United News of Bangladesh

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized 12kg of a narcotic known as "Kush", with an estimated street value of Tk 60 million, and arrested a suspected drug trafficker during a drive in Satkhira Sadar upazila on Thursday. The operation was carried out in the Madhabkati area around noon based on intelligence information, BGB said. The arrestee was identified as Tarikuzzaman, 24, son of Ohiduzzaman of Keragachhi village in Kalaroa upazila. According to BGB, Tarikuzzaman was intercepted while travelling by motorcycle from Satkhira town to Jhaudanga carrying the drugs in luggage. After examination, officials identified the seized substance as "Kush," which they described as an emerging narcotic that has recently spread inside the country. Lieutenant Colonel Kazi Ashikur Rahman, commanding officer of 33 BGB, said the seizure was the largest consignment of the drug recovered in Bangladesh so far. He said Kush is primarily made from the flowers or buds of the marijuana plant and is processed into a synthetic drug by adding high concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), producing it in liquid, powder or tablet form. According to the BGB official, the drug is highly expensive, with an estimated street value of around Tk 5,000 per gram. The 12kg consignment is valued at approximately Tk 60 million. BGB also seized the motorcycle used by the suspect and two mobile phones during the operation. The force said further legal action was underway against the arrested suspect.

The High Court on Thursday dismissed a writ petition seeking a directive to enact a new law titled the "Prevention and Suppression of Violence Against Men Act." The order was passed by a High Court bench comprising Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury after hearing the petition. The writ was filed in May by Supreme Court lawyer Kazi Eliasur Rahman, founding chairman of Butterfly Human Rights Foundation, along with the organisation's founding member Md Khalilur Rahman. Kazi Eliasur Rahman argued the petition himself. Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal and Deputy Attorney General Md Jasidul Islam Jony represented the state during the hearing. In the petition, the petitioners argued that enacting a "Prevention and Suppression of Violence Against Men Act" would help ensure equality before the law and prevent the alleged misuse of the existing Women and Children Repression Prevention Act against men. The writ sought a rule asking why the government's failure to enact such a law should not be declared illegal and without lawful authority. It also requested a directive compelling the authorities to introduce the proposed legislation to protect men from what the petition described as unnecessary harassment through the alleged misuse of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and the Dowry Prohibition Act. Pending disposal of the rule, the petition also sought an interim order directing the government to enact the proposed law. The Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Law Secretary were made respondents in the writ petition.

A Dhaka court has sentenced four former officials of Dhaka Bank Limited to 20 years' imprisonment under three separate charges for forgery, criminal breach of trust and embezzlement in connection with a fraudulent loan case. The verdict was delivered on Thursday by Judge Muhammad Hasanuzzaman of the Special Judge's Court-1 in Dhaka. Tk 37.7mn missing: ACC files case against two Dhaka Bank officials The convicts are Kazi Farid Uddin Ahmed, former Executive Vice President of the bank's Central Accounts and Investment Division; Abu Mohammad Sayeed Khan, former Vice President; and former Senior Principal Officers Prabir Kumar Bhowmik and Shawkat Ali. The court sentenced each of them to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 50,000 for criminal breach of trust, with an additional six months' imprisonment in default of payment. They were also sentenced to five years' imprisonment and fined Tk 20,000 each for forgery, with an additional three months' imprisonment in default. In addition, the court handed each of them another five-year prison term and fined Tk 25,000 for embezzlement, with a further three months' imprisonment in default of payment. The court ordered that all three sentences would run concurrently, meaning each convict will serve a maximum of 10 years in jail. As Shawkat Ali remains absconding, the court issued an arrest warrant against him. The remaining three convicts were sent to jail after the verdict. According to the prosecution, Mohammad Yusuf Ali opened an account with Dhaka Bank on Nov 4, 2002, and obtained a loan of Tk 17 lakh. He later increased the loan limit to Tk 24 lakh by depositing what were claimed to be 1,000 shares of Confidence Cement and 7,500 shares of Meghna Cement as collateral. Subsequent verification found the share certificates to be forged. Investigators alleged that Yusuf Ali fraudulently obtained and misappropriated the loan using fake shares, while Shawkat Ali assisted him by identifying him during the account-opening process. The case was filed with Motijheel Police Station on May 31, 2008, by Sirajul Haque, then Senior Vice President of Dhaka Bank. The Anti-Corruption Commission initially submitted a charge sheet against Shawkat Ali alone on Dec 14, 2008. Following further investigation, the ACC submitted a fresh charge sheet on Aug 22, 2023, implicating all four former bank officials in the case.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested two alleged armed men and seized a rare foreign-made Sterling submachine gun, a foreign-made pistol and 34 rounds of live ammunition in separate raids in Rajbari's Sadar and Goalanda upazilas. The arrested men were identified as Md Momin Molla and Hasan Ali Biswas. RAB said they have links to the banned Sarbahara Party's Manju-Jahangir group. The arrests were made in separate operations conducted by members of RAB-10's CPC-3 Faridpur Camp on Wednesday evening and night, RAB-10 Commanding Officer Additional DIG Md Asaduzzaman told a press conference at the RAB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar on Thursday afternoon.  Company Commander of RAB's Faridpur Camp, Major Farhan Mahmud Moktada, was also present. Briefing reporters, the Commanding Officer said, acting on a tip-off, its members conducted the first raid at Mahishkhola Mollabari area under Pachuria Union in Rajbari Sadar around 6:45 pm on Wednesday. Momin Molla was arrested during the operation. RAB recovered a foreign-made Sterling submachine gun, two magazines, 28 rounds of live ammunition and two mobile phones from his possession. Asaduzzaman said Momin Molla is a Saudi Arabia expatriate who returned to Bangladesh about a month ago and was scheduled to fly back to Saudi Arabia on August 13. He added that the recovered Sterling submachine gun is an extremely rare type of firearm. In another operation around 10:15 pm the same day, RAB arrested Hasan Ali Biswas near Jalil Member Bridge in Chhoto Bhakla Union under Goalanda upazila. During the raid, RAB recovered a foreign-made pistol, one magazine, six rounds of live ammunition, several locally made weapons, four mobile phones and Tk 15,300 in cash from his possession. The RAB-10 chief said preliminary interrogation revealed that both arrested men have links to the Sarbahara Party, while Hasan Ali Biswas is associated with the party's Manju-Jahangir group.  He said RAB's drive to arrest the group's leader, Manju-Jahangir, is continuing. He also said local residents had been disturbed by the alleged criminal activities of the arrested men. RAB will seek remand of the accused to identify the source of the weapons, their use and other associates. RAB said cases under the Arms Act are being filed against the two men with the respective police stations and legal action is underway.

