Strictly scrutinized 100 armed cadres of the ruling Awami League in Bangladesh, who received 6-month long extensive commando training at Dehradun in India under the direct supervision of Indian espionage agency the Research and Analysis Wing are continuing various types of activities, including secret killing, abduction etcetera since June of 2010 with the mission of “clearing” a large number of politicians, media personnel and members of the civil society in Bangladesh. The team codenamed “Crusader-100” went to India during end September 2009 and stayed there till mid June 2010, where brilliant commando trainers of Indian Army gave extensive training to these people under the disguise of “training few young commandos of Bangladesh Army”. The entire project of “Crusader-100” was originally conceived by Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the project was coordinated directly by the Bangladeshi Prime Minister and her defense advisor Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Tarique Ahmed Siddiqui.
Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Tarique Ahmed Siddiqui maintains special connection with Indian RAW and British MI6 for decades, since he was in army service. Such relations of RAW and MI6 with him was because of his family relations with Sheikh Hasina. When Bangladesh Awami League formed government in January 2009, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Tarique Ahmed Siddiqui became extremely important in the government due to his official position as the defense advisor to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister as well as his personal identity of being the brother-in-law of Prime Minister’s younger sister Sheikh Rehana. The selection of the entire batch of ruling party cadres, who were sent to India for commando training were directly done by Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Tarique Ahmed Siddiqui and a few of his loyal colleagues and retired army officers, while on return of the members of the “Crusader-100” team from India, they were provided a hit list comprising names of opposition politicians, members of Bangladeshi media and some members of the civil society. According to information, the list contains names of more than 83 people, who are planned to be “cleared” by the members of the “Crusader-100” gang. The members of these specially trained hitters are housed inside several buildings at Dhaka’s Gulshan and Baridhara areas. The Baridhara “bases” of the hitters is maintained directly by Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Tarique Ahmed Siddiqui and each of such places are equipped with sophisticated surveillance equipments as well as entry of civilians are restricted within these premises. Leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, M Ilias Ali, who became victim of enforced disappearance recently, was also named in the list of Crusader-100 force. My New Delhi contacts disclosed few of the names of the hit list, which include, political leaders Amanullah Aman, Mirza Abbas, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, M Ilias Ali, Habibun Nabi Sohel, Abdullah Al Noman, Barrister Abdur Razzaque, Shafiul Alam Pradhan, ASM Abdur Rob, Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini and Moulana Fazlul Karim. Awami League and RAW have decided “clearing” the listed names latest by December 2013, which they consider to be “vital” for the ruling party in Bangladesh in returning into power.
The gang of Crusader-100 is equipped with sophisticated small and medium range weapons, mostly with silencers as well as bullet-proof jackets, gas bombs and vehicles for their operations. Some of the members of this gang use satellite phones to skip interception of any of the Bangladeshi intelligence agencies. Each of the members of this gang received healthy financial package alongside various types of extra benefits, including apartments in Dhaka city for the members of their families and small businesses. They are not allowed to show faces during the day-time and mostly required to stay inside their bases in Dhaka city. In case of emergency, when the members of the team are required to go on street during the day time, they are compulsorily required to wear black-tinted helmets, to hide their faces from the public. By rotation, members of the team are secretly taken to India for a break of 7-10 days for “amusement” purposes. In such cases, they are allowed to cross Bangladesh-India borders without any travel documents.
Founder-mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation Dr Selina Hayat Ivy was sworn in on Sunday morning at a high-profile ceremony at the PM office, completing her investiture following a memorable election win.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina administered the oath at her office to the mayor of the port city who clinched a landslide victory in a much-orchestrated election.
A Gallup Poll survey of 21 Asian heads of state ranks Sheikh Hasina seventh with 77 percent approval.
The Bangladesh prime minister received higher approval rating than her counterparts from Australia, New Zealand, Japan or India, according to the survey conducted in 2011.
The Washington-based Gallup Poll, specialising in public opinion surveys, found that just about a fifth of the people (19 percent) disapproved of Hasina and 4 percent would not answer.
The results of the survey conducted in the third year of her rule were published on Friday.
However, the survey showed majorities in more than half of the surveyed countries and regions approved of their chief executives, with leaders in Southeast and South Asia earning some of the highest marks in the region.
Results are based on face-to-face and telephone interviews with approximately 1,000 adults, aged 15 and more, conducted between April 5 and Dec 4, 2011.
It showed New Zealand prime minister John Key ranked 9th with an approval rating of 72 percent while the Indian chief executive Manmohan Singh ranked 11th with 59 percent approval. Australian prime minister Julia Gillard came 14th with 45 percent and Japan's Yoshihiko Noda ranked 15th with 44 percent.
