiate a separate investigation against the current EDCL Managing Director M. Samad Mridha, a US citizen, over allegations of large-scale corruption and money laundering. The complaint alleges that Mridha, in collusion with a syndicate, embezzled crores of taka from the state exchequer through rigged tenders, fake competition, nepotism, and commission fraud in procuring hormonal drug raw materials including ‘Desogestrel USP’. The commission said significant sums of money were laundered abroad through entities named Mark Allrise International and Reliance Trade International. ACC officials said investigators have been appointed based on documentary evidence and that restrictions on the accused’s foreign travel will remain in force until the investigation is completed.  

The railway authorities have suspended three railway employees on allegations of allowing passengers to travel by train in exchange of money. The suspension order was issued on Saturday, according to the Railways Ministry. The suspended officials are Steward-1 Md Arif, Steward Manager-2 Md Jewel Rana and Conductor Guard Md Mostafizur Rahman Limon, Guard Grade-2, Dhaka Headquarters. According to the order, allegations were brought against the trio who were on duty in a coach of Dhaka–Chattogram Train Mahanagar Provati Express, on January 18. They were accused of facilitating illegal train travel for several passengers in exchange for money. Preliminary investigation into the allegations which surfaced on social media found the claims to be true. Further action will be taken following additional investigation based on evidence, it said.

Police arrested two people in Jhenaidah’s Harinakundu upazila on allegations of abducting a madrasa student and selling him to a hijra community in Bhola district. The arrestees are Sumon, son of Shariful Islam of Mandartala village, and his wife Shyamoli Khatun. According to police sources, Isarullah alias Riyad, 12, is a student of Shitoli Rokeya Khatun Hafizia Madrasa. On January 23, 2026, he was allegedly forced into a microbus from the Shitoli field area while going to the madrasa in the morning. He was later sold to a hijra community in Bhola, according to the complaint. Riyad’s grandfather, Shamsul Rahman, filed a case with Harinakundu Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. In the case statement, he alleged that Sumon and his wife abducted and sold his grandson. He also claimed that Sumon assaulted his son Jasim Uddin after the incident became known. Local resident Rabiul Islam claimed Suman had long been involved in suspicious activities and sold the boy to the hijra community in Bhola. Mohammad Kibria, Officer-in-Charge of Harinakundu Police Station, said, “The suspects were arrested based on intelligence and technological tracking after the case was filed. They were produced before a court, which sent them to jail.” Meanwhile, the boy’s father Jasim Uddin said he is desperate after losing his son and demanded his safe recovery. The incident has created widespread concern in the area.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on early Saturday recovered five grenades, looted from a police station, from an abandoned location in the capital's Demra. Acting on a tip-off, a team from RAB-10’s Jatrabari camp conducted an operation around 3:15am, said RAB-10 Assistant Director (Media) Tapas Karmakar. During the operation, five unexploded grenades with metallic levers were recovered beside a drain opposite a sawmill, along the road from staff quarters under Demra Police Station towards Banasree. The RAB official said the grenades were confirmed to have been looted from a police station. He added that miscreants had attacked various police stations across the country and looted arms and ammunition during the mass uprising on August 5, 2024, which were later used in terrorist activities, creating public panic. “To bring the situation under control and recover looted weapons, law enforcement agencies, including RAB, have intensified operations following directives from the Home Affairs Adviser,” he said.

Three candidates were jailed and fined for cheating using proxies in a recruitment exam under the Bridge Division held on Saturday. The exam took place at BAF Shaheen College, Jahangir Gate, Dhaka Cantonment, for the posts of computer operator, accountant, office assistant cum computer typist, and office assistant. During the exam, Mohammad Sagar Hossain Topu, son of Nazrul Islam, from Ghagra village, Dhobaura upazila, Mymensingh, roll 1100552, was fined Tk 500 by a mobile court for using a mobile phone to cheat while appearing for the computer operator post. In addition, for the office assistant post, two proxy candidates appeared in place of the original examinee Ripon Mia, roll 1401756. Security tightened at Bangladesh Secretariat; 3 jailed for illegal entry The proxies, Mohammad Abul Bashar, son of Abdur Gaffar, from Kendua Municipality, Kendua, Netrokona, and Amir Faisal, son of Abdul Kaiyum, from Jaria, Purbdhala, Netrokona, were each sentenced to 10 days of imprisonment and fined 500 taka by the mobile court. The mobile court was conducted by Tanzila Jannat Retina, Executive Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner (Land), Mohammadpur Revenue Circle, Dhaka.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) recovered a foreign pistol, a magazine, an airgun and 71 rounds of bullets abandoned in Brahmanbaria early Saturday. The recoveries were made in separate raids in the Collegepara and Sultanpur areas of Sadar Upazila, said Md Nurnabi, commander of RAB-9’s Brahmanbaria camp. Acting on a tip-off, RAB recovered a foreign pistol and a magazine from an under-construction house in Maurail Collegepara area of the town. In a separate operation, an airgun and 71 rounds of bullets were recovered from a field near Lion Firozur Rahman Residential School and College in Sultanpur Union of Sadar Upazila. RAB filed a general diary (GD) at Brahmanbaria Sadar Model Police Station in this connection and handed over the recovered weapons to the police, he added.

