Judicial probe report

The judicial inquiry commission in its report has obliquely referred several times to a country which it blamed for the August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally, but it did not name the country for diplomatic reasons.

The source, however, would not name the local agents of the foreign enemies blamed for the carnage, saying it is impossible for the judicial commission to identify the perpetrators. It is the responsibility of the intelligence agencies to trace them. The report termed the deadly incident a naked attack on the independence and sovereignty of the country and recommended the intelligence agencies be immediately revamped for foiling a repeat of such incidents. The report made 22 recommendations including one for increased security for the leader of the opposition.

Apart from recommending filming of rallies and meetings by intelligence agencies for identifying perpetrators of such attacks in future, the commission suggested cordon off the rally venue to facilitate an immediate search for and arrest of the attackers. All buildings near the venue must be checked properly before a rally or meeting begins, the commission recommended. The commission also suggested a forensic laboratory be set up at the hem inal Investigation Department (CID) and a bomb disposal squad of the police. The Daily Star, October 4.

Family flees home for fatwa

A family in a village under sader upazila of Rangpur district has fled their home after local religious extremists attacked and threatened to kill them for non-compliance with a fatwa. Efzalul and Anjuma Khatun, a young couple of Bouyipara under Uttom union, had been subjected to the fatwa (religious decree) that eventually spared none of the family from the terrible ordeal.

Efzalul said that, on July 15, at one stage of a typical husband-wife altercation he in a fit of temper uttered the word 'talak' (divorce). Three days later when they had almost forgotten the trivial incident, local religious leadership of the village came to his house and asked him to send his wife to her parents.

He was also told that he would have to live without Anjuma unless she performs a 'hilla' (marry someone else other than his husband). They warned him that he would have to face dire consequence if he continues to live with his wife. Efzalul had filed a case with Kotwali Police Station but the police are yet to arrest anyone in this connection. The Daily Star, October 4.

Dr Zahir blames police

Dr M Zahir, counsel for the petitioner who demanded and secured ad-interim injunction on Sept 29 against the mass arrest ahead of the October 3 grand rally of Awami League, blasted the police action and pleaded for the arrestees' immediate release. Zahir submitted his complaint that police had acted trampling the fundamental rights of citizens.

Meanwhile, a government report submitted to the High Court reveals that police arrested 3,025 people in Dhaka city in the wake of Awami League's April 30 deadline of toppling the government of which 2,200 were awarded short-term jail.

The report said the magistrates sentenced them to jail for one or two days for violation of Section 86 of DMP Act (suspicious movement). "Why were so many people thrown behind the bars when produced before the court? Who have testified their offence? How did the magistrates prove their offence beyond doubt?" Zahir raised the pertinent questions before the vacation bench comprising Justice M Awlad Ali and Justice AFM Abdur

Rahman.

Additional Attorney General AJ Mohammad Ali sought time for hearing of the petition. The daily Star. October 4.

Roundtable on children in trouble with law

Senior ministers, legal practitioners, child-rights activists and NGO leaders at a roundtable called for a more child-friendly legal system to stop abuse of children in confinement for falling foul of the law.

Despite a comprehensive Children Act, 1974, over 1,000 juvenile offenders are wrongly tried as adults and abused under the system due to mismanagement, wrong approach to the juvenile framework and ignorance of the law by a section of the lower judiciary, police and government officers. Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Moudud Ahmed and Minister for Social Welfare AAM Mujaheed, who were present at the roundtable, admitted to inadequate state systems to prevent abuse of confined children. They felt across-the-board changes in the legal system were necessary and said the amendments are in the pipeline to prevent abuse of children by the law.

As many as 1,004 children are currently in jail and 253 others in different Kishore Unnayan Kendras (KUK), according to Save the Children, UK (SCUK) study titled 'Children in Trouble with Law'.

Shohana Shabnam of the SCUK presented a keynote paper which said in 2002, an inter-ministerial committee was formed to protect the rights of the children and taskforces were constituted at national, district and upazila level.

Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star, moderated the roundtable, called for specific government initiatives for more concrete results in ensuring the rights of the children. The Daily Star, October 5.

Jail Killing Case

Commission visits witness

The three-member commission tasked with verifying reported ill health of Saifuddin Ahmed said the key witness to the historic Jail Killing Case is unable beyond doubt to appear at court. The commission members said they would appeal to court on October 9 to drop his name from the list of witnesses on grounds of poor health, paving the way for the judgement without further delay.

The commission of Metropolitan Public Prosecutor (PP) , Officer-in-Charge of Sutrapur Police Station and Taheruddin's counsel visited a bedridden Saifuddin at his Nawabpur house. A diabetic patient for 30 years, Saifuddin has been suffering from Parkinson's disease since 1999. The Daily Star. October 6.

No more foreign consultants for judicial reform

The Supreme Court decided to run the legal and judiciary capacity building project on its own after the foreign consulting company for the project had left Bangladesh in June 2004 without giving any notice. The decision came at a meeting, presided over by Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Hussain. The meeting formed a high-powered committee to supervise reforms in the judicial system, expeditious development of the judicial administration and computerisation of the courts under the project. The committee, headed by the chief justice, comprises Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Moudud Ahmed, Justice Md

Ruhul Amin, Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim and Justice MM Ruhul Amin of the Appellate Division, Justice Md Ali Asgar Khan of the High Court Division and the registrar of the Supreme Court. The US-based Institutional Reforms and Informal Sector was engaged as consultant for the Tk 240 crore project. The company was scheduled to complete its work by October 2004. However, all the ten persons of the company, who had been working on the project, one Australian and the rest US citizens, left the country in June without giving any notice to the government or the project authorities. According to sources, those foreign experts took Tk 16 crore as their fees, allowances and other benefits before leaving the country, although they had completed only 41 per cent of the project. The Daily Ittefaq, October 6.

Triple murder case

Charges against Kajal

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police pressed charges against Jubo Dal leader Rafiqul Islam Kajal and eight others in the macabre triple murder case of a Old Dhaka businessman, his son and chauffeur in March last.

Mohammad Shamsul Haq, a businessman of Old Dhaka, his son Russel Sheikh, 29, and chauffeur Moazzem Hossain were abducted on March 26 and butchered in a bid to grab a hosiery market and Tk 5 lakh.

Besides Kajal, the 4-page charge sheet submitted to the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka, accused his. The Daily Star, October 6.

Rab seals 3 godowns of milk powder

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) sealed three godowns of milk powder and arrested five people, including leader of a trade body, in the city's Chaktai area for marketing adulterated and smuggled milk powder.

Acting on a tip-off, the Rab team went to the area and sealed the three godowns, owned by one Tarik Sowdagar, with huge quantity of adulterated milk powder.

During the operation, business leader Abul Hossain, persuaded by the godown owner, made an attempt to settle the issue by offering Tk 2 lakh to the Rab team. He was ready to pay Tk 1,20,000 at that time and the remaining Tk 80,000 the next day. The team responded positively to the offer camouflaging their real intention, sources said.

The Rab team arrested Abul Hossain, Farid and Shah Alam as soon as they approached the team with the money. More than 250 bags, each containing 25 kg of adulterated milk powder, were also seized from the godowns.

The gang used to collect date-expired milk powder from some importers, mixed it with smuggled milk powder and sold them in packets, sources said. Daily Prothom Alo, October6.