Sunday, May 27, 2012

BNP 5 opposition lawmakers finally get bail HC for granting bail to other leaders,Bangladesh


BANGLADESH NEWS

The High Court on Sunday granted ad-interim bail for six weeks to five opposition lawmakers accused of torching a vehicle during hartal hours on April 29.

The court also issued a rule upon the government to explain in a week why the other accused including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir should not be granted bail in the case.

The five leaders who secured bail are: BNP leaders MK Anwar, barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anne; Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Oli Ahmed and Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) President Andalib Rahman Partha.

The court granted the five lawmakers bail so that they could attend the budget session of the Parliament which is set to commence this evening, advocate Ahsanul Karim, a counsel of the accused, and MK Rahman, an additional attorney general, told .

The HC bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan came up with the order and rule after holding hearing on 12 separate petitions filed by the accused leaders seeking bail.

On May 7, the opposition leaders, who are now in jail, appeared before the HC for bail in connection with two hartal violence cases including the case filed for torching a bus near the PMO during hartal on April 29.

Following the bail petition, an HC bench on May 13 ordered 37 accused to surrender before trial court and the trial court sent them to jail.

After the bail petitions were filed Sunday, the HC bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan fixed Sunday afternoon to hold hearing on the petitions.

The counsels of the leaders filed 11 separate petitions on behalf of their clients Sunday morning four days after a metropolitan session's judge denied bail to 33 top opposition leaders in connection with an arson case.

On May 16, a metropolitan magistrate sent the leaders to jail rejecting their bail petitions in connection with the arson case.

Earlier on May 21, another Dhaka court accepted the vehicle torching charges against Mirza Fakhrul and 44 other opposition leaders and activists.

Police earlier arrested BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed and seven others in the same case.

Jamaat-e-Islami acting ameer Maqbul Ahmed and two others went into hiding after the case was filed.

ARSON CASE

Tejgaon police filed a case against a number of leaders and workers of 18-party alliance, including BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul, Mirza Abbas and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed; and Liberal Democratic Party President Oli Ahmed, hours after a vehicle was set ablaze near the PMO during hartal hours on April 29.

The same day, Ramna police filed another case against top leaders of the alliance for exploding a 'bomb' at the Bangladesh Secretariat that day.

After the cases were filed, the top accused BNP leaders went into hiding and turned up at the High Court on May 7 to seek bail.

But a two-member HC bench delivered dissenting orders on seven bail petitions.

Meanwhile on May 10, detectives pressed charges against 45 leaders and activists of BNP-led 18-party alliance, including the BNP acting secretary general in the arson case.

DISSENTING ORDER

Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, senor judge of a High Court bench, granted anticipatory bail to the accused until police submits their reports on the cases. He issued seven separate rules upon the government to explain in four weeks as to why the petitioners should not be granted regular bail.

Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder, the other judge, however, directed the politicians accused to surrender before the magistrate's court concerned within seven days and ordered law enforcers not to harass or arrest them during the period.

Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain sent the case to a third HC bench on May 10 for its final disposal.

The third bench on May 13 ordered the 37 accused to surrender before the trial court.

Accordingly, they surrendered before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on May 16 and the court sent 33 top opposition leaders to jail rejecting their bail petitions.

On May 21, a trial accepted the charges against 45 opposition leaders and activists in the case.

Journos protest police assault on colleagues,Bangladesh


BANGLADESH NEWS

Journalists of different media houses staged a sit-in before the Jatiya Press Club in the capital on Sunday to protest against a police assault on three photojournalists in the capital on the previous day.

Members of Photojournalists Association, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) and Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) started the programme around 11:00am, blocking the busy street stretching from Paltan to the High Court.

Their agitation continued for two and a half hours.

The journalist leaders demanded compensation for Khaled Sarkar, Sajid Hossain and Zahidul Karim of Bangla daily Prothom Alo, who faced the police assault on Saturday while taking shots of a demonstration staged by Dhaka Women Polytechnic Institute students.

The agitating journalists also demanded the law enforcers to record a case as officials of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on Saturday refused lodging any case against police in connection with the police assault.

They also demanded proper investigation into the incident and exemplary punishment of the guilty.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Saturday suspended nine policemen and closed Assistant Commissioner of Tejgaon Division Shahidul Islam to the DMP headquarters after policemen assaulted the three on-duty photojournalists at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

The injured photojournalists were rushed to Pangu Hospital in the capital.

BNP won’t join JS keeping leaders in jail: Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque,Bangladesh


BANGLADESH NEWS

Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque has said BNP and its allies would not join the budget session beginning Sunday afternoon keeping the top leaders of the 18-party alliance in jail.

“How will we join the parliament session when our colleagues have been put behind bars?” he said while addressing a human chain in front of the National Press Club on Sunday.

Bangladesh Combined Professional Association, a pro-BNP professional forum, organised the human chain protesting the filing of a case against lawyers and demanding release of the top leaders of the BNP-led 18-party alliance.