The survey found more leaders in Asia lost support than gained it between 2011 and 2010, despite more residents expressing approval for their leadership than disapproval in most of the countries surveyed.
According to the report, the 20 percent approval rating that Pakistanis gave their president was the lowest in the region, while Laos topped with 97 percent followed by Cambodia and Sri Lanka in second and third.
The report said, Laotians, Cambodians, and Sri Lankans were most likely to express support for their leaders, with more than nine in 10 saying they approve of their job performance.
"Economic stability and peace dividends may help explain some of the relatively high approval that leaders of Laos, Cambodia and Sri Lanka get from their constituents."
"Laos' 7 percent or better economic growth since 2008, for example, likely contributes to residents' approval of President Choummali Saignason," the report said.
According to the report, Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka may still be benefiting from residents' residual euphoria following the 2009 end of the country's 26-year civil war.
In contrast, political discord, internal strife, and geo-political complexities likely affected approval ratings for leaders in Hong Kong, Nepal and Pakistan.
"Pakistanis have never placed much confidence in President Asif Ali Zardari's leadership; throughout his tenure, the country has grappled with terrorism, challenging relations with the US and a struggling economy," the report said.
It explained, recent government corruption scandals and economic troubles have likely tarnished the image of the Indian PM, who has seen a slight dip in his approvals.
Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong has maintained relatively high approval ratings compared with ratings that other leaders around the world received in 2011.
"Gradually declining approval ratings for Lee's People's Action Party may be contributing to the decline in his own rating," according to the Gallup report.
The leaders of Malaysia, Cambodia, and Taiwan saw marginal improvement in their already positive ratings.
The Gallup analysis says, compared with other global regions, there will be few elections in Asia and leadership will remain stable for the duration of 2012.
The findings suggest that those leaders without a majority of their constituents' support need to address the economic, social, and political concerns of their populations.
"Given the lack of support among residents in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and South Korea, these leaders in particular will continue to struggle in governing their respective countries."
South Korea's Lee Myung-bak will continue to grapple with engaging constituents concerned with corruption allegations and provocations involving North Korea, it said.
The survey has an error margin 2-4 percentage points, plus or minus.
The first war crimes tribunal of Bangladesh is scheduled to rule on Jamaat guru Ghulam Azam's indictment on Sunday, already having deferred the date twice.
The International Crimes Tribunal–1, set up on Mar 25 of 2010, on the 39th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence, is trying crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
The prosecution's numerous charges against the former Jamaat-e-Islami chief mainly consist of incitement, conspiracy, complicity and command responsibility for crimes against humanity.
Ghulam Azam, a former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, arguably the largest Islamist organisation in the subcontinent, is allegedly among the key people who pioneered anti-liberation efforts in 1971 colluding with the Pakistani military junta of that time.
Azam is widely perceived to have been among core group of right-wing supporters of the Pakistani Army, who came out strongly in support of a united Pakistan.
Ghulam Azam, then chief of Jamaat, was instrumental in setting up the infamous Peace Committee at the national level. The Razakars, an auxiliary force set up mainly to actively thwart the liberation forces, are said to have been mobilised through the Peace Committees across Bangladesh.
Among the most notorious vigilante militia are the Al Badr, whose membership is said to have been mainly dominated by the Jamaat's student wing, called the Islami Chhatra Sangha at that time.
The Al Badr is alleged to have spearheaded execution of the intellectual elites of Bangladesh just days before Bangladesh's victory on Dec 16, 1971.
On Dec 12, 2011, the prosecution brought a 52-point charter of charges against Azam and appealed for his arrest. Later, following the tribunal order, charges were re-arranged and presented to the tribunal on Jan 5.
He was produced before the tribunal on Jan 11 and sent to jail the same day. Since that evening, Ghulam Azam has been kept at the prison cell of the Bangabandhu medical university for better treatment considering his delicate health.
Azam had allegedly led the infamous 'peace committees' and collaborated with the Pakistan Army during the Liberation War. He also spoke in favour of Pakistan to the Middle Eastern countries during the war, according to the prosecution.
He stayed in London for seven years after 1971 and returned to Bangladesh in 1978 during BNP founder Ziaur Rahman's rule. Having led Jamaat for long, Azam retired from active politics in 1999.
His party remains a key ally of the main opposition BNP. Two Jamaat leaders, also behind bars for war crimes charges, have even served as ministers during the BNP's last tenure in government between 2001 and 2006, when Azam's party was part of the ruling coalition.
Garment workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway protesting against the detention of a fellow worker for a second day on Sunday, a day after violence between police and workers had left at least 100 people injured.
One female worker died after being run over by a speeding bus during the violence on Saturday.
Ashulia Police Station officer-in-charge (investigation) Mustafa Kamal said on Sunday that the workers brought in tree trunks to block the highway near Narshinghapur and set them on fire around 9am. They also vandalised around 25 vehicles.
