BANGLADESH

All major roads and highways of Bangladesh would be expanded to four lanes within the next 20 years, so says a Communications Ministry master plan.

A copy of the 'Road Master Plan' was officially handed over to Communications Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday, Roads Division Secretary M A N Siddique told bdnews24.com adding that this is the first long-term plan of this kind.

The plan also suggests building a number of new bridges and puts more emphasis on the maintenance of the existing roads, instead of the prevalent practice of prioritising construction of new roads.

"The plan has been made taking into account 20-year projections of population, traffic and demand for roads," the Secretary added.

The Roads and Highways Department will implement the plan under the supervision of the Communications Ministry and funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The plan would soon be put up on the Communications Ministry website.

Good's Hill, the hilltop residence of BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury charged with war crimes, was used by Al-Shams as their headquarters in Chittagong during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, recounted a witness as Salauddin's defence cross-examined him on Wednesday at the International Crimes Tribunal-1.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and his father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury also received money from the then Pakistan government to distribute it among the members belonging to Rajakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams, paramilitary outfits which helped Pakistan Army in 1971 to carry out killings of Bangladeshi people, the witness added.

ICT-1, set up to try crimes against humanity during the 1971 War of Independence, is trying Salauddin on 23 charges of crimes against humanity.


"As far as I know, Good's Hill was the headquarters of Al-Shams," said Mohammad Salimullah, the second witness in Salauddin Quader Chowdhury's case, as defence cross-examined him for the second consecutive day.

Replying to another question posed by the defence on funding of Al-Shams and the two other paramilitary auxiliary forces by the then Pakistan government, Salimullah said, "Probably, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and his father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury distributed the money."

Earlier, on Sunday, while giving deposition, Salimullah mentioned that a red jeep was used to bring 'pro-liberation people and beautiful girls' to Good's Hill as 'prisoners' in 1971.

During the cross-examination, defence counsel, Ahsanul Haq, lost his temper repeatedly as Salimullah, in reply to a question, said that Ahsanul's father advocate Zahurul Haq was the convener of Cox's Bazar chapter of Peace Committee, another platform floated during the war to collaborate with Pakistan army.

"In my service life I always experienced that it is the lawyers who irritate the witnesses. But, this is for the first time I am experiencing that a witness is irritating a lawyer," said Judge Zaheer Ahmed, adding, "In this case, the witness is enjoying while the lawyer seems helpless."

An apparently irritated Ahsanul Haq replied, "I have not seen such a shrewd (witness) in my life."

Zaheer reminded the counsel that he was becoming angry often.

Ahsanul tried to calm his temper after the judge's remark, but he lost it soon.

"On many occasions, I have seen him (witness) talking to beautiful girls and taking them to unknown destinations by holding their hands," said Ahsanul Haq in one of his 'unprofessional remarks' as a counsel.

Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum objected and said, "It has no legal basis to torture a witness in the name of cross-examination. They (the defence) are doing this in a planned way. They are doing this not only for this case, but to send a message that if someone becomes a witness s/he will be questioned in this way for days."

During the cross-examination, Ahsanul, who is also from Chittagong as the accused and the witness, tried to attack the witness from different angles.

At one stage, he asked questions about the whereabouts of Salimullah's wife during the 1971 liberation war, triggering exchange of heated words between the defence and prosecution.

Soon Justice Nizamul Huq, chief of the three-member tribunal formed to try crimes against humanity during 1971 liberation war, intervened.

"This is a very bad sound. If it happens again, we won't allow anyone to enter the court," he said.

At one point, Ahsanul questioned authenticity of the witness' deposition that while in confinement at the Good's Hill the witness had heard dogs barking.

"No Muslim will keep domesticated dog at his house. It's impossible," said Ahsanul.

"Mr Chowdhury kept a herd of dogs in fear of freedom fighters," replied Salimullah.

As the day's proceedings neared its end, the tribunal requested the defence to keep in mind that the case proceeding is not delayed unnecessarily.

The court adjourned the cross-examination at 4pm, when the prosecution continued alleging that the defence was wasting time by repeating irrelevant questions.

"The trial has begun 40 years later. Let them take their time. He (the counsel) won't be able to save the war criminals," said Salimullah as he was leaving the dock.

At least 11 people were killed and 10 others injured as a bus skidded and fell into a roadside ditch at Ullapara upazila in Sirajganj district on Wednesday.

The accident took place around 12:30pm when a bus of M K Paribahan plunged into a water-filled ditch in Raninagar area on the Sirajganj-Pabna Highway, leaving 11 passengers dead on the spot, Officer-in-Charge of Solonga Police Station Obaidul Haque told .

The injured were admitted to Sirajganj Sadar Hospital and other local clinics.

Abdur Rahman, a station officer of Ullapara Fire Brigade, said they recovered 11 bodies from the spot.

Six of the deceased were identified as Aiyub Ali (32), son of Noor Hossain of Chakbirampur village of Royganj upazila in Sirajganj, Mohammad Alam (30), son of Abdul Sheikh of Kurigati village of Dhunat upazila in Bogra district, Chan Mohammad (36), son of Shamsul Sheikh, Abdur Razzak (20), son of late Abdus Samad, Shah Alam (22), son of Abul Kashem, and Golam Hossain (22), son of Abdul Ali of the same village.

