Shariful Islam

Dhaka saw a comparatively smooth start to the Eid-ul-Azha homebound exodus yesterday, with hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers leaving the capital without major hardship or severe traffic congestion on the first day of the seven-day government holiday.

More than 95 percent of factories across garment and textile associations paid April salaries ahead of Eid-ul-Azha as of yesterday evening, according to Industrial Police (IP) data.

With four major entry and exit points of the capital already battered by ongoing construction work and incessant rain, transport operators and commuters fear the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha exodus could trigger severe traffic congestion.

In an unverified audio clip, the sound of a gun being cocked is heard, followed by a gunshot and the groans of a man. On the other end of the line, Teknaf municipality councillor Akramul Haque’s wife and two daughters scream, pleading for his life.

A grieving father, who once shook the nation’s conscience by asking a senior police officer, “How many bullets does it take to kill a boy, sir?”, yesterday alleged that police, under pressure from senior officials, filed a false inquest report over his son’s killing during the July 2024 mass uprising.

Mother of July martyr Rakib Hossain broke down in court after a graphic video of the 23-year-old being shot in Rampura was played during cross-examination

When Abu Sayed stood with his arms outstretched, he thought the humans standing before him would not shoot him, not realising they were “no longer human”, a tribunal observed yesterday while sentencing two to death, three to life imprisonment, and 25 others to varying jail terms.

A father broke down before the International Crimes Tribunal-2 yesterday as he recounted his final phone call with his 22-year-old son, Osman Patwari, who sought forgiveness before joining the July uprising in Lakshmipur and said they might never meet again.