Cox's Bazar
Yaba pills worth Tk 9.60cr seized in Cox's Bazar
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Tuesday claimed to have seized over three lakh pieces of Yaba tablets worth Tk 9.60 crore in Cox's Bazaar.
Acting on a tip-off, a BGB team from Reju Amtoli border outpost raided the Goldebar Hill area of Raja Palong union in Ukhiya upazila around 8 pm on Monday.
Read: BGB detains 7 people along Jhenaidah border
During the raid, the team members challenged some armed people. But the suspected smugglers tossed a bag and escaped into the jungles, the border guards said in a statement.
Later, the BGB members seized 3.20 lakh Yaba pills, kept inside the bag. Legal action is being initiated in this regard, the statement said.
Rohingya relocation: 379 refugees leave for Bhasan Char
As many as 379 Rohingya refugees left Chattogram port for Bhasan Char on a naval ship Thursday morning. These refugees are part of some 1,500 Rohingyas slated to be relocated to the island in the seventh phase.
Shamsuddauja, additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox's Bazar, said naval ship Penguin carrying the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals left the port at 10am after an overnight stay at a military transit camp at Patenga in Chattogram.
Read: Rohingya relocation: 1,500 more going to Bhasan Char in 7th phase
According to Navy sources in Chattogram, 257 Rohingyas in the first group and 122 Rohingyas in the second group were brought from Ukhia in seven buses to the Navy's transit camp at Patenga Wednesday, where initial health check-ups were carried out and food was provided to them.
Tourist ships return to St Martin's island
Tourist ships started travelling to St. Martin's island from Cox's Bazar on Tuesday.
After a seven-month break the Kerry Cruise and Dine with 310 tourists left Damdamia of Teknaf at 9 am and arrived at St. Martin's dock around 12.30 pm.
As soon as they reached the island, locals greeted the tourists with flowers led by St. Martin’s Union Parishad Chairman Nur Ahmed.
Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Parvez Chowdhury said that at the beginning of the season, the Kerry Cruise and Dine Ship Authority had been given permission to operate the St. Martin's-Teknaf route on a trial basis. On the first day, 310 passengers reached the island.
He added that the island's jetty has been renovated to make it easier for tourists to get on and off. Within a day or two, other ships in this route may also start operating subject to permission.
Tabassum Jannat, a student at Sylhet Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, said: "It feels so good to be here, everyone will enjoy the beauty of the coral island again."
The hotels and motels on the island have already been set up for tourists. Businessmen involved in the tourism industry have prepared themselves to serve tourists. Besides, the islanders who depend on tourists for their livelihood are now breathing a sigh of relief.
Nur Ahmed, chairman of the St. Martin's Union Council, said, “Businessmen and locals have already been requested to provide maximum service and hospitality to the tourists. Moreover, care will be taken to ensure that tourists are not harassed anywhere.”
Shah Alam, Teknaf's manager for the cruise ship Kerry Cruise and Dine, said excessive capacity of passengers is not being carried as per the instructions of the concerned authorities and extra ticket price is not being charged from the passengers. "We want tourists to come to the island, to give the tourism industry a chance to develop further through travelling. We expect more tourists to visit the island this year than any other," he added.
Tourists stranded in Cox’s Bazar moved out to Chattogram: Police
Some 288 tourists, who were stranded in the beach town of Cox's Bazar due to the ongoing transport strike, have been moved out to Chattogram with the help of the district police.
Acting Superintendent of Police Rafiqul Islam said they sent 288 tourists to Chattogram by police buses on Saturday and Sunday without charging any fare.
Most of the tourists came to Cox's Bazar on the weekend and those who were scheduled to leave Cox’s Bazar on Friday and Saturday faced sufferings as the long-haul buses did not operate due to the strike, Rafiqul Islam said.
Read: Tourist ship operations suspended on Teknaf-Saint Martin's Island route
Tourists have been requested to contact the district police lines for any kind of help, he added.
Deputy Commissioner of Cox's Bazar Mamunur Rashid, who is also the chairman of Beach Management Committee, said, “Transport strike is a national issue. We expect a quick solution from the government in this regard. We’ll take steps if the tourists seek any assistance.”
General Secretary of the Federation of Tourism Owners’ Association of Bangladesh Abul Kashem Shikder said the businesses related to tourism are also being affected due to the sudden transport strike.
There are now 15,000-20,000 tourists in Cox’s as the flow of tourists has declined due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
Amid this grim situation, hoteliers have offered a 30 percent discount on hotel rents, he said.