He said chases and counter-chases also took place between the workers and the police on Sunday and at the height of the clash around 10am had fired rubber bullets and tear shells.
Operations in about 100 factories remained suspended on Sunday amid fear of further violence.
On Saturday, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to bring the situation under control after the protesting workers blocked the road, smashed vehicles and attacked police. Some 100 people including 10 police officials were injured in the violence on Saturday.
The workers took to the street to protest against detention of a worker of Hameem Group's Artistic Design Limited who was detained on Thursday after he allegedly attacked an official of the group.
Thursday's detention of the worker followed an altercation with an official over talking on mobile phone during work. The authorities of Artistic Design handed over the worker to the police as he had allegedly beat up the official.
Opex Sweater worker 'Nahara', 30, died when she was run over by a bus while trying to flee police action.
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The newly-formed Election Commission will hold talks with political parties if needed regarding the use of electronic voting machines in the national polls, the chief election commissioner has said.The EC will again take the initiative to hold dialogue with political parties to make use of EVMs in the national polls acceptable to everyone. The new commission has not yet taken a decision on the matter, Kazi Rakib Uddin Ahmed told journalists at the EC secretariat on Tuesday.This is first time the new CEC has talked about EVMs after taking office on Feb 9.When the previous EC talked to political parties on the issue, they suggested using EVMs in other polls prior to their use in the national polls. BNP strongly opposed their use, while Awami League extended full support.At the end of the previous commissions tenure, former CEC A T M Shamsul Huda said
that they are completing all preparations needed for the use of EVMs in the national polls.The former EC also instructed BUETs IICT to develop prototype of the present EVM to be used in the national polls.New CEC Kazi Rakib said, Technology has seen massive development. So we will not lag behind the technology.Talks are going on with BUET to make the current EVMs more precise and reliable, so that normal voters do not face any problems and can cast their votes properly.
Awami League (AL) lawmaker and former state minister for home Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj resigned as parliament member on Monday.A confidential parliament source confirmed about the matter on Monday.
According to source, Sohel’s additional personal assistant Abu Kawsar sent the resignation letter to the speaker’s office at about 1030am.However, acting parliament secretary Mahfujur Rahman said that he knew nothing in this regard.
Earlier, Sohel Taj, son of country`s first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, sent a letter to cabinet secretariat asking why a huge amount of money was sent to his account after two and a half years and why no gazette notification on his resignation was issued.
Meanwhile, he demanded that the government take back around Tk 40 lakh deposited in his account in remuneration and allowances for the post.
Earlier on June 1, 2009, he stepped down as state minister for home affairs about five months into his appointment.
Sohel Taj, son of country`s first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Office on the same day.
Later, he was made a minister without portfolio.
Sources said Sohel Taj did not specify any reason except `personal ground` for his resignation.
A Dhaka Court has indicted journalist Shafiq Rehman, daily Naya Diganta editor Alamgir Mohiuddin and its publisher Shamsul Huda for libel. The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrates court of Hakim Shahriar Mahmud Adnan framed charge against the three on Thursday.
Bangladesh Quoran Shiksha Mission president Maolana Abu Bakar Siddique, who is also Awami Olama League vice-president, filed a case accusing the three for hurting religious sentiment and defaming Islam on Mar 6 in 2011.
According to the case statement, Naya Diganta ran a column on Feb 25 in 2011 written by Shafiq Rehman titled Not a chance editor, a chance adviser quoting former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque. In another column in the same newspaper, Shafique Rehman identified Khairul Haque as Chance Muhammad, it was alleged in the case.
It was alleged in the case that Shafiq Rehman criticised prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) by writing the column and hurt emotions of the Muslims and the religion Islam was defamed.
But the judge took into cognisance only the charge of the defamation.
All the three accused pleaded their innocence after the charge was read out before them.
A T M Golam Daud argued for the plaintiff while Abdullah Mahmud Hasan stood for the accused.
Missing BNP leader M Ilias Ali's wife met his party chief again on Wednesday.
Tahsina Rushdir Luna had also met Khaleda Zia on May 3.
Khaleda's press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan told that she went to the opposition chief's office at Gulshan around 9pm and was there for more than one hour.
Khaleda's aide added that Luna went to the party chairperson's Gulshan office alone.
Luna had previously called on Khaleda on Apr 21 following the disappearance of her husband.
Ilias, one of the organising secretaries of BNP and a former MP from Sylhet, and his driver went missing in the early hours of Apr 18. His car was found abandoned in the capital's Mohakhali area.
BNP has been alleging that 'government agencies picked him up', but the government has been refuting the allegation, saying it was a 'drama staged by the BNP'.
