law-order
Madrasa girl raped in Bhola; one of two accused arrested
Locals rescued a minor madrasa student, hearing her cry for help when a man was raping her in Bhola’s Chor Fashion upazila on Sunday.
Police detained the accused Utpal Chandra Shil, 22, after locals handed him over.
On Monday afternoon, accused Utpal was sent to the Char Fashion Senior Judicial Magistrate Court by Shashin Bhushan Police Station.
According to locals, the girl was raped in a secluded garden of a farm named Daulatganj Agro and Dairy Farm adjacent to Daulatganj Bazar of Ewajpur village in the upazila.
One of the eyewitnesses took a video shot and submitted it as proof to police.
According to locals and police, about 10/12 days ago, the accused Utpal introduced himself to the girl on the streets. On Sunday afternoon, Utpal called the child to the Basharat Ullah Chowmuhani area. From there, he and his accomplice Suman forcibly took her to that spot.
Police couldn’t arrest the accomplice Suman yet.
Two multi-storied buildings in Dhanmandi declared 'Risky'
A mobile court, jointly conducted by Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) directorate and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), on Monday declared two multi-storied building of Dhanmondi area in the city as ‘Risky’.
Besides, the mobile court also fined a total Tk 6 lakh to four organisations for not taking fire license and violating conditions of fire license.
Md. Jahangir Alam, Executive Magistrate of the DSCC, was leading the mobile court, which conducted a drive in the afternoon. One of the two buildings is Carey Crescent Building in Jhigatla and the other is Rupayan ZR Plaza on Satmasjid Road.
During the drive, the mobile court sealed the Carey Crescent building for lack of fire safety and also fined " Visa Worldwide", a student consultancy, Tk 3 lakh for the same reason.
The Executive Magistrate of the mobile court also fined the Buffet Lounge and Buffet Paradise restaurants inside Rupayan ZR Plaza of Tk 1 lakh each restaurant for not complying with the conditions of the license and Tk one lakh to the Buffet Empire Restaurant inside the same building for not obtaining a fire license.
Besides, the mobile court declared the two buildings as "risky" as there were no proper fire fighting system according to the Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act 2003.
'Risky' banners were put up on the two buildings by the Fire Service and Civil Defence. Most of the restaurants, showrooms and offices in the two buildings were unoccupied.
Zone Commander of Dhaka-2 Mr. Md. Tanharul Islam, warehouse inspector of that area Md. Golam Mostafa and other officials were present during the drive.
Body of newlywed woman recovered from husband’s Pallabi residence
The body of a newlywed woman was recovered from her residence in Pallabi area of Dhaka on Sunday (March 03, 2024) evening.
The deceased was identified as Mahfuza Motaleb, wife of Aminul Islam.
Pallabi police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Apurbo Hasan said Aminul and Mahfuza got married around three months back.
Read more: Father, son found dead in Dhaka’s Badda
Quoting Mahfuza’s family, the OC said Aminul used to torture Mahfuza demanding dowry since their marriage as his mother-in-law has an FDR of Tk 7 lakh.
On Sunday evening, Aminul phoned Mahfuza’ family asking to come to his residence as she fell sick. When they reached their home they found her dead.
On information, a police team recovered the body from the house and sent to Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy, the police officer said.
Police, however, arrested the husband in this connection and Mahfuza’s family filed a case.
Read more: Mother, daughter hacked to death in Gopalganj
IGP wants greater rate of conviction in cases
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on Sunday directed senior police officers to increase the conviction rate in cases filed with police.
He also directed the field-level police officers to ensure punishment of the perpetrators in sensitive cases.
The IGP came up with the remarks while addressing the first session of the last day of Police Week-2024 with senior police officers in Dhaka.
Expressing satisfaction over the punishment rate of the cases currently, he said due to the excellence of the overall efficiency and professionalism of the police, the conviction rate of cases across the country has increased from 17 percent in 2022 to 28 percent in December 2023.
Urging police personnel from all units to take strict action against extortion, the police head said, “The level of people's expectations from the police has increased as the police perform their duties with professionalism.”
He asked the police officers to perform their duties with sincerity and devotion to gain public confidence as per the expectations of the people.
The meeting discussed measures to prevent teen-crime, strengthening community policing activities, creative and innovative policing, etc.
Administrative and operational issues related to different wings of the Police Headquarters, CID, PBI and SB were presented in the meeting. The meeting reviewed the overall crime situation of last year.
