Sayedee's
membership of JS canceled
A vacation bench of the High Court Division of Justice Iman Ali has declared
the membership of the Jatiya Sangsad of Delwar Hossain Sayedee illegal
for giving false statement of his election expenses. He was elected in
a Pirojpur constituency as a four party alliance candidate in the election
held on October 1, 2001 defeating Sudhangshu Shekhar Halder of Awami League.
Challenging the validity of the election, S S Halder subitted a petition
to the High Court Division on November 14, 2001. After nearly two years
of hearing the verdict was pronounced. However the court turned down Halder's
plea for declaring him elected as he had poled the second highest votes
in the general election. However, Delwar Hossain Sayedee has appealed
against the verdict to the Appellate Division and the Appellate Division
has stayed operation of the High Court Judgement. -Law Desk.
OC
arrested on charge of rape
Shah Alam, the officer in charge of Jibannagar Thana, has been arrested
on charge of raping a woman and he is now in Chuadanga Jail hajat as his
bail prayer has been rejected. He was arrested after the victim gave a
statement before a First Class Magistrate alleging that she was violated
at the OC's house, where she was engaged for domestic help, at the thana
headquarter. Earlier the OC was closed at the Chuadanga Police Line following
rape allegations against him by some local people. Meanwhile, medical
test found that the woman was raped. - Prothom Alo, 14 September.
Telecoms
Act faces more changes
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is likely to
propose amendments to the telecoms act for more power to work as an independent
regulator, in addition to the amendments sought by intelligence agencies.
The intelligence agencies earlier asked for amendments to the act, allowing
them to breach privacy of individuals by tapping phone calls and busting
e-mails.The telecoms watchdog is considering seeking amendments to some
clauses of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001, which stand in its
way of acting independently. The commission will also seek an amendment
to have the commission chairman as chief financial officer (CFO), as the
act does not specifically define the role of the chairman in financial
matters. -Law Desk.
39,768
Gram Sarkar units formed
A total of 39,768 Gram Sarkar units, out of 40,392, have been
formed across the country amid opposition by political parties. The process
of formation of 15-member Gram Sarkar units in all the wards under 4,488
union parishads began on August 2 and it was scheduled to be completed
within 45 days. However, 606 Gram Sarkar units could not be formed in
different wards of 19 districts due to recast of wards, river erosion,
pending cases, and death of ward commissioners. The 19 districts are Dhaka,
Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Gazipur, Kishoreganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Chittagong,
Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Comilla, Noakhali, Rajshahi, Natore, Dinajpur,
Pabna, Jessore, Magura and Barisal. One hundred and seventeen units are
yet to be formed in Comilla, 63 in Chittagong, 81 in Narayanganj, 45 in
Shariatpur and 63 in Magura. The Gram Sarkar units in five unions under
Barisal district could not be formed because of death of ward commissioners
and recast of wards. Pending cases and recast of wards also created obstacles
to forming the units in 12 other districts. And river erosion delayed
the process in five unions under Madaripur district. It may be mentioned
here that a writ challenging the act on the formation of the units is
also pending before the High Court. -Daily Star, 16 September.
Amendment
to Pvt. Varsity Act likely
The government is considering amendment to the Private University
Act 1992 to improve standard of education, financial mismanagement and
recruitment of teachers lacking proper qualification. This was said by
Education Minister Osman Farruk at a cabinet meeting. The minister said,
that the ministry has discussed the issues with vice-chancellors and a
study is being conducted to assess the prevailing situation. A committee
headed by the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) is conducting
the study. There are now 50 private universities in the country. -Bhorer
Kagoj, 16 September
Serving
jail without crime
A teenage boy continues to languish in the Juvenile Correction
Centre at Tongi, Dhaka, even though the court cleared him of charges about
10 months ago. Md Jamal, 14, of Iswargram under Muktagachha in Mymensingh
has been in prison for two years and five months. This was revealed by
a press release of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST). Jamal
was implicated by Kazi Masud Ahmed of Abhoy Das Lane in a bomb- throwing
case No. 82/4/2001 with Sutrapur Police Station on April 25, 2001 under
the Public Safety Act. Police arrested Jamal on April 28 and produced
him before a court that sent him to custody, with a one-day remand. The
jail authorities sent Jamal to the correction centre on June 30, 2001.
The BLAST investigation revealed that police filed the FRT (Final Report
True) on July 3, 2001, which found Jamal innocent and appealed for his
release to the Public Safety Tribunal- 4. The judge ordered to free Jamal
on November 18, 2002 that to this day goes unheeded. A resident of the
city's Sayedabad area, Jamal used to live by pulling rickshaw. - Daily
Star, 16 September.
Charge
framed for killing ex-MP
The Speedy Trial Tribunal-4, Dhaka Division, has framed charges
against 12 accused for killing former MP Shahjahan Howlader Sujan. The
Criminal Investigation Department (CID), submitted a charge sheet against
12 people on July 9, this year, showing 43 people as prosecution witnesses.
Sujan, 35, a former BNP MP from Brahmanbaria-6 constituency and former
vice-president (VP) of Haji Mohammad Mohshin Hall students union of Dhaka
University, was abducted by his rivals. He was found dead near Dayel Chattar
on the Dhaka University campus on July 3, 2001. Victim's mother Hena Akhter
filed an abduction case with Motijheel Police Station the same day, accusing
Dr Raushan Alam, Khorshed Alam, Giasuddin Jalali, and Phool Miah. -Law
Desk.
Advocacy
for juvenile rights
Speakers at a seminar yesterday suggested better ways of dealing
with juvenile delinquents, including arranging education for them in safe
custody instead of sending them to jail. The seminar was told that a magistrate,
superintendent of police and jail superintendent have been asked to review
the cases of juvenile delinquents in each district. Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui,
principal secretary to the prime minister, attended the seminar as chief
guest, while Shahudul Haque, inspector general of police (IGP), and E
Daniel Selvanagam, executive director of World Vision Bangladesh, attended
as special guests. The seminar was organised by Bangladesh Retired Police
Officers Welfare Association with the assistance of World Vision. Representatives
from different NGOs and officials from Dhaka Metropolitan Police attended
the seminar. -Prothom Alo, 15 September.
