Law
week
Militant patrons stay safe for lax law
Despite repeated pledges made by the interim government early last year to punish the masterminds and patrons of outlawed Islamist militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), no effective measures have been taken so far.
Some high-level officials in the law-enforcement agencies involved in investigations into rise of militancy and its patronisation say the existing laws are not adequate to bring the patrons or masterminds to book. "We need new laws or amendment to some existing laws to take legal actions against the patrons," says a top official desiring not to be named. As the issue is sensitive and linked to the policy, the government, though at one stage thought of bringing the JMB patrons to justice, has changed its mindset later. But eminent jurist Dr Shahdheen Malik told The Daily Star: "Definitely there are sufficient laws. But usually those laws are not applied as our focus has always been on the main perpetrators, not on their abettors, facilitators, helpers or others involved." -The Daily Star, October 29, 2008.
HC bench did not refuse to hear petitions
Advocate Habibul Islam Bhuiyan and barrister Abdur Razzaq, two senior lawyers of the Supreme Court, in a statement said the High Court (HC) bench comprising Justice Md Muzammel Hossain and Justice Afzal Hossain Ahmed had not refused to hear the petitions filed by five former ministers and one state minister for quashing the proceedings of Barapukuria coalmine case filed against them.
They said a section of the press on October 28 had reported that the HC bench had refused to hear the petitions filed by former ministers M Saifur Rahman, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid, Altaf Hossain Choudhury and former state minister AKM Mosharraf Hossain for quashing the proceedings of the case. -The Daily Star, October 29, 2008.
Govt finally acts on HC ban order
Though the High Court (HC) banned sale and display of eight brands of powdered milk 'contaminated with melamine' on October 23 the government apparently took no measures.
Health Adviser AMM Shawkat Ali after a meeting on Sunday and at a press conference said they would strictly follow the HC order. The district administrations have been asked to form committees to monitor markets and conduct drives, he added. But officials of the civil administration in the capital and major cities told The Daily Star they did not receive any such order. Meanwhile, a contempt of court petition was filed with the HC against the government for not complying with the HC order, which restricts display and sale of the powdered milk until receipt of test results from abroad. -The Daily Star, October 28, 2008.
No money laundering in Trust Bank
The central bank said the Trust Bank's loss of about Tk 22.41 crore was not due to money laundering rather it was transactional loss.
"The bank incurred the loss dealing in foreign exchange. We have no evidence that indicate the loss was due to money laundering," Ziaul Hassan Siddiqui, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, told reporters. Reporters asked the question to the Bangladesh Bank governor who referred it to his deputy for the answer. The issue came to the limelight when Bangla daily Amar Desh published a news item in this regard. Amar Desh publisher and former energy adviser Mahmudur Rahman also tried to file a case in this connection. -The Daily Star, October 28, 2008.
Trust Bank story twisted
Interbank foreign exchange trading that caused big losses to at least eight banks about six years back has suddenly been twisted and wrongly labelled as 'money laundering', although the Bangladesh Bank had resolved them as transactional losses.
The false notion arose when an attempt was made on Saturday to file a case against Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) chief Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury. Efforts were made to implicate that Mashhud had laundered money from Trust Bank, of which he was the ex-officio chairman as the erstwhile army chief. The allegation was based on the fact that the bank had lost about Tk 22.41 crore in interbank foreign exchange dealings.
The Daily Star reinvestigated the issue, although it had reported the transactions years ago when a number of both private and state-owned banks had faced a few hundred crore taka loss through cross currency dealings. -The Daily Star, October 27, 2008.
Ombudsman to ensure intra-party democracy
Renowned lawyer barrister Rafique-ul Huq has said big political parties should appoint an ombudsman if they want to clean the party and bring real democracy in it.
The next government may repeal the caretaker government system and the two major political parties might come to a consensus that those who can run the country can also hold an election and that they would have trust in that election, he said in an interview with The Daily Star. He appreciated the present caretaker government for its good work like formulating the income tax law amendment ordinance and the Supreme Judicial Commission ordinance, preparation of voter ID cards and separation of the Election Commission Secretariat from the Prime Minister's Office, which is now the office of the chief adviser. -The Daily Star, October 27, 2008.
Abducted Brac staff yet to be traced
Bangladeshi Brac employees Akhter Ali and Mohammad Shahjahan Ali, who were abducted in Afghanistan two days ago, are yet to be located. There was no government move as of October 26 to expedite their release and Brac officials in Dhaka failed to say anything specific about their fate.
Unidentified gunmen abducted the two in Ghanzi province of Afghanistan Thursday afternoon. Their family members said they went to the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (Brac) head office in Dhaka and tried to communicate with officials but none was available. Shahjahan's only son, Sharif went to the Brac office but failed to get any information as it was the weekend holiday. -The Daily Star, October 26, 2008.
Cremation ground of indigenous people grabbed
Fifty-two indigenous families in Naogaon demanded stern actions against a group of local influential people for trying to grab their cremation ground at Sonapur village through fake documents.
The Santal and Oraw families made the demand at a press conference at the Metropolitan Press Club in Naogaon. The indigenous people have been using about 0.19 acres of land as their cremation ground at Sonapur village of Manda upazila for over a century.
But recently a group of local influential people including Rakib Pramanik and Rafiqul Pramanik are trying to grab the cremation ground, they alleged. They were barred from cremating bodies there and also received death threats from the influential group, the indigenous people alleged. They said the henchmen of the influential group also attacked them in September when they went to the cremation ground carrying a deceased member of their community. -The Daily Star, October 26, 2008.
Corresponding with the Law Desk
Please send your mails, queries, and opinions to: Law Desk, The Daily Star 19 Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215; telephone 8124944,8124955,fax 8125155; email: dslawdesk@yahoo.co.uk,lawdesk@thedailystar.net