The Rapid Action Battalion and police have raided several places at Pubail in Gazipur and Dhaka in search of Ilias, but to no avail.
The fate of the Teesta deal has become uncertain, BBC Bangla radio reported quoting a 'highly-placed' official of the Indian government.
The Indian government has also informed Bangladesh's foreign minister Dipu Moni that the signing has been put off for now, it said on Wednesday.
Even though the Teesta water sharing pact was to be signed between the two neighbours during the Indian prime minister's visit to Bangladesh in September last year, it was halted at the last moment due to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's opposition.
Bangladesh, in return, halted the transit agreement.
Banerjee, who is also a Trinamool Congress leader, claimed that she was not shown the draft before. Indian PM Manmohan Singh had apologised for the halt in the face of intense media criticism in Bangladesh and India, and expressed his frustration over the failure.
The agreements are on hold since then and the two governments have been regularly holding talks over the deals. The deals also came up at foreign minister-level talks during Dipu Moni's recent visit to India.
While her Indian counterpart SM Krishna assured that the Indian central government is working to ease the water-sharing pact, Dipu Moni told the Indian media that the relation between Bangladesh and India would be 'hit strongly' if the pact is not reached.
India has given up on transit through Bangladesh in the future, which was to be given in return of the deal, the BBC source said.
Instead, the country is undertaking work to link Mizoram with Myanmar through Kaladan River as an alternative route for transit, the Indian official reportedly said.
"This would hike India's costs, but there is no alternative," the official was quoted as saying.
Awami League MP Tanjim Ahmed, also known as Sohel Taj, has expressed his surprise and frustration over speaker Abdul Hamid's rejection of accepting his resignation from parliament.
"I am surprised, stunned. I have talked to the speaker on more than two occasions after sending the resignation letter and have made it clear that I am resigning consciously and willingly. None pressured me," Tanjim, who is currently at Maryland, has told by phone.
"The honourable speaker assured me that he would let me know about his decision over my resignation. But he did not do that, rather he talked to media," Taj added.
Speaker Abdul Hamid on Wednesday said his office did not accept Taj's resignation from parliament on technical grounds and that the letter was not properly submitted.
The Speaker pointed out that the letter was not accepted as it did not have the words 'willing to resign' in line with the Section 67 of the Constitution.
"One has to write his resignation letter himself. But Sohel Taj's one was typewritten."
"Moreover, the signature and the date were written using two types of ink and they seemed to have been written by different people," he added.
The Gazipur-4 MP's personal aide had handed in the letter to the Speaker's office on Apr 23, nearly three years after the son of Bangladesh's Liberation War-time prime minister, Tajuddin Ahmed, had 'resigned' as a junior minister.
He joined Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's cabinet as the state minister for home on Jan 6, 2009. Only five months into taking of oath, he had resigned on May 31 the same year. After his resignation, the government had said that the president had not accepted the resignation.
The ruling Awami League general secretary has echoed the views of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the need to initiate a political dialogue with all political parties.
Syed Ashraful Islam, however, did not give any date or process of holding the talks to resolve 'differences'.
Clinton, during her recent visit to Dhaka, had underlined the need for and encouraged to initiate dialogue among the political actors of the state to settle all disputes.
"The political dialogue has to be held as it has no alternative (to ease an increasingly volatile political situation)," he said replying to reporters queries at the parliament building on Wednesday.
When asked about the date and process of talks, the local government minister said," Everybody will know that once the process starts."
Diplomatic quarters have been suggesting holding talks ever since the ruling coalition and the opposition took diametrically opposite stance on the issue of caretaker government.
The European Union on Wednesday joined the United States in calling the major parties in Bangladesh for a political dialogue.
An EU delegation in Bangladesh made the call at a press conference in Dhaka marking the 62nd Europe Day and 40 years of partnership between Bangladesh and the European Union.
Jatiya Party (JP), one of the key of the ruling coalition, also believes 'it's necessary to hold talks before the next general elections'.
JP chief Hussein Muhammad Ershad on Tuesday spoke in favour of initiating national polls dialogues in parliament.
"Our stance is clear ... we are ready to sit for talks or discussions with the government over the issue of non-partisan government," BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Wednesday.
"However, they (government) will have to announce that they have morally accepted the stance," he added.
Dhaka University Chancellor and President Zillur Rahman has urged Unesco Director General Irina Bokova to consider making Bengali one of the official languages of the United Nations.
"I hope the UN would consider the matter with importance showing respect to Bangla-speaking people in the world," he said at a special convocation organised at Dhaka University on Wednesday to confer an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree on Bokova.
Rahman pointed out that Unesco's initiative to mark Feb 21 as the International Mother Language Day in recognition of the sacrifices of the language martyrs of 1952 has been a great inspiration for Bangladesh. "I hope Unesco will come forward in establishing Bangla as one of the official languages in the UN."
