Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized 2.55 lakh pieces of yaba pills along the Myanmar border in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar on Thursday night. The border force was unable to detain anyone in this connection. According to a media release signed by Lt Col Md Mohiuddin Ahmed, commnding officer of the BGB-2 in Teknaf, several teams of the BGB took position in the Acharbunia area along the Myanmar border after being tipped off that a big consignment of yaba pills would be smuggled into Bangladesh from the neighbouring country. At around 10:00 pm, the BGB patrol team saw two men carrying plastic bags on their shoulders, crossing the zero line of the border, and coming towards the salt field in the Acharbunia Beribandh area. BGB patrols challenged them as their movements were found suspicious. Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the two fled the scene, leaving the bags behind. Later, a total of 2.55 lakh pieces of yaba pills were recovered from the abandoned bags, said the release. Though the BGB members conducted drivers until 11:30 pm in the area, the peddlers could not be detained, the release added.

Two policemen have been suspended over the death of Syed Mohammad Shahidullah, former Deputy Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), in police custody in Chattogram. Chandgaon police station Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASI) Md Yusuf Ali and ATM Sohel Rana were both suspended Thursday through an order signed by Additional Commissioner of CMP MA Masud, and attached to the Dampara police line. Shahidullah, 64, died in the custody of Chandgaon police station officials in Chattogram city in the small hours of Wednesday. Spina Rani Pramanik, additional deputy commissioner of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (Public Relations), said two assistant sub-inspectors of Chandgaon Police Station have been attached to the police lines for the purpose of investigation. Meanwhile, the CMP formed a three-member committee to investigate whether there was any violation of the rules in the arrest of the former ACC officer. The committee consists of deputy commissioner of Police (Detective Branch-North) as convenor, additional deputy commissioner of Police (North) as member secretary and assistant commissioner of Police (city Special Branch) as member. The committee also asked to submit the inquiry report within three days. Earlier on Tuesday night, Chandgaon police brought Shahidullah to the police station from his home in One Kilometer area of Bahaddar Hat in Chattogram city. Nafis Shahid, son of the victim Shahidullah, said: "Two assistant sub inspectors of Chandgaon police station brought my father to the police station from our home. Later, we came to know that my father was arrested in a case." He alleged negligence on the part of police officials as the reason behind his father's death.   "My father is a heart patient. They did not even let us give him his heart medicine and inhaler. They closed the gate of the police station after taking him in. They misbehaved with my father. The police deliberately killed my father by not allowing him to take medicine,” he said. According to the police, Shahidullah was arrested and taken to the police station following a warrant issued by a court on charges of threats and defamation. When he was taken to the OC's room of Chandgaon police station, he fell sick. His younger brother, who was accompanying him, sprayed Shahidullah with the inhaler. Later, police took him to the private Parkview Hospital where doctors declared him dead around 12:30 am.

Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus’ lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun has called the lawsuit over alleged embezzlement of Tk 25.22 crore “false, baseless and fabricated.” He came up with the remark while replying to questions from journalists over the appearance of Dr Yunus at Anti-Corruption Commission earlier this morning. The lawyer said the former employees and workers of Grameen Telecom were paid the dividends in line with the rule. Read: ‘Committed no crime, not afraid,’ says Dr Yunus at ACC Earlier, Grameen Telecom Chairman Dr Yunus defended himself, saying, “I have committed no crime, and I’m not afraid,” when he appeared before the ACC this morning. Dr Yunus said, “I was called, so I came. I have nothing to say about the allegations. It is a legal issue and my lawyers will talk.” He was there for questioning in the case filed over alleged misappropriation from Grameen Telecom’s Workers’ Profit Participation Fund (WPPF). The Nobel laureate accompanied by his lawyers entered the ACC before 10 am and an ACC team led by Assistant Director Benjir Ahmed questioned him from 10:37 am to 10:58 am. Earlier on Wednesday, the ACC questioned three directors of Grameen Telecom. Read: Embezzlement case: Dr Yunus at ACC On Tuesday, the ACC in a letter asked Dr Yunus and others to appear today (Thursday) for questioning in the misappropriation case. In the letter to Dr Yunus dated September 27, the ACC said Dr Yunus’ statement was crucial for the thorough investigation of the embezzlement case involving Tk 25.22 crore against 13 accused, including the management council of Grameen Telecom Company. Based on the allegations of embezzlement of dividends of the workers, the ACC conducted an investigation and filed a case based on the report from the Department Of Inspection for Factories and Establishments. Read: ACC summons Dr Yunus, 12 others Thursday in embezzlement case ACC’s Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar Pradhan filed the case against Dr Yunus and 12 others for misappropriation of about Tk 25 crore from the company’s WPPF fund on May 30 this year.