Shikder said the situation had started changing and then came the transport strike dealing a severe blow to the business.
Superintendent of Cox's Bazar Tourist Police Mohammad Zillur Rahman said there are no stuck tourists now in Cox’s Bazar. Those who want to go back arrangements are being made for their return by the district police, he added.
Transporters went on an indefinite strike from Friday morning in protest against the recent fuel price hike, causing sufferings to commuters and inter-district passengers.
14 fishermen burnt as gas cylinder explodes on fishing trawler in Kutubdia
Fourteen fishermen sustained burn injuries as a gas cylinder exploded on a fishing trawler in the Bay of Bengal near Kutubdia in Cox's Bazar on Saturday night.
Locals said the blaze started from the spark of the engine and spread quickly fuelled by on-board oil near Dakshin Dhurung Bazar while the trawler ‘FB Mayer Doya’ was returning from the sea around 10 pm. At this time, the gas cylinder exploded leaving the 14 fishermen burnt seriously.
The injured were taken to Kutubdia Upazila Health Complex and six people were released with first aid.
Read:Trader dies as gas cylinder fell on him at Sitakundu shipyard
Eight injured were later shifted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
Kutubdia Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Omar Haider said the local chairman has been directed to send the list of affected families in this incident.
60,000 Yaba pills seized in Cox's Bazar
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday seized 60,000 Yaba pills during a drive at Palangkhali UP No. 5 in Ukhia upazila of Cox's Bazar district.
Tipped-off, a team of BGB Battalion-34 of Cox’s Bazar conducted a drive in the area in the early hours of Thursday while some Yaba traders were entering Bangladesh from Myanmar, said a press release.
Also read: Man held with Yaba pills in stomach at Dhaka airport
When the BGB men challenged the Yaba traders, they fled the scene abandoning a bag containing the contraband pills on the spot.
Later, the BGB men recovered 60,000 Yaba pills worth TK 1.80 crore from the bag.
Also read: 3 arrested in city with 40,000 pcs of yaba
Mohib Ullah murder: Three alleged killers sent to two-day police remand
A court in Cox's Bazar Tuesday remanded in two-day police custody three Rohingyas arrested for their alleged direct involvement in the killing of Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah.
Cox’s Bazar Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Helal Uddin passed the order, turning down an appeal by the investigation officer in the case for a five-day remand for interrogation.
The three arrestees are Md Rashid Prakash Murshid Amin, a resident of Block-D8 of Kutupalong Camp-1, and Mohammad Anas and Nur Mohammad, both residents of Block-B of the same camp.
Read:Mohib murder: Police seek 5-day in remand for 3 alleged killers
Investigation officer inspector Gazi Salauddin of the Ukhia police station said they were waiting for a copy of the court's order to take the accused into custody.
So far, nine Rohingya men have been arrested in this case. Of them, two have already gave confessional statements of involvement in the murder before the court.
A senior officer of the district police said on Saturday that the Armed Police Battalion arrested Azizul Haque, Md Rashid, Anas, Nur Mohammad from a Rohingya camp. "They were part of the killing squad."
Aziz gave his confessional statement in the Cox’s Bazar Senior Judicial Magistrate's court on Saturday afternoon.
Earlier, five more Rohingyas -- Md Elias, Mohammad Selim, 33, Abdus Salam, 32, Jiaur Rahman, 32, and Shawkat Ullah, 23 -- were arrested in connection with the murder.
Of them, Elias confessed to his involvement on October 10 in the court.
Commander of APBn-14 SP Naimul Haque said that during primary interrogation, Aziz spoke of a total of 19 Rohingya miscreants being involved in the murder plan, "and of them five, including him, were members of the killing squad".
Following the information extracted from Aziz, APBn arrested the three others, said SP Naimul.
Read:Mohib Ullah murder: Killing squad member Azizul “confesses to involvement”
On September 29, Murshid called Mohib to the ARSPH office to discuss Rohingya repatriation issues and informed other members of the squad, said SP Naimul quoting Azizul.
They fired four shots at Mohib Ullah, he said, adding that they fled the scene using a lane behind Mohib Ullah’s house.
On September 30, police filed a case over Mohib Ullah’s murder, following a complaint from his brother Habib Ullah.
On August 25, 2019, Mohib Ullah came to the limelight as a leader after holding an assembly of around five lakh Rohingyas.
Cox's Bazaar: Drugs worth Tk 2.7cr seized, 5 held
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has nabbed five suspected drug peddlers in Cox's Bazaar.