Additional IGP (Administration) Md Kamrul Ahsan, Additional IGP (Crime and Operations) and Chairman of the sub-committee on the conference Md Atiqul Islam, Rapid Action Battalion Director General Md Khurshid Hossain, Additional IGP of Special Branch Md Monirul Islam and senior police officials were present on the occasion.
Madrasa principal jailed for providing written answer scripts to Dakhil examinees in Chandpur
A mobile court on Sunday sentenced a madrasa principal to two years in jail on charge of providing examinees with answer scripts of English-I paper test in the ongoing Dakhil examinations at an exam centre in Shahrasti upazila of Chandpur.
The mobile court led by Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Executive Magistrate Md Yeasir Arafat also fined the principal Tk 1, 000, in default of which he will have to suffer one more month’s jail.
The convict is Md Sayedul Islam, principal of RajapurA Al-Amin Fazil Madrasa under the upazila.
UNO Arafat said they inspected Chistia Islamia Alim Madrasa centre upon the allegations of providing the examinees with the answer scripts in the morning.
LPG price hiked: Consumers to see increment from today
Sensing the presence of the administration, the examinees threw the written answer scripts through the windows, he said.
During the interrogation, the on-duty invigilators informed that the principal printed 25 to 30 copies of the written answer script from the exam centre in the morning, the UNO said.
Though the accused primarily rejected the allegations, later links to the answer script and soft documents found on his mobile phone matched, he said.
BGB thwarts gold smuggling attempt, arrests woman with 11 bars in Chuadanga
At one stage of the interrogation, the teacher, a resident of Brahmanbaria’s Nabinagar upazila, admitted the matter, UNO Arafat added.
Dr Yunus, seven others granted bail upon surrender in graft case
A Dhaka court on Sunday granted bail to Nobel Laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus and seven others in a case filed for allegedly misappropriating over Tk 25 crore from Workers-Employees Welfare Fund of Grameen Telecom.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge As-Shams Jaglul Hossain passed the order after hearing a petition submitted by the defendants upon surrender before the court, said Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Prosecutor Mir Ahmmad Ali Salam.
Though the prosecution opposed the bail order, the court finally granted it after hearing, said the defendants’ counsel Abdullah Al Mamun.
The court also set April 2 for accepting charges against the eight accused in their presence, said the ACC prosecutor.
The rest defendants were absent from the hearing in the court while it passed no order regarding them.
The accused included Grameen Telecom’s Managing Director Md. Nazmul Islam, Director & Former Managing Director Ashraful Hasan, Directors Parveen Mahmud, Naznin Sultana, Md. Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum, SM Hujjatul Islam Latifi, lawyers Md. Yusuf Ali and Zafrul Hasan Sharif, President of Grameen Telecom Workers-Employees Union Md. Kamruzzaman, General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan; Union Representative Mainul Islam and Office Secretary Kamrul Hasan.
On May 30 last year, ACC’s Dhaka district combined office-1 Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar Prodhan filed the case against 14 people bringing the allegation of siphoning off more than Tk 25.22 crore from the welfare fund.
Grameen Telecom owns a 34.2% share of telecom operator Grameenphone, Norway’s Telenor occupies 55.8% while the remaining 10% is publicly held.
As of December 2023, its subscribers span over 82.20 million.
Petition filed seeking closure of restaurants in residential buildings
A writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking its directives to close all restaurants in residential buildings in Dhaka including on Bailey Road.
Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond filed the writ petition with the High Court bench concerned on Sunday (March 03, 2024).
Besides, the petition also sought directives to provide compensation to the family members of the deceased and injured in the Bailey Road fire and arrest of those responsible in the fire incident.
Read more: A city of fire traps: Decades of tragedies in Dhaka expose systemic failures
Meanwhile, a Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Israt Zahan Santona filed another writ petition with the High Court bench concerned seeking judicial investigation into the deadly fire at Green Cozy Cottage Building on Bailey Road that claimed the lives of 46 people.
The petitions will move to the HC bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque.
Secretaries to the Public Works Ministry, Cabinet Division, Home Ministry, Inspector General of Police, Chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), nayors of Dhaka North and South city corporations were made responsible in the writ petitions.
Read more: Why Fire Safety Audit is Essential for Commercial Buildings
On Thursday night, a massive fire broke out at a building on Dhaka's Bailey Road leaving at least 46 people dead and injuring dozens of people. Later, a case was filed with Ramna police station.
