Law-&-Order
Five suspected members of new militant outfit Jama'atul Ansar held
Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, a specilized police unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), arrested five suspected members of newly formed militant outfit Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya from Demra of the capital on Wednesday.
The arrestees were identified as Md Abdullah, 22, Md Tajul Islam, 33, Md Ziauddin, 37, Md Habibullah, 19 and Md Mahmudul Hasan, 18.
Separatist armed group in the Chattogram Hill Tracts Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) has been providing training to the members of the new militant outfit in remote areas, Chief of the CTTC and Additional Commissioner of the DMP Asaduzzaman said while briefing reporters at the DMP Media Centre in the city on Thursday.
Three mobile phone sets and a 12-page document were also seized during the drive, he added.
The CTTC chief said that the CTTC started a shadow investigation when there was a nationwide stir regarding the disappearance of seven youths from Comilla district recently. On the basis of intelligence information, Abrarul Haque, who left his Comilla residence for the purpose of Hijrat, was arrested from the capital's Moghbazar area on September 13 last.
Based on information given by Abrarul Haque, Dr Shakir bin Wali was arrested from Hajipara area of Rampura in the capital, the CTTC chief said.
During interrogation, Dr Shakir bin Wali revealed that he is the head of the dawa department of the militant organization. He used to give treatment to the militants if they fell sick during military training in the hills.
Doctor Shakir bin Wali stayed in the hill camp for over a month.
Along with Shamin Mahfuz, Tamal, Ranveer, Raqib and Dr Shakir bin Wali used to travel to the training camp and supervise the whole thing.
The CTTC chief said that the main purpose of this organization is to form a huge militant group through collecting members for militancy, collection of money, providing armed military training and purchasing modern weapons. They have collected 70-80 youths as members of their organisation since 2021, he added.
ACC won’t renew Shakib’s contract as goodwill ambassador over ‘controversy’
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will not consider cricketer Shakib Al Hasan as its goodwill ambassador.
“Although he is still the goodwill ambassador as per contract, the contract will not be renewed. He will not be part of the upcoming International Anti-Corruption Day programs,” Commissioner of the investigation department of ACC, Mozammel Haque, said today.
Read more:The times Shakib Al Hasan found himself in controversies
Haque was speaking to media.
According to the rules, ACC still has a contract with him. But Shakib Al Hasan is now considered “controversial” on various issues. ACC does not want to associate itself with any controversial person, Haque said.
Read more:Shakib’s company involved in share manipulation, DSE investigation finds
All-rounder Shakib was made the goodwill ambassador of the anti-corruption watchdog to campaign against corruption in Bangladesh. ACC made the announcement on February 11, 2018.
164 Swecchasebak Dal activists sued over clash with police, 14 held
A case has been filed against 14 named and 150 anonymous activists of the BNP’s volunteer wing Swecchasebak Dal for clashing with police and obstructing them from performing their duties in Chattogram.
Saddam Hossain, sub-inspector of Kotwali police station, filed the case with the police station on Wednesday night.
Of the accused, 14 including Chattogram South district Swecchasebak Dal Convener Monjur Alam Talukder were arrested and they were produced before a court on Thursday, said Zahidul Kabir, officer-in-Charge of kotwali police station.
On Wednesday afternoon Swecchasebak Dal activists and leaders locked in a clash with police after they allegedy obstructed them in holding a rally at stadium at Kazir Dewri area in the city.
Four police members and 20 Swecchasebak Dal activists were reprotedly injured during the clash. Police arrested ten people from the spot after the incident, said police.
Two brothers held with 10 gold bars in Benapole
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) claimed to have apprehended two brothers with 10 gold bars from near Customs House in Benapole on Thursday.
The two have been identified as Milon Hossain, 28, and his younger brother Hiron Mian, 25, son of Shahfiqul Islam of Munshipur village in Damurhuda upazila of Chuadanga.
Read: Man held with Tk. 1.8 crore worth gold
Lieutenant Colonel Shahed Minhaj Siddique, commandant of BGB-49, said on a tip-off, their team nabbed the duo from near Customs House around 9am and seized the 10 gold bars weighing around 1.1kg.
A case has been filed against the brothers at Benapole Port police station in this connection, he added.