A chamber justice of the Appellate Division has stayed a previous High Court (HC) order for four weeks that asked the inspector general of police (IGP) to appear before it on May 16.
Police chief Hasan Mahmud Khandaker on Tuesday received summons from the High Court to explain steps taken to locate two 'missing' Islamic University (IU) students who allegedly went missing almost three months back.
In response to a government appeal, the Appellate Division justice, Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed the order on Wednesday.
Attorney general Mahbube Alam and deputy attorney general Sarder Mohammad Rashed Jahangir argued for the state during the hearing.
"Besides staying the High Court's previous order for four weeks, the court also ordered to move to it with a regular appeal with four weeks," Rashed Jahangir told .
According to the petition filed over the 'disappearance' of the duo, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel in plain clothes picked up the two IU unit leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) from a bus at Nabinagar in Savar while they were returning to Kushtia from Dhaka on the night of Feb 4.
The missing leaders are Al Mukaddas of Al-Fiqh and Mohammad Waliullah of Dawah departments. Mukaddas is the cultural secretary of the university unit of the ICS while Waliullah is its finance secretary.
A four-day strike was observed at the university in Kushtia town in protest against the 'forced disappearance' of the two leaders.
Following a writ appeal, the High Court on Feb 15 issued a rule asking the government officials to explain why they should not be directed to produce the duo before it to prove that they were not detained illegally.
Hearing the writ petition, the bench of justices Abdul Awal and Mohammad Ashraful Kamal had issued the summons to the IGP on Tuesday.
Police on Thursday pressed charges against BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and 44 others for their alleged role in torching a bus in front of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) during the Apr 29 general strike.
Detective Branch inspector Nurul Amin, who is investigating the case, pressed the charges with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in the morning and sought arrest warrants.
Tejgaon police filed a case on Apr 29 accusing the leaders of the BNP and its allies of backing the strikers who allegedly set the bus on fire in front of the PMO.
Among the accused, BNP's joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was arrested and sent to jail, pending further order, while another joint secretary general Mahbubuddin Khokon was on bail.
Defence lawyer Masud Ahmed told that if convicted in the case, one may face up to two years in jail. According to the law, there is a 30-day deadline to finish the case as it was filed under the speedy trial act. The investigator may get an extension of 15 days if it is not concluded in 30 days.
The charge-sheeted accused also include BNP leaders MK Anwar, Hannan Shah, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Mirza Abbas, Khandoker Mosharraf Hossain, Amanullah Aman, Ruhul Kuddus Talukdar Dulu, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Fazlul Haque Milon, Sharif Uddin Chowdhury Anne, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal president Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, Liberal Democratic Party president Oli Ahmed, Jamaat-e-Islami acting chief Mokbul Hossain, BJP President Andalib Rahman Partha and Swechchhasebak Dal president Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel
After a week of the government announcement to procure rice and paddy from the local market, the Directorate General of Food sent letters to its offices in different districts fixing targets to buy the Boro crops.
"The launch of the drive to buy rice and paddy needs completion of particular processes after the decision is taken. We sent the letters after finishing the process on Tuesday," Director General of Food Directorate Ahmad Hossain Khan told .
He claimed that the letters had reached the local offices.
The crop procurement committees at district and upazila levels had already finished preparations, he said adding the drive to buy the crops would start next week.
At a meeting on Apr 30, the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) of the food ministry had decided to collect rice and paddy of the Boro season from May 3.
Food Minister Abdur Razzak had said the government would procure rice at Tk 28 a kg and paddy at Tk 18 a kg until September.
Tenth witness in the sensational 10-truck arms haul case, a police official, told a port city court on Tuesday that a number of National Security Intelligence (NSI) officials had pressured against the seizure.
Then deputy commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Abdullah Hel Baki made his submission in the court of S M Mojibur Rahman, the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge and Senior Special Tribunal-1 judge.
Baki said the NSI officials were at the jetty of state-owned Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Factory Ltd (CUFL) during the seizure on the night of Apr 1, 2004.
Six people, including the then deputy director, Maj Liakat Hossain, came to meet him with two police officials on duty at the police camp at the coal depot northeast of the jetty.
"Maj Liakat asked me, 'Why are you making the seizure? DG [NSI director general] Brigadier General Abdur Rahim knows about this.' He then passed me his mobile phone and asked me to talk with the DG on line."
Baki, who is currently the Sylhet Metropolitan Police's additional commissioner, added that they got very irritated when he declined to talk over phone with Rahim.
He continued that his senior, then CMP Commissioner Sabbir Ali, told him not to get into conflict with the NSI officials without proper evidence.
"They were not arrested as I thought that NSI's involvement would come out during the probe anyway. Also, Maj Liakat put pressur on me."
