BANGLADESH

The 11573 BCS applicants who moved the High Court will now be allowed to take their exams, a senior PSC official said on Wednesday.

"This was decided at a (Public Service) Commission meeting in line with a High Court order," A I M Nesaruddin, a controller of exams, told

These 33rd BCS hopefuls failed to make payments due to server shortcomings even after filling in forms online by the Apr 7 midnight deadline.

The PSC argued that it had advised beforehand against making the applications at the last moment and therefore those that failed would not be allowed to sit for the exams.

The PSC decision forced some of the civil service aspirants to seek redress at the High Court which slapped a three-week suspension of the recruitment process. The Commission then went to the Appellate Division and won an order, but eventually decided to give in to the applicants' demands.

These applicants would now be able to pay their fees through the payment system of state-run mobile phone operator Teletalk between 8am on Apr 29 and 10pm on May 2.

The Commission's data shows that a total of 183,627 applied online and collected their admit cards. The preliminary exam is scheduled for June 1.

The Commission had invited applications through advertisements on Feb 29 for 4,206 vacancies in the Bangladesh Civil Service.

A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft made an emergency landing at India's West Bengal after it lost its way on Wednesday evening.

Assistant director of Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) Nur Islam told that the trainee pilot, Rashed, has managed to land safely at Murshidabad in India.

The aircraft lost its communication with the control tower half an hour after it took off from the Jessore Matiur Rahman airbase at 6pm, ISPR said.

Rashed called the airbase at 7:55pm to report that he landed on a field in a village of the Indian state of West Bengal at around 6:45pm.

"I have talked with him (the trainee pilot) after he landed in India and diplomatic efforts are on to bring the trainee pilot and the aircraft back," said Nur Islam.

The airbase control tower sergeant Matiur Rahman said that the airplane-PT-6 3806-suffered damages during the emergency landing.

Sub-divisional officer in Murshidabad Dipanjan Bhattacharya said that the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi has been contacted, reports PTI.

All Higher Secondary Certificate and its equivalent examinations scheduled for Tuesday across the country have been postponed as opposition BNP has called a countrywide general strike for the third successive day.

Examinations of vocational board were scheduled for the day.

Tuesday's deferred examinations would now be held on May 23, said Dhaka Board chairman Prof Fahima Khatun.

HSC examinations scheduled for Sunday and Monday had also to be postponed on account of the opposition-sponsored general strike.

On Thursday, the government had put off Higher Secondary Certificate examinations of Sylhet board and vocational board tests across the country in view of the hartal called by BNP in the district on the day.

The government has been criticising the opposition for enforcing strike at a time when the examinations are in progress. Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid asked the opposition to withdraw the strike considering the sufferings caused to the students.

HSC examinations began across the country on Apr 1. Over 9 lakh students are taking part in examinations under eight general education boards, vocational board and Madrassa education board this year.

The High Court has directed the authorities to stop within 24 hours the unauthorised construction work of Destiny Group in Cox's Bazar district.

The bench of justices A H M Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Jahangir Hossain passed the order on Wednesday after hearing a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

The rights organisation pressed the petition following a report published in a Bengali daily that Destiny Group is building a multi-storied building in the Cox's Bazar without approval from the appropriate authorities.

The deputy commissioner (DC) of Cox's Bazar district, superintended of police (SP) and officer-in-charge of Cox's Bazar Sadar Police Station have been directed to implement the order and submit a progress report by May 6.

The court also issued a rule asking the government to explain why its inaction to protect the environment of Cox's Bazar would not be declared illegal and why it would not be directed to remove the construction materials.

The environment secretary, director general of the Department of Environment (DoE), the Cox's Bazar DC and SP and municipal mayor have been directed to respond to the rule within three weeks.

Counsel for the petitioner Manzill Murshid told that the High Court on Mar 13 asked the government to take steps to stop all constructions inside the "ecologically critical area" on the Cox's Bazar beach.

"But the Destiny Group is constructing multi-storied building there which is contrary to the rule of law," he added.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has interrogated at least 15 leaders of opposition BNP including one of the MPs as the elite force try to find out the party's missing organising secretary M Alias Ali.

RAB's legal and media wing director M Sohael told on Wednesday, "The disappearance of Ilias Ali is being dealt with the utmost priority."

Ilias Ali has been missing since the early hours of Apr 18 and the law enforcing agencies are yet to find a clue about his whereabouts.

After enforcing countrywide general strike for three consecutive days, BNP has given the government an ultimatum till next Saturday to 'return' Ilias.

Sohael said that RAB has already conducted raids in different places to find out the missing BNP leader.

"Besides, several people have been questioned in this regard. The list includes a BNP lawmaker too. The lawmaker was questioned for about two hours," he added.

The lawmaker RAB quizzed was once a leader of the BNP's student front Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal.

The list also includes Ilias' party colleagues who had gone to Ruposhi Bangla hotel along with Ilias just before he went missing. Sohael said that Ilias' lawyer has also been quizzed.

"Each of them was interrogated alone," Sohael added.

Detective police deputy-comissioner Mahbubur Rahman said, "Detectives have engaged their full strength to find out Ilias."

Both the officers, however, declined to divulge any information about investigation findings.