A Dhaka court on Thursday placed former Joint Secretary Syed Jaglul Pasha on a seven-day remand in a case over the alleged obstruction of then BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's movement by placing sand-laden trucks in front of her Gulshan residence in December 2013. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Didarul Alam passed the order following a remand petition filed by police. Rape, forced abortion case: Expelled Shibir leader Jisan remanded Detective Branch Inspector of Gulshan Zonal team Anwar Hossain, also the investigating officer of the case, produced him before the court with a 10-day remand prayer. Pasha was arrested by detectives of Dhaka Metropolitan Police from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area on Tuesday. Shariful Islam Shaon, joint secretary of Nawab Abdul Latif Hall unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatral Dal in Rajshahi University, filed the case against 111 people, including Pasha, at Gulshan Police Station in October 2024 for obstructing the movement of Khaleda Zia by placing trucks in front of her residence. According to the case statement, Pasha, along with other accused equipped with arms, took position in front of Khaleda Zia’s residence on December 28, 2013. They also physically assaulted leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies. They put up barricades by placing sand-laden trucks and other trucks and used pepper spray to prevent Khaleda Zia from joining a rally on December 29, 2013, leaving the then BNP chairperson along with some leaders and activists injured. Apart from this case, Pasha is also accused of preparing forged documents and giving false testimony in court in connection with the Zia Orphanage Trust case involving Khaleda Zia.

Three teenage boys have been arrested and sent to jail in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Bhola’s Borhanuddin upazila, with police saying the incident was recorded and later circulated on social media. The victim’s elder brother filed a case with Borhanuddin Model Police Station on Wednesday under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act against five teenage suspects. The arrested accused were produced before a court and sent to jail. The girl is currently undergoing treatment at the gynaecology department of Bhola 250-bed General Hospital. According to the family members, the victum, a student from Kachia Union of Borhanuddin, was returning home from school on July 24 when she was allegedly taken to a secluded place after being restrained by the accused. They allegedly raped her there and recorded the incident. The suspects allegedly threatened to spread the video if she disclosed the matter and later rsped her several times, the family claimed. The family came to know about the circulation of the video on social media on Tuesday night and informed police before filing the case. They demanded a proper investigation and exemplary punishment for those involved. Dr Irfan Mahmud, medical officer at Bhola 250-bed General Hospital, said the girl was admitted following allegations of rape. “After Necessary treatment and complete medical examination the report will be sent to the court,” he said. Borhanuddin Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Moniruzzaman said police arrested three accused after receiving the complaint, while efforts were underway to arrest the remaining two suspects.