"Even the probe committee led by the home secretary did not accept my claims about their involvement," Baki added.
The police official also identified Liakat Hossain in the court, who is accused of overseeing the unloading of the cache of arms at the jetty that night.
Former NSI chiefs Rahim and Rejjakul Haider, Liakat, then Industries Minister Matiur Rahman Nizami and State Minister for Home Lufozzaman Babar are accused in the case.
The project cost of the 1.8-km Mirpur-Airport Road flyover through the restricted Dhaka Cantonment zone, an overpass and a connecting bridge at Banani rail crossing has doubled.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved the revised Construction of Flyover at Mirpur-Airport Road and Overpass at Banani Rail Crossing project, for which the cost has gone up to Tk 3.6 billion from the original outlay of Tk 1.92 billion.
The approval was given at its meeting held in the NEC conference room in city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, with ECNEC chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The deadline to implement the project has also been extended by one year.
The top economic policymaking body of the government approved a total of seven development projects, including one for the construction of the flyover, Acting Planning Division Secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam told reporters after the meeting.
The army's Special Works Organisation (SWO), and the Roads and Highways Department of the communications ministry took charge of the project last June 2010 with the target of completing it by June 2012.
In the revised project plan, the implementation deadline has been extended by one year. The total project cost be borne by the national exchequer.
Installations from about seven acres of land are being removed and relocated from the restricted Dhaka Cantonment zone to implement the project.
The project cost have been revised due to more space required for two additional lanes dedicated to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, inclusion of a new connecting bridge, increased width and length of the flyover and overpass and the overall increase in the cost of the project work.
The revised project aims to ease the city's nagging traffic jam, ensure signal-free uninterrupted traffic operation, and to reduce road mishaps and development of traffic management at the Banani railway crossing and its neighbouring areas including Army Stadium and Naval Headquarters.
Starting from Matikata, the flyover ends at Radisson Hotel. People using the flyover would not face the cantonment's check posts. At present, the residents of Mirpur and Pallabi have to take a long detour at Bijoy Sarani or Agargaon to go to airport putting extra pressure on the busy Airport Road.
The 0.8-km Banani overpass will have six lanes and a designated road. A link bridge will connect the overpass with the flyover.
BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other senior leaders met Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Monday night after being granted a seven-day reprieve by the High Court.
He was accompanied by A S M Hannan Shah, Mirza Abbas, Amanullah Aman and other top brass of the party during the visit to Khaleda's Gulshan office.
Fakhrul and other senior BNP leaders, after spending a week in 'hiding', appeared before the High Court earlier in the day to press for their anticipatory bail plea in two cases filed over bomb blasts, arson and vandalism during Apr 29 countrywide shutdown.
The bench of justices Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Mohammad Nazrul Islam Talukder gave a split verdict on the petition but gave them respite for seven days by ordering police not to harass them during the intervening period.
Immediately after the order, the BNP spokesperson went to the party's headquarters in Naya Paltan and vowed to continue anti-government demonstrations on the streets.
A Political Science lecturer of the Dhaka University has allegedly been abducted.
Proctor Amzad Ali told bdnews24.com: "A student told us about the abduction of Nur Uddin Alo around Monday midnight. The police have been informed and the steps have been taken on the part of the university"
The reportedly abducted lecturer has no fixed residence. He is said to be running a school at Tongi. "No one was found there," the proctor added.
A general diary was filed with Shahbagh police on Tuesday evening over the incident.
Officer in charge Shirajul Islam told bdnews24.com, a Political Science Department student of DU, Enamul Haque, filed the GD.
Haque claimed in the diary that his teacher sent a text message over mobile phone saying he had been kidnapped.
Islam continued that Alo was at Tongi when the SMS was sent. However, police could not find him there.
With the assistance of Rapid Action Battalion, police traced the mobile at Noakhali last, the official said.
"Nur Uddin Alo and his wife have filed a number of cases against each other earlier and police are looking into the matter," he added.
Jatiya Party (JP) chief Hussein Muhammad Ershad has spoken in favour of initiating national poll dialogues in parliament, a senior party leader has said.
Ershad spoke his mind on the poll dialogues during an hour-long visit to ruling Awami League chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office on Tuesday, a leader attending the meeting said.
JP presidium members Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ziauddin Bablu accompanied the former president to the prime minister.
"Discussions or dialogues, whatever you call it, the opposition will have to start it and start it in parliament", he quoted Hasina as saying.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also emphasised on the need for talks between the government and the opposition to resolve political differences, during her recent Bangladesh visit. Foreign diplomats and businessmen operating in Bangladesh have also been making similar appeals.