9 get life term for 2013 killing of farmer in Joypurhat
A Joypurhat court on Thursday sentenced nine people to life in prison for murdering a farmer over land dispute in Joypurhat Sadar upazila around 11 years back.
Joypurhat Additional Sessions Judge's Court-1 Judge Md Nurul Islam also fined the convicts Tk 50, 000 each, in default of which they will have to serve two more years’ jail, said a public prosecutor.
The convicts are Abdul Rouf, son of late Feraz Uddin, Ruhul Amin, son of Md. Ali, Ali Hossain and Khokon Hossain, sons of Abdur Rouf, Belal Hossain, son of late Asir Uddin, Rokon Hossain and Babu Hossain, sons of Akhtaruzzaman, Mizanur Rahman, son of late Abu Sayeed and Sirajul, son of Mizanur Rahman.
The court also acquitted two defendants as the allegations brought against them were not found to be true.
According to the case statement, the accused attacked victim Nurul Hoque and others when they were harvesting crops on land in Hichmi area of Joypurhat Sadar upazila on November 1, 2013, leaving them critically injured.
Nurul succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Medical College Hospital a few days after he had been admitted.
Later, the victim’s son Masum filed a murder case with Joypurhat sadar police station against 11 identified people and eight to 10 unidentified ones.
After completing legal procedures, the court handed down the judgment.
10 to die, 8 to serve life terms for 2016 killing of Jubo League man in Cumilla
A Cumilla court on Thursday sentenced 10 people to death and 8 more people to life term in jail in a case filed over the killing of a Jubo League man in Manoharganj upazila of Cumilla around 8 years back.
The court of Public Security Crime Prevention Tribunal Special Sessions Judge Maryam Moon Munjuri also fined the convicts Tk 10,000 each, said the court’s Public Prosecutor Md Mobarak Hossain.
The death row convicts are three brothers Riyad Hossain, 29, Mir Hossain, 37, and Anwar Hossain, 41, sons of one Tajul Islam; two more brothers Yusuf, 36, and Ismail Hossain, 35, sons of Shamsul Haque Patwari; Misu, 22, son of Saleh Ahmed, Rajon, son of Shahid Ullah Member, Manik Mia, son of another Tajul Islam, Md. Mizanur Rahman, son of Abul Hossain, and Md Nurul Islam, 42, hailing from Dakshin Batabaria village under the Manoharganj upazila.
The lifers are Noman, 23, son of Tajul Islam, Salah Uddin, 41, son of Sirajul Islam, Abul Kashem, 42, son of Haji Abdul Samad, Md Shahidullah Member, 55, son of Moulvi Ari Akbar, two brothers Saleh Ahmed, 32, and Md. Sohag, 26, sons of Nur Ahmed, Md Swapon, 35, son of late Shafiqur Rahman, and Md Rashed, son of late Sultan Ahmed.
Of the convicts, only the lifers were on the dock during the delivery of the judgment.
According to the case statement, the accused, equipped with locally-made sharp weapons, attacked the Jubo League man, Jahangir Hossain, at his house on May 13, 2016, leaving him dead on the spot.
Later, the victim’s brother Md Alamgir Hossain filed a murder case accusing 20 people with the concerned Manoharganj police station.
Police pressed chargesheets against 18 accused on June 8, 2017, while a court framed the charges against the accused on October 13, 2019.
After completing all legal procedures, the court handed down the judgment in presence of 10 out of the 18 accused on Thursday, added the PP.
‘Sexual harassment’: Viqarunnisa teacher lands in jail
A Dhaka court on Thursday sent Murad Hossain Sarkar, a mathematics teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College’s Azimpur campus, to jail in a case filed over sexual harassment of a female student.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jasim passed the order when police produced him before the court after the end of his two-day remand in the case.
The court also ordered the authorities concerned to take measures to give him treatment as per jail rules as the accused's lawyer pledged medical treatment.
‘Sexual harassment’: Viqarunnisa teacher on 2-day remand
Murad was arrested from his Kalabagan residence in the capital around 12 am on Monday. He was suspend after an emergency meeting of the governing body of Viqarunnisa School on Monday night.
Earlier, On February 7, students submitted complaints to the principal accusing the teacher of sexual harassment.
Last Saturday, the school authorities withdrew the senior teacher and subsequently attached him to the principal’s office in the face of the demonstration by a section of students and their guardians.
Protesting the withdrawal decision the following day, the students and their guardians started a protest on the school campus, demanding exemplary punishment of the accused.