AL comeback to JS
The Awami League joins 15 June on the budget session of parliament
today and moves to participate in the House activities including nomination
of party deputies to parliamentary standing committees in a major shift
in the main opposition party's position. The AL at its parliamentary
party meeting yesterday also agreed to accept proportionate distribution
of women's reserved seats in parliament and contest the upcoming by-election
to Gazipur-2 constituency that fell vacant with the killing of AL lawmaker
Ahsanullah Master on May 7.-Daily Star, 15th June
Chittagong
arms haul, CID presses charges against 39
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday pressed charges
against 39 people in Chittagong for their alleged roles in the largest
ever arms seizure in Bangladesh, 59 workdays into its investigation
with key suspects yet to be traced. Among the 39, 21 including prime
suspects Hafizur Rahman, Din Mohammad, Sobhan Haji, Abul Kashem Madhu
and Haji Yakub are evading capture. The CID submitted the chargesheet
after a case was filed under the Arms Act for illegal possession and
transportation of the huge consignment of deadly weapons seized at the
Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited jetty on April 2. Police arrested
18 people, including Marium Begum, a local union parishad member. MA
Aziz, Badsha Mia, Sheikh Ahmad, Mojibur Rahman, Akhter Hossain, Jahangir
Alam and Jasim, believed to be part of a smuggling syndicate, are also
among the arrestees- Daily Star, 14 June
Stringent
acid control law suggested
The National Acid Control Council yesterday suggested formulating strict
acid control regulations within two weeks. The ninth council meeting
held at home ministry's conference room with State Minister for Home
Lutfozzaman Babar in the chair also proposed to motivate young generation
about the adverse effects of acid attacks, meeting sources said. - Daily
Star, 14 June
Khulna
OC faces case for 'killing outlaw' in custody
Razia Begum, mother of alleged PBCP (M-L) cadre Raja Chowdhury, has
filed a case with the CMM court accusing Kulna thana OC Mosharef Hossain,
Sub Inspectors Koushik and Arman and constables Feroz and Kausar for
killing her son in custody. The court has ordered Khulna thana to record
the case properly. - Daily Star, 14 June
Police
violate HR
Police seriously violated human rights at 22 thanas in the
capital by their inhuman treatment to those taken to custody, harassing
relations of the arrestees and taking bribe from them, said Odhikar,
a coalition for human rights, in its quarterly research report on Saturday.
The report said in the wake of opposition's April 30 deadline to oust
the government, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) collected a huge amount
of money in bribe from ordinary citizens while conducting a mass-arrest
crackdown by abusing section 86 of DMP Ordinance and 54 of Criminal
Procedure Code. In the name of foiling oust-government agitation, police
indiscriminately picked up ordinary people from bus and railway stations,
launch terminals and city slums and took bribe by threatening them to
implicate in false cases, the report added. Police arrested about 700
people on April 18 and 2500 on April 20 from different areas, most of
whom were innocent. Though it's mandatory to keep the women in separate
cell, police kept them in the duty officer's room, and some time in
the lobby. Children were kept with criminals charged with serious crimes.
The report further said hostile attitude and rampant bribery of the
police have eroded people's trust in them and widen the people-police
gap. Odhikar, in association with Bangladesh Freedom Foundation, prepared
the report after monitoring the situation at 22 thanas of the metropolitan
city during the months of March, April and May. - Daily Star, 14
June
No
more govt plea for time extension
The government will not seek any more time extension for implementation
a 12-point Supreme Court directive towards separation of the judiciary,
Law Minister Moudud Ahmed said on 14 June. Legal instruments for the
separation would be put in place within the timeframe the Appellate
Division has set for the government, he told New Age after chairing
an inter-ministerial meeting at the law ministry. The law ministry has
already prepared fresh drafts of legislation and rules towards separation
of the judiciary from the executive to be sent to the prime minister
for approval, law ministry sources said. - New Age, 15 June
Dhaka
blacklisted for human trafficking
The US blacklisted Bangladesh among 10 nations for failing to adequately
fight international sex trafficking, opening the way for possible sanctions.
The list can lead to cut-offs in non-humanitarian and non-trade-related
US aid, the US Department of State said. Affected aid could include
military, educational and cultural assistance. Daily Star, 16 June
Police
sergeants caught in the act
Police sergeants in the capital directly contribute to traffic congestion
and indirectly to the slide in law and order, as they keep themselves
busy realising money from the vehicle drivers, an intelligence agency
reveals. A two-week investigation on the on-duty sergeants also disclosed
that taking of bribe openly by those responsible for tackling traffic
jams and maintaining law and order in the city have become all too familiar
sights nowadays. "A police sergeant takes from Tk 50 to Tk 500
from each vehicle," says the inquiry, carried out after the ministry
of home affairs ordered an investigation to verify the allegation that
on-duty police sergeants take bribes from the vehicles. - New Age,
16 June
HC
grants bail to Nurul Islam
The High Court on 15 June granted anticipatory bail for one month to
former acting secretary to the Prime Minister's office, AHM Nurul Islam,
in a case filed against him on June 7 on charge of leaking out information.
The Bureau of Anti-Corruption filed the case with the Tejgaon police
station under Official Secrets Act and the Prevention of Corruption
Act. A High Court Division bench of Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana and Justice
AKM Asaduzzaman also issued a rule nisi on the government to show cause
within four weeks as to why he would not be granted regular bail. Kamal
Hossain along with Shah Deen Malik and Tanzib-ul-Alam appeared for the
Nurul Islam while Deputy Attorney General Altafur Rahman stood for the
state. - Prothom Alo, 16th June
RAB
to keep vigil at ZIA Int Airport
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) will soon be posted to Zia International
Airport to check all kinds of criminal activities. The force will also
check trafficking in women and children through the airport, sources
in the home affairs ministry said. A high-level meeting on 16 June at
the ministry on foreign trips with fake passport and visas made the
decision. State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar chaired
the meeting that discussed the overall situation at the airport- New
Age, 17 June
Speedy
trial for human trafficking cases
The
government is thinking of trying women and children trafficking cases
in Speedy Trial Tribunals in order to check human trafficking after
being threatened by the United States that sanctions would be imposed.
The national committee on legal aid, in its 11th meeting held on Thursday
in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, decided to
strictly monitor human trafficking cases. According to the decision,
human trafficking cases will be referred to the national monitoring
cell for regular monitoring of the progress of the cases, said sources
present in the meeting. -New Age 18th June.
Detective
police accused of looting
A
Detective Branch Police team allegedly looted the house of a fish farm
owner and arrested the housewife at village Jagatpur of Burichang, Comilla,
early May 13. Ahidur Rahman, a businessman, levelled the allegation
at a news conference at the Crime Reporters' Association of Bangladesh
on Friday. He alleged that the team, led by sub-inspector Alamgir Hossain,
entered his residence at around 3:00am and confined his wife Nilufa
Begum and five children at gunpoint.-New Age,19th June.