BNP, which has been pressing for reinstatement of the caretaker government provision, said that they were ready for the talks. However, one of the party's senior leaders, Moudud Ahmed, said on Tuesday that the government should initiate the talks.
Police submitted their first progress report on investigation into the missing of BNP leader M Elias Ali with a Dhaka court on Sunday.Banani Thana Inspector Kazi Mainul Islam submitted the report with Metropolitan Judge Moniruzzaman on Sunday noon.
The progress report stated that police sent wireless massages in every police stations of the country as part of their initial step to find out Elias Ali and his driver.
Meanwhile, an application has already been placed to BRTA authority for verifying the ownership the abandoned private car seized by police from city’s Mohakhali area.
Earlier, BNP Organizing Secretary of Sylhet Division and former MP M Elias Ali went missing along with his car and driver in the early hours of Wednesday.
Tahsina Rushdi Luna, wife of Elias Ali, lodged a General Diary (GD) with Banani Thana over the incident on the same day.
The High Court on Thursday issued a rule on the government to explain within 10 days why it should not be directed to produce Ilias Ali before the court.
The HC bench comprising of Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Hasan Arif issued the rule following a writ petition by the BNP leader`s wife, Tahsina Rushdi.
The HC bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik and Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim also issued a suo moto order on the government asking it to find Ilias Ali on the same day.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court also directed Banani police to submit reports to it every 48 hours on the progress of the investigation into the whereabouts of Ilias Ali.
The postmortem of the bodies of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Mehrun Runi has been completed at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) morgue on Thursday afternoon.
Forensic Department chief of DMCH Kazi Golam Mokhlesur Rahman conducted the post mortem. Assistant professors of the same department Kamrul Hasan Sardar, Parvez and Iftekhar assisted him.
Golam Mokhlesur said, “We have kept necessary evidences as the bodies have been decomposed. These would be sent to chemical laboratory of Mohakhali. If they had fed something before killing, it would be disclosed in the report.”
Shariful Islam, brother-in-law of Sagar, said, “Two and half months have been passed. But, police could not do anything. We hope something may be revealed this time.”
Nowsher Alam, younger brother of Merun Runi, said, “I don’t think they can find out anything, which they could not in last two and half months.”
Earlier, a team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) stared exhumation of the bodies from 1015am and completed at 1107am.
The exhumation has started in presence of Investigation Officer and RAB ASP Jafarullah and RAB director (legal and Media Wing) Commander M Sohayel.
On Tuesday, Judge Bikash Kumar Saha of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court ordered exhumation of the bodies of the journalist couple to ascertain the reason of their murder.
Executive Magistrate M Shahiduzzaman was appointed for supervising the exhumation.
Later, the bodies were buried again at Azimpur graveyard in the afternoon.
On February 11, senior reporter of ATN Bangla Runi and her husband Sagar Sarowar, who was news editor with Maasranga Television, were murdered at their west Rajabazar rented house in the city.
Nowsher Alam Roman, younger brother of Runi lodged a case accusing some unidentified persons on February 12.
On February 16, the twin murder case was transferred to the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) for fair investigation.
On April 18, the High Court directed the authority concerned to transfer the twin murder case of journalist couple Sagar and Runi to Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) after the detective police had admitted their failure in this regard.
The 47th birth anniversary of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and brother of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is being observed Tuesday in tears.
Russel, born this day in 1964, was killed along with his father and most other family members on August 15, 1975 during a putsch by a group of disgruntled military-men.
The ruling Awami League has chalked out daylong programmes to mark the day.
Sheikh Russel Jatiya Shishu Kishore Parishad began the programme of the day hoisting the organization’s flag at around 7am.
The elaborate programmes include placing floral wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi and offering prayers at the grave of Sheikh Russel.
A discussion and prize-distribution programme was arranged at Bangabandhu International Conference Center at around 10am. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was scheduled to attend the programme.
The city Awami League will hold a discussion at Bangabandhu Avenue at 3pm.
Awami League acting general secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, in a statement published Monday, urged the party leaders and activists to observe the day with due solemnity.
Awami League (AL) lawmaker and former state minister for home Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj resigned as parliament member on Monday.A confidential parliament source confirmed about the matter on Monday.
According to source, Sohel’s additional personal assistant Abu Kawsar sent the resignation letter to the speaker’s office at about 1030am.However, acting parliament secretary Mahfujur Rahman said that he knew nothing in this regard.
Earlier, Sohel Taj, son of country`s first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, sent a letter to cabinet secretariat asking why a huge amount of money was sent to his account after two and a half years and why no gazette notification on his resignation was issued.
Meanwhile, he demanded that the government take back around Tk 40 lakh deposited in his account in remuneration and allowances for the post.
Earlier on June 1, 2009, he stepped down as state minister for home affairs about five months into his appointment.