A Natore court sentenced two people, including a woman, to life imprisonment in a case filed for trafficking heroin, on Thursday. Natore Senior District and Sessions Judge Md Sharif Uddin passed the order in the presence of the convicts Fatema Begum (45) and Masud Rana (34). Read: Body of missing elderly farmer recovered from Natore pond The judge also fined them Tk 20,000 each in default of which they have to serve six more months in jail. Members of the Rapid Action Battalion tried to stop a speeding motorcycle in the Chakbaidyanath area of Natore City on January 21 this year, said Assistant Public Prosecutor Arif Sarkar. Read: Woman with intellectual disability dies in Natore fire At that time, Fatema and Masud, who were on a motorcycle, tried to escape by leaving the motorcycle but got caught. Later, Fatema’s bag was searched, and 210 gramms of heroin were recovered, said Arif. Later, RAB filed a case against them, he said.

A leader of a bar assistant association died allegedly in the custody of the Detective Branch of Bogura police on Tuesday night, triggering anger among lawyers.     The victim--Habibur Rahman Habib, 35, was the son of Abdul Kuddus Bablu of Jhora village under Bogura’s Shahjahanpur and joint general secretary of the association. His family and colleagues alleged that he was tortured to death, and he was physically sound. They alleged that Habib was picked up by some DB members from in front of a Bogura court around 5 pm on Tuesday when he came out of the court. Former ACC official in Ctg died in police custody, family says The victim’s maternal uncle advocate Manjurul Huq, senior member of Bogura District Bar Association, said that hearing this news he rushed to the office of Superintendent of Police, but he was not allowed to enter. “Later, around 9pm, I came to know that Habib died and his body was kept at Mohammad Ali Hospital,” he said.    Dr Atikujjaman, a physician of Mohammad Ali Hospital’s emergency Department, said some DB personnel brought Habib unconscious at 7pm and then was admitted to the medicine ward of the hospital. Bangladeshi MP among 17 released from police custody after brief detention in Oman Dr Shafik Amin Kajal, resident doctor of the hospital, said police informed them that Habib felt pain in his chest when he was in the DB office. The patient breathed his last around 9pm while undergoing treatment, he said, adding that the Habib remained unconscious for two hours. There were injury marks in his body.   Refusing the allegation of torturing Habib, Mostafiz Hasan, inspector at Bogura DB police, said that he was the prime accused in a 10-year-old boy murder case lodged around 10 years back in Shahjahanpur upazila. HC grants 2 more months for probe into Jasmine’s death in RAB Custody The boy’s stepmother Khuki Begum was one of the witnesses of the case and she was murdered on last August 2, a few days before the scheduled date of giving testimony, he said. Her body without a leg was recovered from Jhora village. Around one month after the murder, the missing leg was recovered from a septic tank of one Morowara Begum, a neighbour of the victim, the DB official said. The neighbour was also detained for interrogation and she admitted that Habib and others killed Khuki. On the basis of the statement, Habib was arrested from the court area and brought him before Monowara Begum. The official added that Habib complained of his chest pain at that time. He was rushed to Mohammad Ali Hospital where he died around 9pm while undergoing treatment, the inspector said. The body was sent to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Bogura’s SP Sudipto Kumar Chakraborty said Habib was kept in the DB office for 45 minutes and taken to the hospital when he fell sick. He was not tortured in the DB custody, but an investigation would be opened as the allegation of torture surfaced, the SP said.  

Law Minister Anisul Huq on Wednesday (October 04, 2023) said there was no politics in not letting BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia go abroad for treatment. "It's a legal matter, there's no question of politics here. Her (Khaleda Zia's) family had filed an application, which has been disposed of. It was not in the law that she will be allowed to go abroad through this application. There was already a condition that she cannot go abroad, now there is no chance of changing it,” he said. Read: BNP-leaning United Lawyers’ Forum to boycott Chief Justice's reception The law minister said these at a press conference at the Secretariat. “BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir presented false, baseless and misleading information over the matter at a press conference,” he alleged. Asked whether there is any scope to change Khaleda Zia's conditional release, the law minister said if the condition is given, it should be obeyed. “I think the prime minister has done whatever is possible through exercising her power, there is no scope to use the power again.” Replying to another question the law minister said if anyone seeks prudential clemency, he/she has to confess the guilt. “. It is a constitutional right that anyone can appeal to the president.” Read: BNP plotting to form 1/11-like government: Quader On October 1, the Law Ministry rejected an application of Khaleda Zia’s family seeking permission for sending her abroad for treatment. On September 18, the government once again extended the suspension of Khaleda Zia’s jail term by another six months. Read: BNP will miss election bus if they stick to one-point demand: Salman F Rahman The 78-year-old former prime minister has been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, heart, and eye problems.

