The investigation into the killing of veteran Awami League leader and former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria is yet to make significant progress.

The investigation was delayed by 10 years. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police investigated the case thrice.  The depositions of 43 witnesses among 171 have been recorded, said Special public prosecutor of the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal Sarwar Ahmed Chowdhury Abdal.

“Charges were framed on October 22, 2020 in the case filed under The Explosives Act,” he said.

Also Read: Testimony recording in Kibria murder case deferred

He said that people accused in the case are also accused in militant attack related cases. Some of them were convicted by various courts and are in jail. Many of them could not be produced before the court during the hearing which delayed the trial proceedings.

“Besides, among the accused people, Mufti Abdul Hannan, Sharif Sahedul Alom alias Bipul and Delwar Hossain Ripon were executed in another case,” he said.

Also Read: Kibria's son to contest polls as Oikyafront's candidate

Meanwhile, nine accused including Begum Khaleda Zia’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury are still fugitive. Besides, nine including Sylhet City Corporation‘s mayor Arif Chowdhury and Habiganj municipality’s former mayor GK Gaus are out on bail.

On January 27, 2005, Kibria, his nephew Shah Manzurul Huda, several local Awami League leaders were killed and around 70 including incumbent Habiganj-3 constituency parliamentarian Abu Jahir and others were injured in a grenade attack on a rally at Baidyer Bazar Government Primary School in Sadar upazila of Habiganj.

Abdul Majid Khan had filed two cases – one over the killings and the other under the Explosives Act – on that very night.

After three rounds of probe, the investigation officer, Sylhet’s ASP (CID) Meherun Nesa Parul filed supplementary chargesheet against 32 persons by including 11 new names on Dec 21, 2014.

She accused 35 persons including Harris, the then Sylhet Mayor Ariful and Habiganj Mayor Gaus.

The High Court (HC) on Tuesday upheld the bail of Rashedul Haque Chisty, the son of former chairman of Farmers Bank audit committee Mahbubul Haque Chisty, in a money laundering case.

The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukdar and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim passed the order.

Advocate AF Hasan Arif and advocate Shahriar Kabir stood for the accused while advocate Md Khurshid Alam Khan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Additional Attorney General SM Munir stood for the state.

ACC had filed a review petition with the High Court challenging the bail order of Chisty that was granted by a subordinate court on May 19.

Advocate Shahriar Kabir said Chisty will have to remain behind bars as the trial of another corruption case is underway against him.

In 2018, the ACC filed several cases against Chishty, the former chairman of the audit and EC committee of Farmers Bank, and his son Rashedul Chisty, the shareholder of the bank.

Five cases were filed against Rashedul.

Also Read: Farmers Bank Scam: HC stays bail of Rashedul

Farmers Bank was established in June 2013. Investigations carried out by the Bangladesh Bank found massive irregularities in the bank’s loan disbursement along with Tk 159 crore of default loans in 2017.

On July 21, 2020, ACC filed a case against six people including Mahbubul Haq Chisty.

Also Read: Farmers Bank loan scam: Regent Group's Shahed lands in jail

ACC spokesman Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told UNB that the case was filed against them for their alleged involvement in embezzling Tk 63 crore from Farmers Bank.

Deputy Assistant Director of ACC Shahjahan Meraz filed the case with Dhaka-1 Integrated District Office.

Also Read:Farmers Bank ex-audit committee chairman denied bail

The five others are – Bakshiganj Jute Spinners Ltd Managing Director Md Rashedul Haque Chishty, Padma Bank’s suspended Executive Vice President Mohammad Jahangir Alam Majumder, Al-Farooq Bags Ltd Chairman Chowdhury Al Farooq, its Managing Director Redwanul Kabir Chowdhury and the company’s Director Kabir Chowdhury.

According to ACC, the accused in collusion with each other took Tk 40.79 crore form Farmers Bank’s Motijheel Branch violating rules and embezzled the money.

The money stood at Tk 62.96 crore along with interest on December 31, 2019.

A Dhaka court on Tuesday asked the investigation team to submit its probe report on the case filed over the rape and murder of an O Level student in Kalabagan area of the city, by February 11.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Begum Yasmin Ara passed the order as the investigation officer (IO) of the case failed to submit the probe report today (Tuesday).

