Law
week
Galib denied bail again
A Naogaon court denied bail to militant kingpin Dr Asadullah Al Galib and three of his cohorts. Judge Abdul Hakim Mondol of the Court of District and Sessions Judge rejected bail prayers of the four after their lawyers filed a petition with the court. The chief of militant outfit Ahle Hadith Andolan, Bangladesh and his associates are accused in the Khejur Ali murder case. Bangla Bhai and his men killed Ali at Bheti camp in Naogaon after an announcement through loudspeakers.
A huge number of police and Rapid Action Battalion personnel were deployed on the court premises during the hearing of the bail prayers. -The Daily Star, August 22.
Probe in right direction, says Babar
The State Minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar said the investigation into the serial bomb blasts is progressing in the right direction. He held a series of meetings with the high-ups of law enforcement agencies and intelligence officials and discussed about the progress of the blasts at his office. Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Qaiyyum, at a post meeting briefing, told journalists that they have received a lot of information from the arrestees.
"According to the statement of the arrestees, we have prepared a list of suspected persons linked with the August 17 bomb attacks," the IGP added. He also hoped that they could net one of the top leaders of the group. He also held a meeting with the officials of Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) and inquired about the progress of the interrogation.- BD News, August 23.
Arrested moulana points finger at Nizami
Former Islamic Foundation director Moulana Fariduddin Masud, detained for suspected links to the August 17 blasts, accused Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Industries Minister Motiur Rahman Nizami of involvement in the countrywide explosions. Meantime, the home ministry ordered the intelligence agencies to investigate the income sources and expenditures of the NGOs allegedly sponsored by some Middle Eastern countries. A reliable government source said all bank accounts of Masud are being frozen. "Vital clues to the blasts will come out if Nizami is grilled," Masud said when police yesterday produced him before a Dhaka court amid tight security and petitioned for him to be taken on a seven-day remand. The Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka placed him on a five-day remand. A day into his arrest at Zia International Airport (ZIA), airport police yesterday showed Masud arrested in the August 17 blasts case. -The Daily Star, August 24.
SC rejects WorldTel plea for exclusive right to landlines in Dhaka
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court dismissed WorldTel's petition for retaining its co-exclusive right with Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) to provide landlines in Dhaka, paving the way for private landphone operators to operate.
Following the court order, there remains no legal barrier for Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to license private Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) operators to work in the capital, said sources in the telecom industry. A long-drawn legal battle between the telecoms watchdog and UK-based WorldTel has deprived for a long time thousands of prospective subscribers of receiving private fixed phone connections in the capital.
In August last year, WorldTel filed a case with the High Court against BTRC and the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, accusing those of curtailing its co-exclusivity right. After the High Court dismissed the case, WorldTel filed an appeal with the Appellate Division. But the Appellate Division dismissed the plea for exclusivity, saying that it is against the public interest given the higher demand for fixed line telephone in the capital and its adjacent areas. -The Daily Star, August 24.
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