Probe
Cumilla balloon cylinder blast: 3-member probe body formed
A three-member committee has been formed to investigate the helium gas cylinder blast while inflating balloons that left more than 50 people, including children injured at Nangalkot of Cumilla on Thursday.
The members of the committee are—Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Ashraful Haque, Nangalkot police Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Rakibul Islam and a representative of Fire Service and Civil Defense.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Lamiya Saiful said that the committee has been asked to submit its report by Tuesday.
Read: Munshiganj: 4 of family injured in cylinder blast
Cumilla Addl Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shahadat Hossain said “the families of six injured persons have been given Tk10,000 each. Others will get the same amount, or whatever is needed for their treatment.”
Five people seriously injured in the blast were referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for advance treatment on Friday, said Md Asif Imran, physician of the emergency department.
The five included balloon seller Anwar, 35. Others injured are- Abdur Rob, 27, Sabbir Hossain, 12, Saiful, 10, and Emon Hasan, 15.
Read: Jatrabari gas cylinder blast: Death toll rises to 3
Twenty-two people had been admitted to Cumilla Medical College Hospital, and seven of them had been discharged already, he added.
The explosion took place at Birulia village under Moukara Union around 6pm on Thursday, leaving over fifty people injured.
Govt forms panel to probe launch fire, report in 3 days
The Bangladesh government Friday set up a seven-member committee to probe the early morning launch fire that left at least 39 people dead.
Joint secretary of the shipping ministry Tofayel Ahmed has been made the probe panel's convener, while deputy secretary Aminur Rahman will act as its member secretary, according to a notification issued by the ministry.
The committee has been asked to submit a report to the shipping ministry within three working days, it said.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority also formed a separate six-member committee to investigate the launch fire. Md Saiful Islam, additional director of port and transportation department, will head the committee.
Also read: 37 dead as launch catches fire off Jhalokati coast
The government notification comes hours after the devastating fire on Avijan-10 carrying some 800 passengers from Dhaka to Barguna claimed the lives of the 39 people and left 72 others injured.
The blaze, in fact, began on Avijan-10 in the middle of the Sugandha river off the coast of Jhalokati district's Sadar upazila around 3am. Within five to 10 minutes, the flames engulfed the entire vessel.
"We were alerted around 3.30 am," Fazlul Haque of Fire Service and Civil Defence in Barishal, told UNB. However, due to dense fog in the area, the first firefighting vessels took some time to reach the ill-fated launch.
“Some 39 bodies have been recovered from the launch," said Kamruzzaman,assistant director of Jhalokathi Fire Service and Civil Defence to UNB.
Of the 72 rescued alive, 66 seriously injured passengers were admitted to the Barishal the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College (SBMC) hospital.. The ill-fated vessel has also been brought to the shore.
"In fact, Jhalokathi’s local firefighters initially tried to douse the flames and later the Barishal fire service joined them," said Kamal Uddin, Deputy Director (Barishal division) of Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Also read: Fire at Rangpur Medical College & Hospital under control; 5 hurt
Eventually some 15 fire tenders took nearly two hours to bring the blaze under control, at 5.20am, according to fire officials.
As it was Thursday, Kamal said, the launch was carrying more than 800 passengers. "Most of them jumped off the vessel and swam to the shore as the fire broke out."
No one kept scissors inside Monira's stomach during surgery
A committee formed to probe a complaint of medical negligence against doctors who allegedly left a pair of scissors inside a girl's stomach during a surgery at Faridpur's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College and Hospital in March 2020, has submitted its report.
However, the report didn't indict anyone for the "mistake", according to hospital director Saifur Rahman. "The three-member panel, constituted on December 12, also didn't recommend any action against anyone for the mistake, in its report submitted to me on Monday," he said.
Surprisingly, the probe committee, led by Kamrul Hasan, assistant professor of the surgery department, did refer to similar incidents that occurred in different countries in the past, citing various articles published in international journals.
Also read: Doctor appears in court video call while performing surgery
The panel, however, recommended that more caution should be exercised during surgeries in the future "to avoid this kind of accidents". The other recommendations made by the committee include keeping a dedicated nurse for handling surgical instruments during an operation.
In March 2020, Monira Khatun,18, a resident of Banshbaria union in Gopalganj district, got admitted to the Faridpur government hospital with complications of blood clot in mesenteric artery. A few days later, she was operated upon but a six-inch long artery forceps remained inside her abdomen.
Also read: 7-year-old Alabama girl helps to fund her own brain surgery
On December 11 this year, the forceps were removed from Monira’s stomach in another surgery at the same hospital after the matter came to the fore. She is currently recuperating at the hospital, and her conditions are improving, said Saifur.
18 cases against Dinajpur businessman: HC order judicial probe
The High Court has ordered a judicial probe into the involvement of Superintendent of Police (SP) Anwar Hossain in filing 18 cases against businessman Md Khalilullah Azad Milton in two months’ time in Dinajpur.
