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Law Week
Cops rescue 11 children from traffickers
Police rescued 11 children, brought from Bhola allegedly for trafficking, at the Sadarghat launch terminal. The children, seven girls and four boys all aged under 14, were herded from different villages of Charfassion upazila in Bhola for Talim (education) at a madrasa in Dhaka. Police sources said they were brought to Dhaka for trafficking outside Bangladesh. “Ansar men stationed there informed us about them after seeing the three women suspiciously taking the children inside the launch and bringing them out a while later," Sergeant Fakir Saifuddin of river police outpost at Sadarghat told reporters. The river police raided the launch and arrested the gang. Talking to reporters at Keraniganj Police Station, the children burst into tears. The children said the traffickers lured their parents with the promise of good education and lodging in Dhaka and a bright future for the children. The children were kept in safe custody of Keraniganj Police Station. -The Daily Star, October 16.
Controversies, graft charges plague Huda
Communications Minister Nazmul Huda has been at the centre of controversies and allegations of corruption time and again in the last four years of the coalition government. He also figured prominently in the media for controversial statements and tall talks. Huda was quite apt in promising mega projects for the development of the communications sector. But many of his pledges proved elusive and did not materialise. He faced strong criticism from the people in general and the civil society in particular for allotting 10 kathas of railway land in the heart of the capital to a human rights organisation led by his wife. The civil society members also organised a 'human chain' protesting the allotment and demanding his resignation. The minister was also blamed for involvement in corruption relating to the import of compressed natural gas (CNG)-run autorickshaws. The parliamentary standing committee on the communications ministry alleged that the ministry permitted only one company to import 10,000 autorickshaws. As a result, the company-- Uttara Motors gained a monopoly business. – The Daily Star, October 17.
JS body questions Armed Forces Division's functioning under PMO
The parliamentary standing committee on the defence ministry questioned the functioning of the Armed Forces Division (AFD) under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in the parliamentary system of government. The AFD is doing important and sensitive tasks, but its activities remain beyond any parliamentary scrutiny as there is no parliamentary standing committee on the PMO, the committee members observed at a meeting. "The Armed Forces Division remains beyond our jurisdiction as it does not function under the defence ministry," Committee Chairman Mahbubur Rahman told reporters after the meeting held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The committee members observed the AFD is the continuation of the system that existed in the presidential form of government. "The Armed Forces Division is the legacy of the system that existed during the martial law period after August 15, 1975. It has some flaws in its functioning," committee member and AL lawmaker Shawkat Ali told --The Daily Star. October 17.
Ex-Motijheel OC Rafiq surrenders, sent to jail
Suspended officer-in-charge of Motijheel Police Station AKM Rafiqul Islam was sent to jail as he surrendered to a court seeking ad interim bail in the Dhaka Commerce College student Kamrul Islam Momin killing case. Judge Mohammad Momin Ullah of the Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Dhaka rejected the bail petition of Rafiqul, prime accused in the case. Earlier, the former OC surrendered to the court with an army of lawyers. Moving the bail petition, Advocate Habibul Islam Bhuiyan read out the FIR (first information report) Momin's father Abdur Razzak filed with Kafrul Police Station on September 14. --Prothom Alo, October 17.
Harkatul Jihad banned
The government at last banned Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (HuJi) and its activities in Bangladesh yesterday, over a decade after the international terrorist group had started to spread its tentacles across the country. The fourth Islamist organisation to be banned, HuJi's Bangladesh chapter has been involved in carrying out terrorist activities in Bangladesh for more than half a decade. It has been behind several major bomb attacks as well as assassination attempts on former prime minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina and some leading intellectuals. An intelligence report in October 2003 had strongly recommended that HuJi be banned for the sake of the country's security. Despite being well aware of the militant outfit's activities, the government kept denying its existence over the last few years. Describing Harkatul's activities as sensitive, the government listed it as a terrorist organisation. The government has always expressed its firm stance against terrorism and as a reflection of the stance, it has already banned some terrorist organisations, the press note read. – Prothom Alo, October 18.
SCBA boycotts courtesy call on chief justice
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) boycotted the conventional postvacation courtesy call on the chief justice and the Supreme Court judges as controversial judge Faisal Mahmud Faizee was present at the function. The attorney general, government law officers, a good number of progovernment lawyers and some other lawyers attended the programme. Traditionally, the SC Bar members meet the chief justice and the judges of the Appellate Division and High Court Division on the first working day after the vacation. As the programme was going on, the SCBA leaders at a press briefing told reporters that they refrained from joining the ceremony as their demand for "restraining judge Faizee from attending the programme" was not met. "We were prepared to attend the programme, but since Faizee was present there we could not join," SCBA President advocate Mahbubey Alam told the press. Mentioning the "controversial" appointment of 19 High Court additional judges, Alam reiterated the SCBA demand for removal of judge Faizee. – The Daily Star, October 18.
Judge injured in bomb attack
Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Biplob Goswami was injured in a bomb attack by a self-claimed Jama'atul Muja-hideen Bangladesh (JMB) activist in front of the judge's residence in the city. Pedestrians caught the bomb thrower, Akhtar Hossain, immediately after the attack and beat him mercilessly. Later, Akhtar admitted to police that he is a follower of Shaikh Abdur Rahman, chief of the banned JMB. Police said Akhtar hails from Sarishabari of Jamalpur, the home district of Rahman, and had been living in a rented house at Subid Bazar in Sylhet town. Authorities could not confirm whether Akhtar has any link to militancy, although the Islamist militants, after the October 3 blasts at courts, vowed to carry out attacks on the judges to compel them to establish Islamic Sharia in the judiciary. – The Daily Star, October 19.
TI brands Bangladesh most corrupt for fifth time Bangladesh got the lowest position in Transparency International (TI)'s corruption perception index (CPI) this year, becoming the champion in corruption for the fifth consecutive year. In the Berlin based organisation's CPI of 2005, Bangladesh and African country Chad, with 1.7 points out of 10, jointly got the 158th position among 159 countries surveyed this year. Prof Mozaffar Ahmed, treasurer and a trustee of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), formally released the index at a function at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka as part of the TI's worldwide simultaneous release of corruption perception index. India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka were placed in the 92nd, 123rd, 146th and 78th positions. Iceland with 9.7 points secured the first position among the least corrupt countries. It was followed by Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Australia and Austria. – The Daily Star, October 19.