Anushka Noor Amin, 17, an O Level student of Mastermind School in Dhanmondi, was “sexually assaulted and “killed” on January 7, after she went to her friend Fardin Iftekhar Dihan’s house in Kalabagan for group study, her father Al Amin alleged.

Also Read: O-level student ‘rape, murder’: Court permits drug test on Dihan

The next day, Al Amin filed a case against Fardin Iftekhar Dihan in this regard. 

Later, Dihan, the lone accused in the case, gave a confessional statement before a Dhaka court.

Earlier, on January 13, the court permitted the police to conduct a drug test on Dihan.

Also Read: O-level student ‘rape, murder’: 3 suspects freed

IO Asaduzzaman of Kalabagan Police Station said the drug test is necessary to know whether the suspect had used any stimulating drug while committing the crime. “We need experts’ opinions after having Dihan’s blood samples tested,” he said.

On January 9, law enforcers released other three youths after interrogation over the matter.  Meanwhile, doctors performing the autopsy on the victim found evidence of rape.

Also Read: O-level student ‘rape, murder’: Case filed, 1 shown arrested

On completion of the autopsy, Dr Sohail Mahmud, head of the forensic department at Dhaka Medical College, said she died due to excessive bleeding.

Death penalty for rape looks ‘ineffectual’

The government in November last amended the law changing the maximum penalty to death for rape after nationwide protests sparked by gang rape incidents in Sylhet MC College hostel and Noakhali.

The cabinet approved the amendment on October 12 last year. A day later, the president promulgated an ordinance in this regard.

​​​​​​​Also Read: O-level student ‘raped, killed’ in Dhaka

But after that, 160 incidents of rape took place until December 31, said Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK).

Last year, 1,627 women fell victims to rape. Fifty-three of them were killed after rape and 14 of the victims took their own lives, according to ASK.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

But the actual number is believed to be higher as many victims choose not to report assaults fearing their safety.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed five cases against the same number of organisations’ 33 individuals, including Proshanta Kumar Halder, for ripping off Tk351 crore of International Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS).

ACC Secretary Dr Md Anwar Hossain Howlader said the anti-corruption watchdog’s Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar Prodhan filed four of the five cases on Monday and another one was filed on Sunday.

The accused five organisations are Anan Chemical Industries, Sukhada Properties, Ms Bornno, Rahman Chemicals and Moon Enterprise.

Also read: ACC arrests ‘two associates’ of PK Haldar

Former International Leasing chairman MA Hashem, managing director Rashedul Haque, nine board members and PK Halder’s family and friends were included in the case.

The ACC already arrested People’s Leasing Chairman Uzzal Nandi, and International Leasing’s former managing director Rashedul Haque, Anwar said.

Also read: Confiscate wealth of PK Halder: HC

In 2010, PK Haldar was the managing director of Reliance Finance when Rashedul was its deputy managing director.

And when Haldar was the managing director of NRB Global Bank in 2015, Rashedul joined as the International Leasing managing director.

Also read: Travel ban imposed on 25 accomplices of PK Halder

Haldar embezzled crores of taka from the bank in the name of the fake organisations with the support of Uzzal.

On January 8, International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a red notice against Halder – the man who left the country after reportedly amassing at least Tk3,600 crore – following a request of Bangladesh Police.

Also read: Arrest PK Haldar immediately after he returns: HC

A red notice alerts police worldwide about internationally wanted fugitives, but it is not an arrest warrant. 

The notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, Interpol says.

The High Court (HC) on Monday cleared the way for the subordinate court to hold the trial proceedings against Partha Gopal Banik, the suspended deputy inspector general (prisons) of Sylhet division, in a money laundering case.

The HC dismissed a review appeal filed by Partha seeking exemption from the graft charges in a case filed after the recovery of Tk 80 lakh from his residence during a drive in 2019.

The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukdar and Jusice Mohi Uddin Shamim passed the order.

Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik stood for the state while Advocate Md Khurshid Alam Khan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).  Advocate Abdul Matin Khashru moved for the petitioner.

Partha filed the review petition with the HC after his appeal was rejected by a subordinate court on November 4.

On July 28, 2019, the ACC seized Tk 80 lakh from his house in the city’s Dhanmondi area after interrogating him at the ACC headquarters over corruption at Chittagong Central Jail.

Later, Partha, former DIG of Chittagong Central Jail, was shown arrested in the case.