The Rangpur Chief Judicial Magistrate has been asked to investigate the matter and submit a report in the next three months.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah passed the order on Sunday.
Also read: HC issues rule on compensation over student’s death in Ctg drain
The Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and others concerned have been asked to respond to the rule.
Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua appeared for the writ petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Nowroz Mohammad Russell Chowdhury represented the state.
Jyotirmoy said businessman Milton had appealed to the IGP to take action against SP Md Anwar Hossain for filing 18 cases against him in just two months’ time.
As no action was taken against the SP, a writ petition was filed with the High Court on November 15.
Also read: Rangpur custodial death: HC seeks police probe report by Nov 11
According to newspaper reports published on November 21, there were 18 cases against a businessman in Dinajpur in barely two months.
Cyber tribunal orders probe against suspended Gazipur mayor under DSA
A cyber tribunal on Monday asked CID police to investigate allegations that recently-suspended mayor of Gazipur Jahangir Alam made derogatory remarks about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangladesh liberation war.
Dhaka Cybder Tribunal Judge Ash-Shams Jaglul Hussein gave CID until January 6 to submit its probe report after Supreme Court lawyer Omar Faruk Asif filed a complaint against Jahangir under Digital Security Act.
This was confirmed by public prosecutor Nazrul Islam Shamim.
Also read: Embattled Gazipur City Mayor Jahangir suspended
Jahangir has already lost his mayoral office besides axed as general secretary of Gazipur city unit of Awami League and expelled from the party for life.
The AL central committee came hard on him after video clips in which he made the controversial comments went viral on social media.
On November 23, another case under DSA was filed against Jahangir in Rajbari.
Also on Sunday, a defamation case was also filed against him with Gazipur Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court.
Also read: Decision on legal steps against GCC mayor to be known soon: Tajul
Atiqur Rahman, chairman of International Language Movement council filed the Tk 100-crore case against Jahangir saying that his derogatory remarks have undermined Bangabandhu’s image and the honour of Bangladesh and Bengali nation.
Indian police probe rape threats to Virat Kohli's daughter
Indian authorities have launched a massive investigation into online rape threats to skipper Virat Kohli's nine-month-old daughter in the wake of the national cricket team's recent loss to rival Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup in Dubai.
In fact, hateful comments against Virat's daughter surfaced on social media after Pakistan defeated India in a match on October 24. The hate campaign intensified after he stepped up his support for teammate Md Shami, who was targeted over his religion after the loss.
READ: Virat Kohli to step down as India's T20 skipper
"Attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing one can do as a human. That is a very sacred and personal thing. People take out their frustration because they have no understanding of what we do," Virat said ahead of a match against New Zealand.
Sources told UNB on Tuesday that Delhi Police's cyber sleuths "are probing the online rape threats against the daughter of Virat and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma. "A special team has been constituted to track down the offenders and bring them to book," the sources said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Commission for Women sought an action-taken report from Delhi Police over the online rape threats. Commission's chairperson Swati Maliwal also tweeted to slam the rape threats as "very shameful".
Last month, Virat announced that he would step down as the country's T20 international captain after this T20 World Cup. "I have decided to step down as the T20 captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October," the 32-year-old wrote on social media.
Virat has, of late, been facing questions over his batting and captaincy. He last scored a century in a Test match in November 2019. For 51 innings, he has not hit a hundred in any international format of the game.
Virat, who took over as India's T20I captain in 2017 after Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down from his position, said he took head coach Ravi Shastri into confidence before spelling out his decision, which he attributed to "immense workload" in all formats of the game.
READ: Superstar couple Anushka & Virat Kohli urge paparazzis 'to stay away from our baby'
"... considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all 3 formats and captaining regularly for the last 5-6 years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI Cricket," he wrote.
However, Virat had made it clear that he would continue to lead the team in Test cricket and ODIs. "I have given everything to the Team during my time as T20 captain and I will continue to do so for the T20 team as a batsman moving forward."
A right-handed top-order batsman, Kohli is regarded as one of the best contemporary batsmen in the world. He has been the national cricket team's captain since 2013. Since October 2017, he has been the top-ranked ODI batsman in the world.
In 2018, Time magazine named Kohli one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2020, he became the only cricketer in the world to feature in Forbes list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes in the world with an estimated earnings of USD 26 million.
24 people sued over clashes at Chittagong Medical College
A case has been filed against 24 people in connection with the clashes between two factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on Chittagong Medical College (CMC) campus.
A section of BCL, led by Toufiqur Rahman, a 5th year student, lodged the complaint against 16 identified and eight unidentified people with Panchlaish Police on Saturday night, said officer-in-charge Zahidul Kabir.
