Police asked to include smuggling section in cocaine import case

Chittagong, July 14, 2015: A Chittagong court on Tuesday directed police to incorporate the section of smuggling under Special Power Act into Narcotics Control Act in the case filed for bringing liquid cocaine with imported sunflower oil through Chittagong Port.

The court of Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Farid Alam gave the directive while reviewing a July 9 petition by the Metropolitan Public Prosecutor (PP) Mohammad Fakhruddin for inclusion of section 25 (B) of smuggling under the Special Power Act with section 19.1(B) of Narcotics Control Act.

Confirming the inclusion of the smuggling case PP Fakhruddin told BSS that from now on the case would be investigated under both the sections.

The Customs Intelligence sealed 107 drums sunflower oil at the NCT yard of the Chittagong port based on an intelligence report on June 7.

Existence of liquid cocaine has been found in barrels of edible oil after their contents were retested in the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and Bangladesh Drug Testing Laboratory (BDTL).

Earlier, police so far arrested five persons including A K Azad, Manager of Cosco Bangladesh Shipping Lines Limited and Golam Mostafa Sohel, manager of Khanjahan Ali Enterprise of Khatungonj for their alleged involvement in brining the cocaine with imported sunflower oil through Chittagong port.

Later, police filed a case under Narcotics Control Act while the authority formed a 10-member investigation team led by Kusum Dewan, Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch (DB), Chittagong Metropolitan Police, for quizzing the arrested persons. (Source: BSS)

Bangladesh High Court asks Rana to surrender

Dhaka, July 14, 2015: The High Court (HC) today asked Amanur Rahman Khan Rana, lawmaker from Tangail-3 constituency, and his brother Shahidur Rahman Khan to surrender within two weeks before lower court in the Freedom Fighter Faruk Ahmed murder case.

A HC vacation bench comprising Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Mohammad Ullah passed the order today.

Senior Jurist Barrister Rafique-ul Haque argued for Rana, while deputy attorney general Bashir Ullah stood for the state.

Police found bullet-ridden body of Freedom Fighter Faruk, also a leader of Awami League’s Tangail district unit, on January 18, 2013 from nearby his Tangail house. (Source: BSS)

Bangladesh: Outcry over video of 13-year-old boy killing

Thousands of people in Bangladesh are demanding justice for a teenage boy who was beaten to death by a group of men who filmed themselves laughing and jeering as they carried out the attack.

A video of the 13-year-old’s murder has gone viral on social media.

The killers accused the boy of trying to steal a bicycle rickshaw van in the north-eastern city of Sylhet.

Three people have been detained, including the main suspect who fled to Saudi Arabia after the attack.

Suspected thieves are often attacked by mobs in Bangladesh.

But the BBC’s South Asia editor, Joanna Jolly, says that the brutality of the assault has caused widespread outrage and led to police forming a special squad to investigate the killing.

One of the attackers filmed the assault on Samiul Alam Rajon on Wednesday on his mobile phone, while the others tied the boy to a pole and hit him repeatedly with a metal rod.

He screamed for help, the Daily Star reported, and cried for water as he begged for his life.

‘More than 60 injury marks’

The men can be heard laughing and jeering at him as they told him that they would post the video on Facebook.

After the boy was killed, the attackers took his body to a secluded dump, the paper reported, about 600ft (180m) away from the torture spot.

But they were spotted by some locals who chased them. Three of the group escaped, but one man was caught and handed over to the police. Another was later detained, while the main suspect was arrested in Saudi Arabia.

“It’s a sad and unfortunate incident,” Bangladesh’s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was quoted by bdnews.24 as saying. “One [man] has been remanded and another has been arrested. The rest will be arrested soon. None will be spared.”

An autopsy report said that Samiul - who helped his family to sell vegetables - died of a brain haemorrhage after sustaining head injuries. More than 60 injury marks were found on his body. A Twitter page in his honour has been set up. (Source: BBC)

RAKUB makes profit after 10 years of consecutive loss

Rajshahi, July 14, 2015: After overcoming the consecutive loss in long 10 years, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) has made operating profit worth Taka 32 crore during the just concluded 2014-15 fiscal, RAKUB sources said.

RAKUB had formulated a work plan early in the previous fiscal and sent its direction to the field level in order to transform the bank into a profit-earning institution along with self-reliant.