A Dhaka court on Wednesday fixed October 8 for delivering verdict in a case against disgraced director of International Leasing and Finance Service Ltd (ILFSL) Proshanto Kumar Halder, also known as PK Halder, and 13 others over amassing wealth illegally and money laundering. Dhaka Special Judge Court-10 Judge Mohammad Nazrul Islam fixed the date upon ending arguments from the both Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the defendants on Wednesday, said ACC counsel Mir Ahammad Ali Salam. The other accused included Sukumar Mridha, Anindita Mridha, Avantika Baral, Shankh Bepari, PK Halder's mother Lilavati Halder, Purnima Rani Halder, Uttam Kumar Mistri, Amitabh Adhikari, Pritish Kumar Halder, Rajib Som, Subrata Das, Anang Mohan Roy and Swapan Kumar Mistri. India to hand over PK Halder to Bangladesh? Of them, Sukumar Mridha, Anindita Mridha, Avantika Baral and Shankh Bepari are now behind the bars. Mamunur Rashid Chowdhury, assistant director of Dhaka Integrated District Office of the ACC, filed the  case against PK Haldar for acquiring around Tk 275 crore illegally on January 8, 2020. According to the case statement, PK Halder has acquired wealth worth almost Tk 275 crore beyond known sources of income through illegal activities and kept them in his possession. The ACC investigated the case and submitted a charge sheet to the court. In the charge sheet, the anti-graft watchdog accused Halder of laundering CAD 1.17 crore to Canada through illegal means. Trial of graft case against PK Halder begins A Dhaka court framed charges against the accused on September 8, 2021. On May 13 this year, India's federal economic offences police arrested PK Halder and his two associates from the eastern state of West Bengal.He is now in an Indian jail. PK Halder, 13 others indicted in money laundering case

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized arms, ammunition, drugs and other contraband items worth Tk 192 crore during anti-smuggling drives across the country, especially in bordering areas in September. On the other hand, last August the BGB seized goods worth Tk 215 crore, an increase by Tk 22.8139 crore compared to last September. During the period (from September 1 to 30), the paramilitary force seized 8, 69,557 Yaba pills, 10.991Kg crystal meth, 11,706 bottles of phensedyl, 23,839 bottles of foreign liquor, 5,719 cans of beer, 1,212 kg cannabis, 30.415 kg heroin, 4, 53,106 packets cigarettes and bidi, 35,678 injections, 4,107 Eskuf syrups, 2, 744 bottles of MkDil/Cofidil,14, 33,106 different types of medicines and 1,448 other tablets, said a BGB media release signed by its Public Relations Officer Md Shariful Islam on Tuesday. Read: Over 5kg crystal meth seized in Cox's Bazar: BGB Other smuggled items include 31.19 kg gold, 26.706 kg silver, 5,69,468 cosmetics, 19,056 imitation jewelries, 24,312 sarees, 10,806 three-piece/shirt-piece/bed-sheet/blankets, 1720 cft timber, 6,535 kg of tea leaves, 118,910 kg of coal, 11 idols of hard rock , five pickup vans, six private cars, four local vehicles, 35 CNG-run autorickshaws and 87 motorbikes. Read: Two detained with 31 gold bars in Satkhira: BGB Seized arms include four pistols, nine guns of several types, seven magazines and 26 rounds of bullets. Meanwhile, BGB arrested 256 alleged smugglers, 79 for crossing territory, four Indian nationals and 131 Myanmar nationals.  Read more: Smuggled goods worth Tk 215.29 cr seized in August: BGB

A 55-year-old man, who sustained injuries in an attack allegedly by his rivals over a land dispute in Patgram upazila of Kurigram on Monday, succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Rangpur on Tuesday. The deceased Aminur Rahman was son of late Abdul Ali of Rahmatpur village under Patgram union of the upazila. Locals said there was a longstanding dispute between Aminur and his neighbour Ramjan Ali over ownership of a piece of land in the village. Read: 2 murdered, 25 wounded over land dispute in Habiganj On Monday morning, the duo got locked into an altercation over the matter. As a consequence, Ramjan, accompanied by his fellows equipped with arms attacked Aminur, leaving him critically injured. He was first rushed to Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment in the morning. Ferdous Wahid, officer-in-charge of Patgram police station, said they heard about the death. Read more: Man killed over land dispute in Sylhet A murder case was filed in this connection, he said, adding that drives are on to nab the accused.

A college student who was injured in an attack by snatcher  on September 17 succumbed to his injuries at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital(RMCH) on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Nishad Akram, 24, a third-year student of Statistics Department of Rajshahi College. He hailed from Niamatpur upazila of Naogaon. On September 17, when Nishad was returning to his mess after taking care of his ailing friend at RMCH he was attacked by a snatcher in front. The snatcher hit him on the head and snatched his mobile phone set and money, leaving him injured. Read: UP member stabbed dead in Gaibandha Locals rescued him and admitted him to RMCH. His cousin filed a case with Boalia Police Station. Suhrawardy Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Boalia Police Station, said the body was handed over to the family after an autopsy. Read: Man stabbed dead over land dispute in Narsingdi Police have arrested a 50-year-old man named Selim in this connection. Principal of Rajshahi College Md. Abdul Khaleque said," It is unacceptable that a student will be killed by a snatcher. It is a threat to the safety of students. We want exemplary punishment of those involved in this incident." Read more: Local Awami League leader stabbed dead in Natore