The arrestees have been identified as Md Shamsul Alam (25), Md Akhter Hossain (35) Md. Hossain (28), Md Jamir Hossain (50), and Md Kefayetullah (30).
Around 90,000 pieces of Yaba tablets worth over Tk 2.7 crore have been seized from their possession.
Following a tip off that a trawler carrying a huge consignment of counterfeit goods might arrive at Mistri ghat from Myanmar on Monday, a team from BGB-2 battalion Teknaf raided an anchored vessel, Colonel Mohammad Faisal Hasan Khan, the head of the battalion, told the media.
Read: 2.59 lakh Yaba tablets seized from 2 picnic buses in Chattogram
After a thorough search, the BGB personnel seized the huge quantity of Yaba tablets hidden inside the oil tank and took the five peddlers on board the vessel into custody.
In an unrelated incident, a patrol team of the BGB 2 battalion seized some 14,000 pieces of Yaba tablets near the Damdamia check post in Teknaf.
Sources said that the BGB personnel signalled a biker to stop for checking at the post but he abandoned the two-wheeler and disappeared in the mountains. A search resulted in the drug haul, the sources said.
Child marriage rates soar in Cox's Bazar in the shadow of pandemic
A recent study on the impact of COVID-19 on child marriage in Cox’s Bazar district has uncovered rates of child marriage soared throughout the district since March 2021, with the highest increase of 82% in Eidgaon Upazila and the second highest increase of 75% in Ukhiya Upazila.
The study was carried out by the COAST foundation in 32 Union Parishads and 3 municipalities throughout nine Upazilas in the district. COAST foundation conducted the study from 4 August to 26 September 2021 covering all Upazila of Cox's Bazar.
The study findings were presented from a virtual press conference on Saturday. Moderated by Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Executive Director of COAST Foundation, the findings were presented by Jahangir Alam, Assistant Director of COAST.
In his keynote, Jahangir Alam noted that the trend not only increased in each upazila under the district , but also the high rates of increase. Apart from Eidgaon and Ukhiya, we had Ramu at 72%, Teknaf 66%, Moheskhali 61%, Kutubdia 54%, and Cox’s Bazar Sadar 51%. Only in Chokoria (32%) and Pekua (26%) do they fall below 50%.
Read: Child marriage rate still over 80% in Bhola
In another presentation on the multidimensional impact of child marriage, Md. Mujibul Haque Munir, Joint Director of the same organization, said due to such high rates of child marriage, the birth rate in Bangladesh is highest in South Asia. Child marriage eats up 9% of women's income and 1% of national income. Eliminating child marriage by 2030 could save 11% of our educational budget, he said.
Bangladesh concerned over growing crimes, unrest in Rohingya camps
Bangladesh has expressed concern over the increased crimes, human and drug trafficking and unrest in the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar as their stay in Bangladesh is prolonging.
Bangladesh urged Myanmar as well as the international community to take effective steps to sustainably repatriate the Rohingyas to Myanmar at the earliest, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen condemned the murder of Mohib Ullah, who was a widely recognized leader of the Rohingyas staying in Bangladesh.
Mohib Uullah was an avowed supporter of the repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar, according to a message shared by the MoFA on its verified Facebook page.
The government of Bangladesh is committed to investigating the heinous crime and bringing the killers to justice, the message reads.
Also read: Rohingya leader Mohibullah assassinated
Earlier in the morning, the Foreign Minister vowed to bring the killers of Mohib Ullah to justice soon, in his first remarks since the Rohingya leader's murder sparked global condemnation.
Dr Momen said a vested quarter killed Mohib as he wanted to return to Myanmar, his homeland.
"The government will take stern action against those who were involved in the killing. Nobody will be spared," he said.
On Thursday night, police registered a murder case in connection with the killing of Mohib Ullah at Ukhiya camp in Cox's Bazar on Wednesday night.
The FIR for murder was filed against unknown persons at the Ukhiya police station on a complaint from Mohib Ullah’s brother Habib Ullah, officer-in-charge Sanjur Morshed had said.
Unknown assailants gunned down the 44-year-old on Wednesday night. He was first rushed to a local medical facility and later shifted to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Read: Mohib's murder: FIR lodged, probe in full swing, say police
He was buried in Lambashia camp-1 in Ukhiya upazila on Thursday afternoon after his namaz-e-janaza, which was attended by a large number of Rohingya refugees from camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas.
Formerly a teacher in Myanmar, the slain human rights activist was popularly known as Master Mohib Ullah among the Rohingya refugees.
He was the head of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH) at Kutupalong camp.