Law
Week
Militants hole up in CHT to evade arrest
The border near Bandarban has been sealed off while strict security measures are in force after the law enforcers came to know of militants' dens and training camps in the hilly district. In the face of the recent countrywide crackdown, the religious extremists have started to hole up in the remote border areas of Bandarban, said sources. Hiding in inaccessible Naikkhongchhari and Alikadam upazila, they are organising themselves in collusion with Myanmarese insurgents belonging to Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) and Arakan Rohingya Nationalist Organisation (ARNO), added the sources. - The Daily Star, October 10.
ACC catches customs staff taking bribe
A team of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) caught a customs staff at Chittagong Port in the act of taking bribe from the clients. The authorities suspended him along with two other employees immediately. The suspended customs staff are Samirul Haque, office superintendent, Niamat Ali, appraiser, and Moshiur Rahman, a sepoy of the Chittagong Customs House. The ACC team on the first day of its anticorruption drive at the port and customs house found Samirul Haque clearing the clients' bills of entry, taking Tk 200 to Tk 500 against each bill, said an ACC source. The ACC team challenged Samirul, who immediately denied any wrongdoing, but when the team asked about Tk 13,750 he had in his drawer, Samirul could not give a satisfactory answer. Samirul was then taken to the commissioner of the customs house. The commissioner after an instant enquiry found two others involved in the bribery. The three were suspended immediately, said the ACC source. - The Daily Star, October 10.
Over 10,000 communal tortures in govt's 4yr
More than ten thousand incidents of communal torture took place in the last four years of coalition rule, but police did not properly record even one tenth of them, a white-paper of Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee revealed. The unprecedented torture of religious minority and ethnic sects, which began centring the 2001 general elections, has not stopped even after 1,500 days," reads the 2,760-page white paper. "We have been able to record less than one tenth of such incidents," Shahriar Kabir, who edited the white paper published in three parts, said, adding that people did not disclose many of the incidents fearing further torture and harassment. Binodbihari Chowdhury, an associate of Masterda Suryasen and advisor of the Nirmul Committee, announced the white paper, which carries newspaper reports, editorials, columns, articles and opinion on repression of minorities that has taken place since the caretaker government took over on July 13, 2001 and 46 months from the coalition government's taking office. A selection of 2,786 reports have been compiled in the first two parts while the third part carries headlines of 4,092 reports published in 16 newspapers published from Dhaka. - The Daily Star, October 11.
The first 2 charge sheets submitted
The first two charge sheets in the Dhaka serial blast cases were submitted against Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) Ameer Abdur Rahman's younger brother Ataur Rahman and six others. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted the charge sheets of two cases filed with Sabujbagh Police Station to the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka. The first case was filed under the Arms Act and the other one under the Explosive Substances Act. Other accused are AHM Shamim, 23, Zakaria alias Jewel, 21, Nur Azam Siddique alias Yeasir, 27, Belal Hossain alias Tamim, 21, Aleya Ferdous, 27, and Akramul Islam, 23. All of them except Ataur were arrested earlier and gave confessional statements to magistrates on different dates. In the charge sheets, the investigation officers (IOs) said the main objective behind the blasts was to establish Islamic law in the country. - Prothom Alo, October 11.
Moudud admits failure to form HR commission, separate judiciary
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Moudud Ahmed admitted that the government is yet to succeed in forming a human rights commission and separating the judiciary. He however said he is 'very hopeful' that these two major steps needed to put democracy on a firm footing and ensure law and order will be taken in the next one year. Addressing a press briefing at his ministry on the occasion of completion of four years of the BNP-led coalition government, Moudud said the issue of separation of the judiciary is now lying with the Supreme Court. The formation of Judicial Service Commission is a big step towards separation of the judiciary, he said. Twenty-five assistant judges have already been appointed through this commission and 140 others are in the process of appointment.
The minister said an interim arrangement to replace the civil judiciary by the judicial magistracy is needed in the process of separating the judiciary. "We are checking how these have been done in India, Pakistan and other countries." Asked about failure of a committee formed in 2003 to give a report as yet on the formation of a human rights commission, he said the issue is under consideration. -The Daily Star, October 12.
Lack of free flow of information creates room for graft
Speakers at a dialogue in the city said people are in the dark about government functioning due to the lack of free flow of information, which creates room for corruption. They stressed effective functioning of the Jatiya Sangsad to ensure the government's accountability and provide adequate information to the people about it. The government as well as corporate bodies are subject to very weak accounting control and do not face any serious scrutiny by the legislature, or by legal or audit authorities, speakers said, suggesting the enactment of a Right to Information Act. Senior leaders of the government and the opposition as well as lawmakers of both sides spoke at the dialogue titled "The role of lawmakers in ensuring right to information for all'. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and Manusher Jonno, jointly organised the dialogue held at the CIRDAP auditorium. - The Daily Star, October 12.
HC asks cops not to arrest chief whip's sons
A vacation bench of the High Court (HC) yesterday ordered police not to harass or arrest two sons of Chief Whip Khandaker Delwar Hossain in the extortion cases pending with the Speedy Trial Tribunal, Dhaka. The interim order of the court came upon petitions filed by Abdul Hamid Dublu and Akhter Hamid Paban, who surrendered before it seeking anticipatory bail in the extortion cases pending with the tribunal. Dublu and Paban are now facing four extortion cases filed by shop owners and landowners of Motaleb Plaza shopping complex at Paribagh in the city. The court also ordered hearing of the petitions in a regular bench when it reopens on October 17. Advocate Habibul Islam Bhuiyan appeared for Dublu and Paban while Deputy Attorney General Golam Mohammad Chowdhury Alal stood for the government. -UNB, Dhaka, October 12.
Ecnec refers two projects to ACC for investigation
The government has decided to place two projects -- on electricity supply to 16 towns and the construction of Mymensingh Bypass -- under investigation of the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) for over expenditure of Tk 280 crore and other irregularities. The decision was taken by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman. After the meeting, Saifur said money taken from one project has been spent for another without approval of the proper authorities. "We have set up the ACC...They have got experts and now they will investigate the irregularities," he told reporters.
Saifur said the government hopes the ACC will be able to find out how much money was involved in the corruption. After the investigation the government will act on the findings and take action against those involved in the irregularities, he added. The Power Development Board (PDB) project for supplying electricity to 16 towns was approved in May 1999 by the Ecnec with an estimated expenditure of Tk 225.55 crore. In May 2005 a revised proposal was placed, showing an additional expenditure of Tk 270 crore, which increased the total project cost to Tk 495.92 crore. The Ecnec approved the revised expenditure after the money was spent, but formed an investigation committee to look into the source of the additional money spent in the project and if that amount was spent in line with set rules. - The Daily Star, October 13.
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