Day: March 14, 2022

The High Court on Monday issued a rule asking the government to explain why former Chattogram Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akter, arrested in a case over the murder of his wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu in 2016, will not be granted bail.

A divisional bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Kazi Ejarul Haque Akondo issued the rule after hearing the bail petition of Babul Akter.

The respondents were asked to respond to the rule in the next two weeks.

Senior lawyer Mansurul Haque Chowdhury and lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir appeared for his bail while Deputy Attorney General Md Aminul Islam and Assistant Attorney General Md Jahangir Alam and Md Humayun Kabir represented the state.

Earlier on January 6, a Chattogram Court denied bail to Babul Akter in the case. He was shown arrested on January 9.

On June 5, 2016, unidentified assailants gunned down Babul’s wife Mitu at the port city’s GEC intersection while she was going to drop her son Mahir Akhter, 7, for a bus of Chittagong Cantonment Public School and College.

Soon after the crime, Babul filed a murder case at Panchlaish Police Station against three unidentified men.

The case was transferred to the Police Bureau Investigation (PBI) in 2019 after Mitu’s father, himself a retired police officer, filed a complaint against the CMP’s mishandling of the case.

On May 12, 2021, the PBI submitted its final report and arrested Babul Akter in another case filed by Mitu’s father and since then he has been in prison.

Babul Akhter also filed a ‘naraji petition’ against the PBI report on October 14.

On November 3 last year, a Chattogram Court rejected the final report of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) the murder case and ordered it to conduct further investigation.

PBI in an investigation found Babul’s involvement in his wife’s murder.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of ‘Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2022’ incorporating the admissibility of digital evidences by the court.

The approval came at the Cabinet’s meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who joined it virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.

Other cabinet members were connected from the cabinet room of the Cabinet Division in Bangladesh Secretariat.

“The digital evidences will be accepted from now as per the proposed law,” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters after the meeting.

He said evidence, documents and such other things were coming online after the inception of digital or online trials of cases amid the Covid-19 pandemic. There is nothing directly about online or digital evidence in the existing Evidence Act, he said.

With the existing law, many legal complicacies might appear if any aggrieved person files a petition with the higher court, challenging the verdict of the lower court in case of acceptance of digital evidence or documents, he said.

In the draft law, a provision was kept for making forensic examination of digital evidence. “If the court thinks necessary or any party of the case doubts about the authenticity of such evidence, these can be gone through forensic examination,” said the Cabinet secretary.

He said sufficient laboratories are there in the country for forensic examination of digital evidence and BCC has also very high technology in this regard. The government might spread the laboratories and technology to convenient places of the country for the sake of submission of digital evidence, he said.

The submission of false or manipulated evidence would be punished as per the laws concerned.

“If anyone twists (tampers) evidence, the persons will be dealt with as per the section 211 of the Penal Code or the section 57 of the Digital Act,” said the Cabinet Secretary.

Besides, the Cabinet in principle approved the draft of ‘Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Leave, Pension and Privileges) Act, 2022’ with a provision of a monthly special allowance of Tk 70,000 for a retired judge.

The special allowance will be given to meet expenses against different purposes like his domestic help, car diver, house guard and maintenance of office cum residence, said Anwarul.

“The draft law was brought to formulate a law repealing an ordinance of the military regime as per a judgment of the high court,” he said.

The proposed law will replace the Supreme Court Judges (Leave, Pension and Privileges) Ordinance, 1982.

Besides, the Cabinet rejected another proposal to incorporate a provision in the draft law that the State would provide security to a retired chief justice till a certain period.

It was argued that there is no such provision in other countries. “If the government thinks, it can provide such security to a retired chief justice with an executive order. So, the proposal was not agreed,” he said.

The Cabinet gave the final approval to the draft of Abandoned Houses (Supplementary Provisions) Act, 2022 keeping a provision that the confiscated properties of a convicted war criminal would be treated as abandoned assets.

The existing law is also an ordinance of 1985. Since it was promulgated during the military regime, the new law had to be brought as per the judgment of the High Court. “Few small changes were made here,” said the Cabinet secretary.

“If anyone is convicted in a war criminal case and the court seizes his or her property, these will be considered as abandoned property under the proposed law,” he said.

Besides, the final authority was given to the head of the government instead of the government in case of disposal of anything regarding high-valued buildings like those in Gulshan, Banani and Dhanmondi, he said.

The draft law was placed to replace the Abandoned Buildings (Supplementary Provisions) Ordinance, 1985.

The meeting also gave the final approval to the draft of ‘Zakat Fund Management Act, 2022’ to repeal an ordinance of the military regime.

“As per the draft law, there would be a Zakat fund board under the supervision of Islamic Foundation to collect and distribute Zakat,” said the Cabinet secretary.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A soccer game in the United Arab Emirates erupted into violent scuffles between angry fans of opposing teams, a rare scene of chaos that led authorities to call for the arrest of “all rioters.”

Public prosecutors in the capital of Abu Dhabi issued an order Sunday to arrest those who instigated the riot at the match between the Al Ain and Al Wahda clubs, warning authorities “will respond firmly” and urging “sportsmanship among club fans to avoid endangering the lives and safety of others.”

The statement on the UAE’s state-run news agency WAM did not offer details on the number of arrested.

Footage posted on social media showed Emirati fans streaming onto the field in their traditional white kanduras and start attacking players as security guards rushed to restrain them.

Other video showed groups of men beating and flinging shoes at each other in the stadium stands. At least one spectator appeared to be injured lying on the ground as rival fans brawled. It wasn’t clear how many people were injured in the riot.

The incident marked a rare outburst of violence in this business-friendly, tourism-focused Gulf Arab sheikdom. Protests, demonstrations and political expression are heavily suppressed in the autocratic country.

Al Ain defeated close challenger Al Wahda in the match 1-0, extending their lead at the top of the league this season to seven points.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has said Commonwealth Day is an opportunity to highlight the Commonwealth’s core values of freedom, peace, inclusion and democracy, and their power as the best basis for long term prosperity and development.

The need for the Commonwealth as a compelling force for good and as an effective network for co-operation and for promoting development has never been greater, he said in a message marking the Commonwealth Day.

“I am therefore delighted to celebrate Commonwealth Day 2022 with the young people of Bangladesh, focussed on climate action in Bangladesh and other countries across the diverse Commonwealth family,” said the High Commissioner.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The body of Md Hadisur Rahman, who was killed on March 3 in a rocket attack on a Bangladeshi vessel stranded at a Ukraine port, reached Dhaka on Monday.

A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the body landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 12.30 pm, said an intelligence agency official at the airport.

The body of Hadisur was scheduled to reach Dhaka on Sunday from Romania via Istanbul but the flight carrying the body failed to take off timely due to heavy snow storm in Istanbul.

Hadisur’s body reaches Dhaka

Earlier on March 9, 28 surviving crew members of the Bangladeshi ship who were stranded in war-torn Ukraine, arrived in Dhaka.

They went from Ukraine to Moldova to reach Bucharest, from where they flew to Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) ship had been stranded at Olvia port in Ukraine since February 23, following Russia’s invasion of its eastern European neighbour.

Hadisur, third engineer of the BSC ship, was killed in a rocket attack on the vessel. The ship had since then been declared abandoned.

Hadisur’s body reaches Dhaka

Hadisur’s body was preserved in a bunker near Ukraine as the procedure to bring back the body was being delayed due to the worsening situation in Ukraine.

Source: United News of Bangladesh