BNP lawmakers MK Anwar, Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie and Barrister Mahbubuddin Khokon, LDP President Col (retd) Oli Ahmad MP and BJP Chairman Andalib Rahman Partho MP have been sent to jail in a case filed for torching a bus near the Prime Minister’s Office during the opposition’s hartal on April 29.

Addressing another human chain at the same venue, BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan urged the government to take initiatives for discussion by creating congenial atmosphere to resolve the present problems, promising all-out cooperation from BNP.

Meanwhile, family members of the arrested 18-party alliance leaders at a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday expressed concern over the condition of their near and dear ones in jail.

Reading out a written statement on behalf of the families, Nahid Hannan, wife of Brig Gen (retd) Hannan Shah, said the opposition leaders are passing days amid sufferings in jail.

She alleged that many of them have become sick as they were not provided with proper treatment.

Nahid said they are waiting to get back their near and dear ones.

BNP leader Tarique Rahman assured Mufti Hannan of a safe escape: PW,Bangladesh


BANGLADESH NEWS

BNP leader Tarique Rahman had assured Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and his associates of a safe escape after carrying out the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in 2004, a witness told a Dhaka court on Sunday.

Inspector of Criminal Investigation Department Abu Hena Md Yusuf said this while giving his deposition before the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 as a witness.

The inspector claimed that Mufti Hannan told him about Tarique’s assurance when the Huji chief was on remand in Ramna Batamul carnage case.

After recording his deposition for over an hour, Judge Shahed Nuruddin fixed June 3 for next hearing of the case.

He gave his deposition as the first prosecution witness against the accused in supplementary charge-sheet.

Twenty-six of 52, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, now in custody, were produced before the court while seven other accused including former Dhaka City Corporation ward councillor Ariful Islam Arif, now on bail, were also present at the court.
CID included Yusuf in the charge sheets as the prosecution witnesses on July 3 in 2011 since he was present at the rally on Bangabandhu Avenue when the grenade attack was carried out on August 21, 2004.

Twenty-four people, including Awami League leader Ivy Rahman, were killed and around 200 others injured in the grisly grenade attack on an AL rally at Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004. The then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the attack.

JS budget session began,Bangladesh


BANGLADESH NEWS

The budget session of the ninth Jatiya Sangsad began on Sunday afternoon amid boycott by lawmakers of the BNP-led opposition.
It will be the fourth budget of the Awami League-led alliance government since it came to power in January 2009.
The last three national budgets got through parliament in the absence of the main opposition.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith is expected to place the national budget in the House on June 7 for fiscal 2012-2013.
Wishing anonymity, a BNP lawmaker said the party was not thinking about returning to the House before the opposition's June 10 deadline for the government to accept its demand for restoration of the caretaker government system.
The 12th session of the ninth parliament, which had 33 working days, was prorogued on March 29.
Having stayed away from parliamentary proceedings for 83 consecutive sittings since March last year, opposition lawmakers had returned to the House on March 18.

Hartal passes off in Rangpur,Bangladesh


BANGLADESH NEWS

The dawn-to-dusk hartal demanding upgradation of Rangpur municipality to a city corporation passed off peacefully in Rangpur on Sunday.

All types of vehicular movement on the city roads remain suspended since morning due to the hartal that coincided with incessant rain.

Even rickshaws stay off the roads as the inhabitants of the district have been observing the hartal spontaneously.

Business establishments, shopping malls, educational institutions and private offices remain closed. Though government offices are open, the presence of officials and employees are thin.

Jatiya Party (Ershad) backed Rangpur City Corporation Bastabayon Committee called the hartal on May 15 as its demand was not met by the deadline.

The organisation on Saturday brought out a procession in the town and then held a rally in Shapla Chattar area.

On the other hand, Rangpur City Corporation Bastabayon Sangram Parishad on Saturday blocked Rangpur-Dhaka highway and rail route in the town for an hour from 11:30am to put pressure on the government to declare Rangpur town a city corporation through a gazette notification.

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad at a rally here on April 8 urged the government to upgrade Rangpur municipality to a city corporation by May 15. Otherwise, he threatened to launch a tougher agitation programme in the district.

Former lawmaker Moshiur Rahman Ranga, also the convener of Rangpur City Corporation Bastabayon Committee, in his speech said they called for the hartal as the government did not meet the demand within the deadline.

He urged Rangpur people to make today's daylong hartal a success.

Different organisations in the district had earlier observed programmes to realise the demand for upgrading Rangpur municipality to a city corporation.

Earlier on May 12, local unit of the ruling Awami League under the banner of Rangpur Unnayon Samonnoy Parishad formed a human chain in front of Rangpur Press Club to press home the demand.

The Sangram Parishad led by former lawmaker Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhontu observed a token hunger strike in front of the press club on May 20.

The parishad also besieged Rangpur Pourasava office on May 24 to realise the demand.

Rangpur became the seventh division in the country in 2010. But the government is yet to declare it a city corporation.