Sohel Taj, son of country`s first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Office on the same day.
Later, he was made a minister without portfolio.
Sources said Sohel Taj did not specify any reason except `personal ground` for his resignation.
A Dhaka Court has indicted journalist Shafiq Rehman, daily Naya Diganta editor Alamgir Mohiuddin and its publisher Shamsul Huda for libel. The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrates court of Hakim Shahriar Mahmud Adnan framed charge against the three on Thursday.
Bangladesh Quoran Shiksha Mission president Maolana Abu Bakar Siddique, who is also Awami Olama League vice-president, filed a case accusing the three for hurting religious sentiment and defaming Islam on Mar 6 in 2011.
According to the case statement, Naya Diganta ran a column on Feb 25 in 2011 written by Shafiq Rehman titled Not a chance editor, a chance adviser quoting former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque. In another column in the same newspaper, Shafique Rehman identified Khairul Haque as Chance Muhammad, it was alleged in the case.
It was alleged in the case that Shafiq Rehman criticised prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) by writing the column and hurt emotions of the Muslims and the religion Islam was defamed.
But the judge took into cognisance only the charge of the defamation.
All the three accused pleaded their innocence after the charge was read out before them.
A T M Golam Daud argued for the plaintiff while Abdullah Mahmud Hasan stood for the accused.
At least 10 people were killed and several others injured in storms and lightning strikes triggered by pre-monsoon rains at different parts of the country from Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon.
According to reports, four people were killed in lightning strikes in Bagerhat, Kishoreganj and Habiganj districts on Wednesday while six died in house-collapse incidents as a Nor'wester lashed Thakurgaon and Dinajpur districts on Tuesday night.
In Thakurgaon, five people were killed and over 50 injured as the Nor'wester swept through Pirganj upazila.
Pirganj upazila executive officer (UNO) Abdur Rouf told that the storm hit the upazila around 7:30pm and continued for 30 minutes.
The deceased were identified as Abdul Halim (26), son of Sohrab Ali, Rina Akther (7), daughter of Yousuf Ali, and 'Sakibul' (9), son of Mohasin Ali of Jagannathpur village under Boirchuna union, and Sharifunnessa (70), wife of late Shakir Mohammad of Hazipara village, and Halima Banu (50) of Chandaria village under Jabarhat union.
Of the injured, 27 were admitted to Dinajpur and Rangpur medical college hospitals.
The Nor'wester damaged at least 5,000 houses and crops on a vast tract of land, the UNO said adding that at least 25 villages of Boirchuna and Jabarhat unions were badly affected by the storm. A large number of trees and electric poles also got uprooted.
In Dinajpur, Rezia Begum (40), wife of Moksed Ali of Barapukuria area of Parbatipur upazila, died instantly as a wall of her house collapsed on her during the storm.
In Bagerhat, a college student was killed in lightning strike at Nalua village of Chitalmari upazila on Wednesday around 1:30pm. A thunderbolt struck Ramjan Sheikh (20), son of Amjad Sheikh, of the village when he was collecting fallen mangoes.
In Kishoreganj, two people died in lightning strikes at the district's Tarail and Karimganj upazilas when they were working in the fields at noon.
The deceased were identified as Bassu Mia (60) of Mougaon village under Tarail upazila and Kajal Chandra Debnath (35) of Panahar village under Karimganj upazila.
In Habiganj, one was killed and six more injured as a thunderbolt struck them while working on a cropland at Jatradighi in Baniachang Haor area on Wednesday noon.
Officer-in-charge of the Baniachang Police Station Nirmalendu Chakrabarti told that the injured were rushed to Habiganj Sadar Modern Hospital where doctors pronounced Imran Mia (16), son of Khasru Mia of Amirkhali village of the upazila, dead.
Police have arrested the disgraced army officer who allegedly led the looting of Tk 20 million from a Chittagong shrine while being the commander of a RAB unit.
The former RAB-7 chief, discharged lieutenant colonel Zulfikar Ali Majumdar, has been the prime accused in the case after the incident at Talsara Darbar Sharif in Chittagong during a raid on Nov 4.
A police officer in Dhaka said Thursday that he was arrested from a house in the city's Maghbazar area.
"He was in a house in Bhuter Goli and we took him into custody at around 4am," Ramna OC Shah Alam told .
A Chittagong police officer, Anwara Police Station OC Abdus Salam, also participated in the raid and was the one who identified Zulfikar.
A case was filed against the commander and nine of his subordinates on Mar 13 this year. They were accused of breaking open the almirah of the shrine during a raid on Nov 4, 2011 and stealing Tk 20 million in cash. The RAB team arrested five Myanmar nationals, whom they handed over to police, but did not say anything about the money.
The accused law enforcers were withdrawn from their duties after a preliminary investigation.