BANGLADESH

A Dhaka court on Wednesday ordered into jail BNP's Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and 32 other opposition leaders in an arson attack case.

The leaders appealed for bail after surrendering at the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in the morning after failing to get bail in the High Court.

Metropolitan speedy trial magistrate Mohammad Erfan Ullah heard the petitions at noon, but refused them bail.

The BNP-led 18-Party Alliance enforced countrywide general strike on Apr 29 and 30 protesting against the disappearance of M Ilias Ali, one of BNP's organising secretaries.

On Apr 29, a vehicle was torched near the PMO and crude bombs were hurled at the Secretariat. Police filed two cases at Shahbagh and Tejgaon accusing the leaders of their alleged involvement in the two incidents.

Fakhrul, Dr Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, M K Anwar, Mirza Abbas, ASM Hannan Shah, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Liberal Democratic Party president Oli Ahmed and other senior leaders of the coalition were charged in the two cases.

A third High Court bench last Sunday ordered them to surrender in the trial court by Wednesday after the bench of justices Mainul Islam Chowdhury and Nazrul Islam Talukder returned a split decision on their petition for anticipatory bail.

BNP leader Moudud Ahmed, also a defence counsel, told that they filed the bail plea in the trial court in line with the High Court order.

Though the Appellate Division has ordered to hand over the entire 7.09-acre land, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) wants to give the Supreme Court only 0.67-acre of it.

After receiving an RHD letter to this effect, undersigned by supervising engineer Mohammad Faridul Alam, Supreme Court registrar A K M Shamsul Islam on Monday termed the move as contempt of court.

Legal notices had been sent to Sharak Bhaban and Shishu Academy by advocate Manzill Murshid asking them to hand over the occupied estates and establishments to the registrar within 15 days in line with a Supreme Court decision.

The legal notices, quoting a decision of the High Court on March 10, stated the two properties in question, on which Governor House and East Pakistan Court had been established, belong to the Supreme Court.

After the High Court order, both Shishu Academy and RHD approached the Appellate Division, but the pleas were dismissed.

The notice also said proper action would be taken for contempt of court if the property was not handed over to the Supreme Court within 15 days.

Shishu Academy has 2.37 acres of land in its possession.

Within a week of appointment, communications minister Obaidul Quader met the chief justice and sought time.

Murshid on Monday said, "The entire land is of the Supreme Court. To hand over only a part is misinterpretation of the verdict.

"We'll file a contempt of court suit in this regard."

Shamsul said, "They sent me a letter to hand over 0.67 acre land, let alone executing the court order."

"There was a caretaker building, Ansar building, pump house and two store rooms on the land. They took away the doors and windows of the building today (Monday)."

"None has the right to damage the properties to be handed over to the Supreme Court," he added.

The president has appointed three senior lawyers and three deputy attorneys general as additional judges to the High Court division of the Supreme Court.

A law ministry statement, undersigned by senior information officer Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, on Tuesday said the president, using the power accorded to him under Article 98 of the Constitution, has appointed the six to serve a two-year from the date of taking oath.

The six new judges are Supreme Court advocates S H Mohammad Nurul Huda Jaigirdar, K M Kamrul Kader Ripon and Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, and deputy attorneys general Mohammad Mojibur Rahman Miah, Mostofa Jaman Islam and Mohammad Ullah.

Their appointment will be effective from the day they take oath, the statement said.

Currently, there are 88 justices in the High Court and the new additions will take the number to 94.

A court has ordered the grilling of 21 people including a university teacher and a doctor who were involved in selling fake question papers of the first combined medical and dental admission test.

Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court judge Erfanullah rejected the bail appeal of those accused and sent them to jail.

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station officer-in-charge Ziauzzaman told  that Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-2 assistant deputy director Lutfar Rahman filed a case on Saturday morning.

The first-ever combined medical and dental admission test was held on Friday amid rumours of questions leak and strict invigilation.

RAB-2 officer Saiful Karim told, "On Thursday night, 20 people were arrested with false question papers. On Friday morning, we arrested another youth named Arindam Hawladar."

Saiful said a teacher from Jahangirnagar University (JU), a doctor from Dhaka Dental College Hospital and two bankers were also arrested.

He added that they had recovered Tk 1 million from the arrestees.

"There was no similarity between the recovered question papers and the original. The racket made money by selling fake questions papers," he said.

Those arrested are bankers Jewel Ahmed and Ashraful Alam, businessmen Tariqul Islam, Jasimuddin, Nurunnabi Tej, Tanvir Ahmed Siddique, Shahidul Islam Sujon, Motahar Hossain, Habibur Rahman, JU teacher Firozul Hasan, college teacher Anisul Islam, lecturer Aminul Islam, dental college physician Monjur Alam, manager of a hospital Manosh Dev, Dhaka University student 'Emil', medical student Shahiduzzaman Shahed, students Touhidul Islam, Tajmul Parvez, 'Liyon' and one Touhidul Islam Raju.

Health directorate chief Khondaker Mohammad Shefyetullah earlier told  that they had heaved 'a huge sigh of relief' after the 'peaceful' completion of the one-hour test consisting of multiple-choice questions (MCQ) at 19 centres across Bangladesh. The examination began at 11am.

The test was deferred by a week from Sep 23 due to the arrest of a staff of the government press, as he came out of his office premises with concealed question papers on Sep 13. Two other people were also arrested in connection with the incident.

At least 101 health ministry officials including the minister and the secretary went around the examination centres on Friday.

A Rangpur court has rejected the final report of police in a case of violence over tender filed against the assistant personal secretary (APS) of the state minister for primary and mass education.

Rangpur's senior judicial magistrate Nityananda Sarker on Sunday rejected the report and ordered police to present the case diary on Oct 4 along with the case documents, court police sub-inspector Lovely Begum said.

Contractor Abdul Baset filed the case on Sept 6 with Kotwali Police Station against state minister Motahar Hossain's APS Sazzad Hossain Sagar and 11 Rangpur Awami League leaders and activists on charges of snatching tenders and assaulting and barring contractors from submitting bids at Rangpur Water Development Board (WDB) office.

Sagar was arrested that day along with the others including ruling party's Rangpur town unit joint secretary Shahinur Rahman Sohel. They came out after securing bails on Sept 14.

Confirming the incident, Kotwali police chief Altaf Hossain on Sept 14 had said that the bails were given as nobody from the WDB office agreed to testify and the plaintiff had come to an understanding with the accused.

All the suspects were present at the court on Sunday's hearing which sat following recent submission of the final report from police.

SI Lovely said, "None of the witnesses including Baset wanted to testify. Police had to submit the final report though they are certain that the incident did happen."

The violence at the WDB office took place over a Tk 230 million tender submission for a project in Lalmonirhat.