School teacher sent to jail for sexual harassment of minor in Thakurgaon
A school teacher has been remanded in judicial custody by a court in Thakurgaon in connection with the sexual harassment of a minor student.
The accused has been identified as Tula Ram Paul, 38.
SM Jahid Iqbal, officer-in-charge of Ranisankail police station, said they arrested the accused after the girl's father lodged a complaint on Wednesday.
Read: Madrasa teacher held for ‘sexual-assault attempt’ on student
Later, the accused was produced in a Thakurgaon court that sent him to judicial custody.
According to the case statement, the teacher allegedly harassed the girl sexually after taking her to a room of the school on Tuesday morning.
The accused fled when she started screaming. The girl later narrated her ordeal to her parents.
Rule of Law Index: Bangladesh slips 2 notches to 127th among 140 countries
Bangladesh ranked 127th out of 140 countries on the Rule of Law Index 2022, slipping two positions from last year.
This year, Bangladesh scored 0.39 out of 1, where 1 indicates the strongest adherence to the rule of law. Last year, the country's score was 0.40.
The country's score placed it at the fourth spot out of six countries assessed in South Asia, according to the 2022 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index released on Wednesday (October 26, 2022).
Read US democracy has its own flaws, says a new survey
Nepal was the top performer in the region with a global ranking of 69, followed by Sri Lanka at 74 and India at 77.
Bangladesh, Pakistan (129 globally), and Afghanistan (138th globally) had the lowest scores in South Asia.
Globally, Denmark, Norway, and Finland topped the WJP Rule of Law index. Venezuela, Cambodia, and Afghanistan had the lowest overall scores.
Read ‘Some abuses are reported while implementing any new law’
For the fifth consecutive year, the rule of law weakened in more countries than those in which it improved (85 versus 54, with one unchanged). More than 4.4 billion people live in countries where the rule of law weakened in the past year. This is equivalent to 56 percent of the world's population.
According to the accompanying report, the continued deterioration of the rule of law this year can be explained by three factors: a weakening in constraints on government powers; an erosion in fundamental rights, caused by growing authoritarianism and the shrinking of civic space; and the deterioration of civil justice, mainly due to increasing discrimination, delays in proceedings, and the weakening of enforcement mechanisms.
The Index presents a portrait of the rule of law in 140 countries and jurisdictions by providing scores and rankings based on eight factors: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.
Read Law protects non-disclosure of sources in investigative journalism: High Court
The WJP Rule of Law Index 2022 is the latest report in an annual series measuring the rule of law based on global surveys of more than 154,000 households and 3,600 legal practitioners and experts. The period of data collection for the 2022 data was February 2022 through June 2022.
As if two hands ever stopped anybody from selling drugs
Police arrested a youth with a disability for peddling drugs from West Rampura in the city on Tuesday night.
The arrestee was identified as Rana Howladar (26). He is an autorickshaw driver by profession, with an amputated left arm.
Although he drives an autorickshaw, his main occupation is selling yaba, police said. Driving an autorickshaw helps him deliver consignments of drugs alongside carrying passengers to various places in Dhaka.
Police say no one regarded him with any suspicion as he went about his business due to the amputated hand, which was replaced with a prosthetic, and that rather won him people’s ‘sympathy’. As if having both hands and both feet ever stopped anybody from selling drugs!
In a rather unguarded attack on those with disabilities, the Deputy Commissioner of Tejgaon of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, HM Azimul Islam, said: “This is a new strategy. You know people like that get sympathy from the public. Rana has used that opportunity.”
It’s an outrageous claim for a senior police officer, given how it seeks to demonise a petty drug peddler by seizing upon his disability, but it exposes much in the problematic attitude of the police towards the public they are meant to serve.
Like any drug dealer, Rana may need to hide his wares at times. This is thought to be natural. If for that reason he happens to at times use his prosthetic, as police described, where others may use other means available to them (from previous reports we have the use of socks and shoe-soles), it makes him no worse than any other dealer, and no better either.
But by hammering on (we haven’t included everything he said) about his apparent exploitation of his disability, or how he took advantage of it, or took advantage of the sympathy that “people like that” get, the DC has rather laid bare his own prejudice.
Based on secret information, police arrested Rana from the Omar Ali Lane area of West Rampura under the Hatirjheel police station.