Read: Chittagong Medical College closed indefinitely after clashes
Police also arrested Raktim Dey, 21 and Enamul Hossain alias Shimanto, 21, 2nd year students of the medial college, on Saturday night.
They are also number 11 and 15 accused in the case.
CMC was shut down on Saturday for an indefinite period following a series of clashes between two factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on its campus.
Earlier, at least three CMC students were injured in clashes between two groups of BCL of the medical college unit over establishing their dominance on the campus.
The three injured -- Mahfuzul Haque, 23, Naimul Islam, 20 and Md Akib Hossain, 20— were admitted to the CMCH.
Meanwhile, Akib Hossain underwent a surgery and has been kept at the ICU of the hospital, said Ranjan Kumar Nath, head of the ICU department of the hospital.
Campus sources said the two BCL groups-- one loyal to a former mayor and another loyal to a junior minister--locked in a clash on Friday night.
In a sequel to it, they engaged in clashes on Saturday morning and chased each other forcing the authorities to close the college for an indefinite period.
Read: 2 killed, 30 injured in clash over dominance in Narsingdi
Panchlaish Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Jahedul Kabir said the clash began on Friday night as the supporters of two groups locked into an altercation over their internal affairs.
As a sequel to the internal feud, the OC said they again engaged in clashes in the morning, leaving a few students injured.
A five-member probe committee, led by Dr Motiur Rahman, was formed to look into the incident.
The probe body was asked to submit a report within the next seven working days.
Youth, girlfriend found dead in Gazipur
A 25-year-old man and his girlfriend were found dead in his house at Satanipara in Kaliganj upazila on Wednesday night.
The deceased were identified as Hridoy Gomez, an NGO worker, and Evana Rozario, 22, of Bandakhola village. The woman was a nursing student.
Read: Ex-DU prof dies as train rams car in Gazipur
Police suspect Hridoy killed Evana over some issue and then stabbed himself to death. The two were in a relationship for a long period of time.
On Wednesday, Evana went to Hridoy's at his invitation, said Saiful Islam, sub-inspector at Kaliganj police station. He was alone at the time as other family members had gone out.
When Hridoy’s mother returned home after a while, she found the door and windows of the house locked from inside. She also heard loud music from inside, police said.
Getting no response from inside for long, she along with local people peeped through the window of the house and found the duo lying in a pool of blood.
Read: Child crushed under truck in Gazipur
On information, police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to the local hospital morgue. Evana's body bore several injury marks, cops said.
"A probe has been ordered into the deaths," the officer said.
HC orders probe into death of a school student due to bullying
The High Court on Sunday directed the education authorities to investigate the death of a teenaged school student reportedly as a result of bullying by classmates and teachers for being overweight.
The court also issued a rule on the formulation of anti-bullying rules in the educational institutions.
READ: Polluting canal: HC issues contempt of court rule against 5 govt officials
The order and the rule came from the virtual bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman after hearing on a writ petition filed in this regard.
The writ filed by Supreme Court lawyer Tanvir Ahmed referred to 10th grade student of Ideal School and College Banasree branch who died of anorexia and bulimia _ diseases related to loss of appetite and eating disorder.
The 16-year-old student’s family complained that he was pushed to the death due to bullying and body shaming because of his obesity. It went viral on the social media prompting protests from the users.
This was broadcast by the Bengali service of BBC on July 8 fuelling further condemnation of the harassment.
Responding to the writ the HC bench asked Dhaka District Education officer to submit an investigation report on the incident within the next 60 days.
READ: HC upholds death sentence to a couple for murdering a man in Jashore
In the rule the court questioned why authority’s inactivity and negligence to prevent bullying at educational institutes will not be declared illegal.
The court asked the Education Secretary and other concerned government officials to reply to the rule.
Human rights body sets up panel to probe infant murder in Chotomoni Nibas
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has formed a three-member panel to probe the murder of a two-month-old child in the state-run orphanage, ‘Chotomoni Nibas’, in Sylhet.
Headed by the director of the Commission, district and sessions judge Mohammad Ashraful Alam, the other members of the committee are the commission's deputy director Mohammad Gazi Salah Uddin and executive magistrate at Sylhet deputy commissioner's office, Rehena Akter.
Post-questioning of some people in connection with the case, judge Ashraful said on Tuesday night: “Already police have filed a case in this connection and a staffer of the orphanage also gave a confessional statement in the court."
Read: Nanny confesses to killing infant at state-run orphanage in Sylhet
“We are here to check any kind of negligence on the part of the authorities concerned and investigate the crime. We will submit our report soon," he added.
Sultana Ferdousi Siddiqa, employed by the department of social services as a nanny, gave her statement after police produced her before Sylhet Metropolitan Court's magistrate Saifur Rahman on August 14.
Sultana was arrested in connection with the case filed at Kotwali police station on a complaint from sub-inspector Mahbubul Alam Mandal on August 14.