Anti-corruption steps against two NGOs
The government is going to take legal actions against two out of five non-government organisations (NGO) foreign funds of which have been blocked for about two years allegedly for 'misusing funds' and having 'political links'. Shahjahan Majumder, director general (DG) of the NGO Affairs Bureau under the Prime Minister's Office said that their investigation has found out that Bangladesh Nari Pragoti Sangha (BNPS) and PRIP Trust were at fault of misappropriating foreign funds. So, they have already directed related police stations to file corruption cases against the organizations. The Proshika, International Voluntary Services (IVS) and Centre for Development Services (CDS) are the three other NGOs that came under government investigation. The NGO bureau has decided to probe Proshika activities further and let CDS off the hook. It is still undecided how the IVS affair will be dealt with. Top executives of the NGOs in question meanwhile said the government was up for harassing them in a bid to ruin their organisations. -Prothom Alo, 11 October.

2 watchdogs planned to protect consumers
The government is soon going to place drafts of two independent market watchdogs for cabinet approval. The proposed Consumer Council will be tasked with market intervention in case prices of essentials go up without any genuine reason or if the traders take recourse to unethical practices. And the Consumer Bureau will do the necessary research like collecting current prices of commodities in the international market and providing the government with market forecast. This was revealed my Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. He also said that the ministry have already finalised the drafts of two proposed regulators to protect the interest of the consumers. - Daily Star, 13 October.

Ex MP faces charge for rape attempt
A court in Dhaka has framed charges against former Awami League lawmaker Kamal Ahmed Majumder and two others in an attempted rape case. Sarker Abul Mansur Ahmad, judge of the Third Special Tribunal for Prevention of Women and Children Repression, Dhaka, framed charges in presence of the accused. The judge also fixed January 17, 2004, for trial of the case. The two other accused are Kamal's brother Anwar Hossain Majumder and one Nazma Hossain. The accused pleaded not guilty and sought justice before the court after the charges were framed against them.
In the case filed with Pallabi Police Station (PS), it was alleged that on December 30, 2001, eight men forcibly took a 35-year-old woman to Kamal's office at Mohana in the city's Pallabi area and Kamal tried to rape her. Later, the victim filed an attempted rape case with Pallabi PS under the 'Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000' accusing Kamal Majumder and two others. The investigation officer submitted the charge sheet against Kamal and the two on April 18 last year. The accused are now on bail. - Daily Star, 07 October.

Tougher law against land grabbers soon
The government has identified land grabbing as a national problem and decided to make tougher laws against such acts. A meeting of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia with all secretaries at Bangladesh Secretariat took the decision. A high-powered secretarial committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Dr Saadat Husain will make recommendations on the issue on the basis of which a national committee would be formed. The cabinet secretary said the issue of land grabbing by a section of real estate companies and unscrupulous gangsters prominently figured in the discussion as the situation has taken a serious turn. The cabinet secretary told that the Prime Minister has instructed to try the land grabbers, if necessary, in special tribunals. -Daily Star, 5 October.

Income tax cases pending with HC
A total of 1,335 income tax cases involving about Tk 1,000 crore have been pending with the High Court (HC) Division. This was revealed by a recent report of the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The cases were filed between 1977 and August this year and only 44 of them involved more than Tk 422.57 crore, the report said. Of the pending cases, about 90 per cent are reference cases and the rest are writs. According to NBR sources 485 income tax-related reference cases involving about Tk 350 crore and 30 writs involving about Tk 150 crore were filed with the HC from January to August this year but only seven cases were disposed of during the period. -Daily Star, 5 October

32 Bangladeshis killed by BSF
Thirty-two Bangladeshi citizens were killed and 54 others wounded by Border Security Force (BSF) of India and armed Indian criminals in the last nine months. according to a report released by Odhikar, a human rights organisation. The report also said the BSF and criminals from across the border also kidnapped 57 people and raped two women including a physically challenged young woman during the period between January 1 and September 30. Besides, seven people went missing from the border area and 21 others were arrested by the BSF during the same period. Based on newspaper reports and information from its own sources, the Odhikar report said the Indians also trespassed Bangladesh territory on many occasions, setting fire to houses, looting livestock, and attacking Bangladeshi citizens working near the border or fishing in bordering rivers. -Prothom Alo, 5 October.

Law against hydraulic horns demanded
Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa) has demanded to introduces a law against hydraulic horns in motor vehicles. Addressing the rally at Mahakhali, the speakers said noise pollution in the city has passed tolerance level due to hydraulic horns. They Although the level of sound tolerance is 45 decibels, in some city areas the sound level is 106 decibels, they noted. They told that the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1983 and Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance, 1976, which deal with noise pollution, are not being enforced properly. Referring to the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank (WB) reports, the speakers pointed out that noise pollution causes many diseases. The Bapa organisers urged the government to take necessary action against noise pollution, of which the children are the worst sufferers. -Ittefaq, 11 October.

302 cops forced into retirement
A total of 302 policemen ranging from inspectors down below were forced into retirement on completion of 25 years in service. The police headquarters issued letters to the departmental heads where these 302 policemen are now posted to complete formalities of wrapping up their services. The police authorities also identified 30,000 more policemen as physically unfit who may also face the axe. At present, the police force is approximately 1.9 lakh. Of the retired, 30 are inspectors, 112 sub-inspectors, 22 assistant sub-inspectors, 10 sergeants and the rest are havilder, nayek and constables. Four inspectors are from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters. There are also seven sub-inspectors from Dhaka Metropolitan Police. The security cell of police department investigated the allegations and found them guilty. - Prothom Alo, 9 October.