During primary interrogation, Rana revealed that various parts of his body were damaged due to electrocution. Later, the physician amputated the lower part of his left arm. He has been involved in the Yaba business for seven to eight years. A case under the Narcotics Control Act has been filed against him at Hatirjheel police station, the DC added.
Rana has been living in the Mirpur area for quite some time. He got married for the second time seven days ago. He came to visit the Hatirjheel area with his newly married wife from Mirpur on Tuesday night, when police arrested him.
Article 19 applauds authorities for clearing journalist Rozina of charges
UK-based international human rights organization has applauded the Bangladesh authorities for clearing Rozina Islam, a renowned investigative journalist, of the charges made under the Official Secrets Act of 1923.
The act is an outdated colonial law, which infringes on citizens', media and civil society's fundamental right to access information.
The rights body promoting freedom of expression and the protection of journalists around the world also hoped that the court would accept the final probe report submitted by the authorities in the case and clear Rozina of the case to ensure justice for her.
According to the media report, over a year after Rozina was sued by the Health Services Division official for allegations of stealing and capturing photos of "highly sensitive" government documents, the investigation officer of the case on July 4, 2022, submitted the final report to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka, requesting it to relieve Rozina of the charges.
In the probe report, the investigator said no evidence was found against Rozina, and the case was a matter of factual error.
Faruq Faisel, regional director for Article 19 South Asia, said: "We welcome the findings of the probe report and firmly believe Rozina will get justice from the court as well."
"The vexatious case has tarnished the image of the country in the international arena and called into question its commitment – as a UN member state – to upholding media freedom and protecting journalists."
Controversial Dr Jahangir Kabir's organisation among 3 fined by NCRP
National Consumers' Right Protection (NCRP) conducted drives at three organisations, including Ultimate Organic Life, an organisation owned by lifestyle modifier Dr Muhammad Jahangir Kabir, in the city's Aftabnagar on Wednesday and fined them a total Tk 5 lakh over various irregularities.
A team of the NCRP comprising Abdul Jabbar Mondal, head of Dhaka district office, and two assistant directors of NCRP head office-- Shariful Islam and Shah Alam, carried out the 3-hours long drives from 12:00 pm.
The drives were carried out based on secret information, said an Assistant Director (Publicity section) of the NCRP head office.
During the drive at the Ultimate Organic Life, the NCRP team found that employees were filling ghee in bottles from the containers of another organisation named Organico Care Ghee and also pasting stickers. Besides, they were also seen sticking importers' labels on some imported goods, which is a clear violation of NCRP rules.
The NCRP fined Ultimate Organic Life Tk 3.50 lakh for the various irregularities.
Dr Jahangir Kabir shot to fame, or perhaps infamy more accurately, by endorsing and propagating various quack medical theories during the Covid-19 pandemic, becoming a very potent symbol of the 'infodemic', or epidemic of disinformation, that came to characterise the period.
The NCRP also fined Inmotion Trade International of Tk 1 lakh and Tk 50,000 to chain shop Daily Shop for various irregularities, Assistant Director Shah Alam.
Court issues arrest warrant against Evaly chairperson Shamima
A Dhaka court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Shamima Nasrin, the chairperson of e-commerce company Evaly, in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA).
Dhaka Cyber Tribunal judge Mohammad Ash Shams Jaglul Hossain issued the arrest warrant on October 19 turning down Shamima’s time petition as she did not appear before the court.
The court also fixed January 22 next year for hearing on charge framing in the case.
Earlier, the court fixed October 19 for accepting the charge sheet in the case, however, Shamima pleaded for time through a lawyer without appearing in the court, said tribunal bench clerk Shamim Al Mamun.
On September 30 last year, a customer Alamgir Hossain filed the case against Evaly CEO Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima at Badda police station, on charges of embezzling money through digital fraud.
According to the case, the plaintiff ordered products costing Tk 28 lakh from Evaly through two accounts on the company site and paid the bill.
Evaly promised him to deliver the products within 45 days of the order. But the customer didn’t receive the products. The company also didn’t return the customer’s money.
On September 16, last year, Evaly CEO Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima were arrested during a raid on their house in the capital's Mohammadpur area. The couple was later sent to jail.
On April 6 this year, Shamima came out of jail securing bail. However, the CEO is still behind bars.