OC Obaidul Haque said that all the deceased were farm workers who cut paddy during the Boro season. The victims were going to Pabna from Sirajganj.

Eight bodies have been handed over to their relatives while three others have been kept at the Hatikumrul Highway Police Outpost.

Preparation was underway to file a case, the police officer added.

The police on Wednesday recovered bodies of four newborn babies from a roadside dustbin at Jatrabari in the city.

Sub-inspector of Jatrabari Police Station Emran Hossain told  that they recovered the bodies at noon on getting information from local people.

Police suspect that the babies might have been given birth through abortions at one of the nearby clinics and later thrown into the dustbin.

"Recovering bodies of four infants from one place is a very rare incident. We're looking into the matter," the police officer added.

Number of coercive abortions has risen over the years in the country.

Former commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) S M Sabbir Ali has said then State Minister for Home Lutfuzzaman Babar had asked him not to speak out about the involvement of the members of National Security Intelligence (NSI) in the 10-truck arms haul.

Sabbir made this statement in his deposition before the judge of Special Tribunal-1 SM Mujibur Rahman, also the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions judge, on Wednesday in connection with the much-talked-about arms haul case.

The former CMP chief said Babar, then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Shahudul Haque, chief of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Sadique Hasan Rumi and then chief of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Anwarul Iqbal had sat in a meeting at Dampara Police Line the next day of the arms seizure.

Sabbir said he himself and then CMP Deputy Commissioner (Chittagong Seaport Zone) Abdullah Hel Baki were present at the meeting.

"At the meeting, we informed the minister and the DIG about the involvement of the NSI officials in the arms haul. Then the state minister for home had asked us not to do or speak out anything on the issue," he added.

Sabbir said the minister informed them (Ali and Baki) that a committee had been formed to investigate the incident.

The former CMP official claimed that they got no help from the high officials of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd (CUFL) during the investigation.

"During the investigation, we're confirmed that Akbar Hossain, one of the NSI field officers, had hired the trucks and cranes to unload the arms from fishing trawlers and to transport those. He could not be interrogated as we could not find him."

The day's proceedings resumed with the deposition of the former CMP commissioner, who is now on retirement. He also gave his deposition on Tuesday. The proceedings continued until 5.10pm with one hour intermission at 2.15pm. The hearing will resume in the same court on Thursday.

Sabbir told the court on Wednesday that then Home Secretary Omar Faruk, also chief of the five-member probe committee, least bothered even to record his (Sabbir) statement during visits of the investigation committee.

"When I told (Faruk) him about the involvement of high officials of NSI including its chief Abdur Rahim, he sidestepped the issue without making any remark", he added.

After his deposition, the counsels of the accused cross-examined Sabbir.

The background

On Nov 15, the court had framed formal charges against 11 accused, all named in the supplementary chargesheet, in connection with the biggest-ever arms seizure in Bangladesh to date.

Police had seized 10 trucks of arms and ammunition from the CUFL jetty in the port city on April 2, 2004. Around 1,500 wooden boxes containing submachine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, submachine carbines, Chinese pistols, rocket shells and launchers, hand grenades and bullets were seized.

The cache was believed to be meant for Indian separatist outfit United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

Two cases were filed the next day with Karnaphuli police -- one under the Special Powers Act and the other under the Arms Act.

In 2004, investigators submitted the first chargesheet against 45 persons in the smuggling case, and 43 people in the arms case. Four persons, accused in both cases, have since died.

Fifty-two accused were charged in the case filed for smuggling firearms and 50 in the arms case in the supplementary chargesheet submitted on June 26 this year.

Two accused – ULFA leader Paresh Barua and former additional secretary of industries Nurul Amin – are yet to be arrested.

Nearly 1.5 million residents of Keraniganj, Dohar and Nababganj areas around the capital have been out of electricity since Tuesday night when a fire broke out at Hasnabad Power House in Narayanganj.

"There is no way to restore power supply until Thursday noon," Rural Electrification Board Chairman Moin Uddin said.

The fire that broke out at 7:45pm raged for over half-an-hour before it could be brought under control, cutting off electricity supply to the three upazilas and some areas of Mushiganj's Shirajdikhan.

Irrigation pumps and small factories in the areas have remained inoperative.

"The food products we had in the fridges are all rotting. We've to throw them out," Arifur Rahman Mintu, a resident of Keraniganj's Ati Bazaar, told .

Medical services at local hospitals are being maintained with the help of generators. Kolatia Modern Hospital officials said that they are being forced to spend Tk 8,000 to keep two generators running round the clock.

"No one is ready to say when power supply will be restored," Sayedul Haque Khan Dablu, a resident of Nababganj's Algichar area told .

"The fire caused extensive damage. We're trying to fix it fast," Moin Uddin told . "We're hoping to restore the supply on Thursday."

Keraniganj Model Police Station's Assistant Sub-Inspector Shoheb Ali Khandoker told : "The residents are in dark since Tuesday. But law and order is good."

However, Nababganj Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Masud Karim admitted that they are having problems maintaining law and order because of the outage.