Former Joint Secretary Syed Jaglul Pasha was sent to jail on Wednesday in a case filed over the alleged obstruction created by placing sand-laden trucks in front of the Gulshan residence of then BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia in 2013. TDhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Kamal Uddin passed the order when police produced him before the court seeking remand in the case. The court, however, fixed Sunday for the hearing on the remand petition. Pasha was arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch (DB) from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area on Tuesday night, DB Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam said on Wednesday evening. He said Pasha faces the case filed at Gulshan Police Station related to the obstruction to Khaleda Zia's residence as well as four other cases. He was produced before the court seeking remand in the Gulshan Police Station case. According to DB sources, Pasha had returned to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar by air on Tuesday evening. Following surveillance in the airport area, he was arrested from there in the evening. He is also accused of preparing forged documents and giving false testimony in court in the Zia Orphanage Trust case filed against former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

A court in Chuadanga has sentenced four people to different jail terms and fined them after trying them summarily for drug use following their detention in a police drive in Darshana municipality. A team from Darshana Police Station, led by Officer-in-Charge Nazrul Islam, raided the Milpara market ground in the Darshana Keru area on Monday night, police said. Sensing the police presence, suspected drug users attempted to flee, but police detained four of them, the OC said. The detainees are Ferdous Khan, 23, son of Firoz Khan of Eidgahpara in Ishwarchandrapur under Darshana municipality, Asmaul Hasan, 24, son of late Robzel Hossain of Rail Colony Para, Raihan Hossain, 21, son of Aslam Hossain of Milpara, and Rakibul Islam Manik, 19, son of Jhantu Malitha of Mubarakpara. On Tuesday, police took the four to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital, where dope tests confirmed evidence of drug use. They were later produced before the Court of Chuadanga Senior Judicial Magistrate, which in a summary trial sentenced Ferdous Khan to seven days' imprisonment and fined him Tk 500, with an additional two days' imprisonment in default of payment. The remaining three were each sentenced to 15 days' imprisonment and fined Tk 500, with an additional three days' imprisonment in default of payment.

The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) on Tuesday warned consumers against purchasing, selling, distributing, stocking or using eight brands of skin-whitening creams after laboratory tests detected mercury at dangerously high levels, far exceeding the country's permissible safety limit. BSTI said the mercury content in the products exceeded the maximum permissible limit of 1.00 parts per million (ppm) set under the Bangladesh Standard (BDS 1382), posing serious health risks to users. According to the standards body, the skin-whitening creams are not legally imported into Bangladesh. Instead, they are believed to enter the country through passengers' luggage or other illegal channels, preventing BSTI from verifying their quality before they reach the market. Samples collected from the market and tested at BSTI laboratories revealed mercury concentrations ranging from 44.72 ppm to 123.37 ppm. The products found to contain excessive mercury are: Chandni Whitening Cream (120.39 ppm), New Face Beauty Cream (44.72 ppm), Navia Beauty Cream (59.82 ppm), Navia Whitening Cream (79.70 ppm), Noor Whitening Cream (82.76 ppm), Dew Beauty Cream (123.37 ppm), Goree Beauty Cream (56.93 ppm) and Natural Pearl Screen Cream (67.49 ppm). BSTI Director General (Secretary) Kazi Imdadul Haque said there could be no compromise when it comes to public health. "Protecting consumers' lives and health is BSTI's highest priority. Strict legal action will be taken against any entity involved in manufacturing, importing or marketing cosmetics containing harmful substances," he said. He said BSTI has intensified market surveillance, sample collection, laboratory testing, analysis and mobile court operations to ensure that unsafe products are removed from the market. The BSTI chief also urged consumers to avoid purchasing or using unapproved skin-whitening creams, verify BSTI approval before buying cosmetics and report any suspicious products to the organisation. BSTI warned that prolonged use of mercury-containing skin creams may damage the skin's natural protective barrier, cause skin thinning, permanent pigmentation, allergic reactions, kidney damage and neurological disorders. Exposure during pregnancy may also interfere with the normal development of an unborn child, it added.

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) has uncovered an additional revenue claim of Tk 71.73 lakh after detecting major discrepancies in an imported consignment at Chattogram Port. Acting on a tip-off, officials of the CIID’s Chattogram Regional Office physically examined an LCL import consignment of Sultana Corporation at the PCT Shed. According to the CIID, the consignment, imported on June 8, 2026, was declared as 2,827 kg of “showpieces”. However, the declared goods were not found during the physical examination. Instead, officials recovered several undeclared items, including 4,700 kg of glass marble, 295 kg of hotpots, 130 kg of socks, 372 kg of bottles, 28 kg of spoons, 17 kg of feeding vest and 588 kg of mobile screens. The inspection also found that the shipment contained 3,303 kg more goods than declared, representing an excess of 116.83 percent over the declared net weight, the CIID said. Following the investigation, the customs authorities issued an adjudication order imposing additional customs duties and taxes of Tk 23.73 lakh, a financial penalty of Tk 40 lakh, and a redemption fine of Tk 8 lakh, bringing the total claim to Tk 71.73 lakh. The CIID said the importer has yet to pay the applicable customs duties, taxes and penalties.