The murder of a mother and her daughter in Sirajdikhan, Munshiganj has been solved, police said on Friday. The victims were reportedly beaten to death by a neighbor following a dispute over playing music loudly. Police have arrested 28-year-old Ali Hossain in connection with the case and recovered the wooden stick used in the killings. Ali Hossain has confessed to the crime, Munshiganj Superintendent of Police Md. Minhazul Alam told a press briefing at the SP conference room. On the morning of January 19, the bloodied bodies of Amena Begum, 32, and her eight-year-old daughter Mariam were discovered in a rented room in South Rajanagar, Rajanagar Union. Amena Begum’s mother, Monowara Begum, filed a murder case naming unknown individuals. A 10-day investigation led by In-Charge Sanjit Kumar Ghosh of Shekhernogor Police Investigation Center identified Ali Hossain, who had been missing since the incident. Police said he had been hiding in various locations, including Gazaria and Daudkandi, often sleeping in gardens or school verandas. Hossain was arrested Wednesday night around 9:45 p.m. near the Daudkandi Bridge on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Gazaria. During questioning, he admitted that he killed Amena Begum after she refused to lower the volume of her mobile phone. When Mariam tried to protect her mother, he attacked and killed her as well. SP Minhazul Alam said the accused was a regular drug user and led a vagrant lifestyle. Preliminary investigation indicated a history of violent behavior.

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have arrested three individuals who were mistakenly released from Mymensingh Central Jail after a prison officer misinterpreted their summons as bail. The accused—Anis Mia, 32, Rashedul Islam, 25, and Zakirul Islam, 28, sons of Hazrat Ali of Madhyatarati village in Tarakanda upazila—were apprehended in Ghatail upazila of Tangail around 11:30 pm on Thursday. RAB-14 commander Naymul Hasan briefed reporters at a press conference on Friday morning, saying the accused had initially been arrested on January 23 in connection with a murder case under Tarakanda police station and were handed over to the court. “On January 27, they were mistakenly released from jail due to a misinterpretation of an appearance warrant as bail, with the involvement of some jail staff. This created a huge stir,” he said. He added that following the release, RAB-14 launched an operation with CPSC and CPC-3 Tangail units and successfully apprehended the three accused. They will be sent back to jail after completing the necessary legal procedures. Senior Jail Superintendent Md. Aminul Islam said a prison official “mistakenly” released the accused. A three-member investigation committee was immediately formed, and Deputy Jailor Zakaria Imtiaz was temporarily suspended. Mymensingh Divisional Prisons Deputy Inspector General (DIG Prisons) Mohammad Touhidul Islam said a committee led by Dhaka Division-2 DIG Prisons Tipu Sultan is conducting an investigation. “If the report, expected within three working days, finds negligence on anyone else’s part, strict action will be taken,” he added.

The Council of Advisers on Thursday approved six draft ordinances, three proposals, and one policy, including the draft Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace and Educational Institutions Ordinance 2026. The Council also decided to open a new diplomatic mission in Georgetown, Guyana, a Caribbean nation. The mission will operate at the level of Chargé d’Affaires or First Secretary, with personnel deployed from existing foreign missions. Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam briefed reporters at the Foreign Service Academy on the outcomes of the meeting, which was chaired by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at his office. Alam said the Council discussed and approved 11 key agenda items. Among the approved draft ordinances are the Domestic Violence Prevention Ordinance 2026, the National Sports Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, the Bangladesh Animal and Animal Products Quarantine Ordinance 2026, the Narayanganj Development Authority Ordinance 2026, and the Cumilla Development Authority Ordinance 2026. The meeting also approved a proposal to declare March 23 as Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) Day, to be observed annually. Another proposal approved at the meeting was the withdrawal of Bangladesh’s declaration submitted under Article 14(1) of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Cabinet receives final draft of ‘Dhaka Central University’ ordinance In addition, the Council approved a proposal for Bangladesh to become a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980. It also approved the draft Import Policy Order 2025–2028. Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, Senior Assistant Press Secretary Foyez Ahammad and Assistant Press Secretary Shuchismita Tithi were present at the briefing.