Under the work plan, the bank had set the target of disbursing loan worth Taka 1500 crore, recovering outstanding loan of Taka 1800 crore and lowering classified loan below to 25 percent in 2014-15 fiscal.

Against the target, the bank has disbursed loan of Tk 1536 crore, recovered Taka 1,827 crore and reduced the classified loan to 20 percent from 35 percent.

It has also mobilized deposit worth Taka 3626 crore. Headquartered in Rajshahi, the specialized commercial bank disbursed the huge loan through its 377 branches for boosting crop production and rural economy as well as generating employment through enhancing agricultural production in all the 16 districts under Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions.

Monjur Ahmed, Managing Director of RAKUB, here told BSS that the success has been attained through collective efforts of all the officers and staffs.

As the largest development partner in agriculture as well as agro-based industry sector of the northwest Bangladesh, currently, the bank has adopted the effective work plan which is being implemented at the grassroots to make the credit programs easier.

To build a poverty-free Bangladesh, he said the bank had enhanced its lending activities in multipurpose potential fields for boosting agriculture production, intensifying food security and flourishing poultry and dairy sectors to reduce protein deficiency.

He said the bank has been putting in its level best effort to establish a dynamic leadership along with accountability and transparency in all its activities to earn confidence of the clients.

We are giving more emphasis to enhancing credit flow towards exploring the potential sectors of the region,” Ahmed said.

He said the level best effort is on to ensure transparency and accountability in all the banking activities.

More than 200 branches have, so far, been brought under computerisation and all the 376 branches will be brought under the modern system by this yearend through which the bank will be enriched with various updated services like online banking, SMS banking and ATM booths, Monjur Ahmed expected. (Source: BSS)

Verdict in case against Forkan Mallik Thursday

Dhaka, July 14, 2015: The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 today set Thursday (July 16) to pronounce verdict in the crimes against humanity case against Forkan Mallik, an alleged Razakar commander from Mirzaganj, Patuakhali.

Justice Obaidul Hassan, chairman of the three-member panel of the ICT-2, set the date through a short order this morning.

“Let the matter be fixed for judgment on July 16,” said Justice Hassan at 11.25 am.

The ICT-2 on June 14 had kept the date of the verdict on CAV (curia advisary vult, a Latin legal term meaning the court awaits verdict), as advocate Abdus Salam Khan, counsel for Forkan, concluded placing arguments for his client.

Earlier on June 1, prosecutor Mukhlesur Rahman Badal concluded his arguments against the accused and pleaded for maximum punishment for him.

A total of 14 prosecution witnesses, including the investigation officer, testified against Forkan.

The tribunal on December 18, 2014, indicted Forkan and framed five specific charges of crimes against humanity including murder, rape, torture and forced conversion. The police arrested Forkan on June 25. (Source: BSS)

Bangladesh stocks go for six-day Eid vacation

Dhaka, July 14, 2015: Stock market is going for a six-day holiday from July 15 to 20 for Shab-e-Qadr and Eid-ul-Fitr.

There will be no share trading at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) until next Tuesday (July 21). The offices of the two stock exchanges will also remain closed during the period, official sources said.

Trading and all the official activities at the two bourses will resume on Tuesday, July 21 after the vacation when the trading hours will be 10:30am to 2:30pm and office hours will be 9:30am to 5:30pm. (Source: BSS)

Bangladesh: Special Eid trains start operation

Dhaka, July 13, 2015: “A quarter million people will move by railways during the current Eid vacation,” Railway Minister Md Mujibul Haque said while on a visit to the Kamalapur Railway Station, where special Eid trains started operation from today.

He said apart from the special trains which had been pressed into service, extra bogeys have been added to the regular trains.

The minister also inspected the Chittagong-bound “Subarna Express” and talked to its passengers.

Later, the minister said that the special trains shall continue services for a week after Eid from 19 to 25 July, 2015.

Mujibul Haque said, “On the first day 29 trains left the station. Of them 28 were on time and the other was a little late because of mechanical trouble.”

The railway minister was optimistic about the future of the railways and said that in the next three-and-a-half years there would be significant development in the sector as a number of projects had been taken up at the express desire of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (Source: BSS)