Investigative Stories

Investigative Stories

AL govt’s secret surveillance state

From snooping devices carried in backpacks to locate people through their phones to a massive infrastructure that can intercept even end-to-end encryption from a central command centre, the Awami League government had been on an increasingly aggressive trajectory towards building a powerful surveillance state. 

2m ago

Bangladesh Police: Equipped to inflict heavy casualties

Police arms records show the brutal truth behind the July killings; the force bought 7 times more lethal weapons than non-lethal ones in 2021-23

2m ago

Anatomy of BGB shootings in Rampura

It was 6:14pm on Friday, July 19, 2024. Two Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were advancing into Banasree G Block in Dhaka.

2m ago

Investigation / 'Shoot directly': Hasina’s order and deadly aftermath

Months-long investigation by The Daily Star indicates state forces increased deployment of lethal weapons after the ousted PM authorised their use

3m ago

Investigation / Licence to fly: Pilots faked flying records

CAAB inquiry finds, regulator yet to take action

5m ago

Investigation / Licence to fly: Regulator repeatedly ignored red flags

CAAB’s own inquiry finds irregularities by training academies, raising questions about aviation safety

5m ago

The disappeared of the July Uprising

The Daily Star found evidence of systematic government efforts to cover up medical records and bodies of the July uprising victims so they can never be found again.

7m ago

The disappeared of the July Uprising: Part 4 / Families want closure, however painful

When we first started visiting Dhaka Medical College Hospital in January for this story, there were seven protest-related unclaimed bodies freezing in its mortuaries.

7m ago

A blatant river grab

Confluence of Dhaleshwari and Shitalakkhya under siege from Shah Cement

4m ago

Hastily buried in unmarked graves

The Daily Star investigates how July uprising protesters were disappeared in unmarked graves

7m ago

Parking wealth under the Dubai sun

The city’s booming real estate has also been used by Bangladeshis as an offshore haven to park wealth for a big reason

9m ago

How Hasina’s flight was kept off radar

When the air force transporter plane carrying Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka on August 5, it took off as a training flight and turned off its transponders to blur its flightpath and location..The transponders, which transmit location, heading

1y ago

A councillor and his illicit tobacco trade

A significant share of Bangladesh’s illegal cigarette market is controlled by two companies where Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Councillor Abdus Sabur Liton and his brother have the majority stakes, an investigation by The Daily Star has found.

1y ago

20 plates of rice, 118 plates of curries for a lunch of 4!

NRBC Bank’s top managers have great appetites. 

1y ago

Dubious reward for a select few

Only a select 27 employees of NRBC Bank were given salary hikes, and that too astonishingly, in 2022 in violation of banking rules as well as NRBC’s own human resources policy

1y ago

NRBC branch covered up capital flight

Export proceeds worth at least $3.45 million (Tk 34.41 crore) were not repatriated by six customers of NRB Commercial Bank’s Uttara branch, and the bank concealed the trail of the capital flight, according to the bank’s internal audit and case documents.

1y ago

Gun in NRBC Bank boardroom

During the 40th board meeting of NRBC Bank on February 7, 2016, current Chairman Tamal Parvez and Director Adnan Imam entered the boardroom accompanied by a man carrying a large gun. Both Tamal and Adnan were board directors back then.

1y ago

Sex trafficking: The untold exploitations of Bangladeshi women in India

Many Bangladeshi sex workers, once victims themselves, now serve as brothel managers, perpetuating the vicious cycle. They employ fellow countrywomen, who later become traffickers responsible for bringing new girls from Bangladesh into the clutches of these brothels.

1y ago