Khaleda Gives govt 4 More days to Trace Ilias

DHAKA NEWS

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has threatened to go for tougher programme from Sunday if the government fails to find out missing BNP leader M Ilias Ali by Saturday.

"There is no doubt that the government has done it. So, it is the responsibility of the government to return him to his family," she said at a press conference Tuesday evening.

The main opposition party will stage countrywide demonstrations on Thursday and organise the same programme at upazila sadars on April 28 to press home its demand.

BNP will announce fresh agitation programme on Saturday if Alias Ali is not traced by the day.

The former prime minister was addressing the crowded press conference at her Gulshan office after wrapping up their nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal for a third consecutive day on Tuesday.

M Ilias Ali, a former lawmaker and organising secretary of the party, and his driver went missing around midnight of April 17.

On Wednesday, police found Ilias' private car abandoned near his Banani residence in the capital.

US concerned at Ilias disappearance

DHAKA NEWS

The United States on Tuesday expressed concern over the disappearance of BNP leader M Ilias Ali and called on all sides to work together to find him out.

“First of all I join everyone the concern of disappearance of anyone. It may be to anyone and it is violation of basic human rights,” said US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena.

Replying to a question, he said, “This is a frightening experience not for the person but also for the families.”

The US diplomat was talking to a selected group of journalists at his Gulshan residence in the afternoon.

IO gets Permission to exhume Sagar-Runi’s Bodies

DHAKA NEWS

A Dhaka court on Tuesday granted permission to the investigation officer to exhume the bodies of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and his wife Meherun Runi for second autopsy.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Bikash Kumar Saha passed the order after Assistant Superintendent of Police Abu Zafar, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the petition to his court in the morning.

After the court sent the matter to the Dhaka district magistrate Monoj Kumar Roy on Tuesday to take next course of action, he assigned executive magistrate Md Shahiduzzaman to take necessary steps for exhuming the bodies.

The executive magistrate will now fix a date for exhuming the bodies.

Sagar, news editor of private TV station Maasranga, and Runi, a senior reporter of another TV channel ATN Bangla, were killed in the small hours on February 11 at their rented apartment in the capital's West Razabazar.

Earlier on April 18, the High Court expressed frustration over the Detective Branch's failure in identifying the killer(s) of the journalist couple and ordered to shift the case to Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).

8,000 sued over Sylhet Violence

SYLHET NEWS

Over 8,000 people were sued in two cases filed in connection with Monday’s fierce clashes between pro-hartal pickets and law enforcers during a countrywide hartal at Bishwanath upazila of Sylhet.

Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion and police conducted an overnight raid till early Tuesday at different parts of the upazila and arrested 40 persons in connection with the cases.

Dev Dulal, a sub-inspector of Bishwanath Police Station, filed one case Monday night with the police station against 5,000 people naming 100 BNP leaders and activists on charges of attacking police during the hartal.

Md Kamal Hopssain, Bishwanath upazila nirbahi officer, filed another case Monday night under Speedy Trial Tribunal Act with the same police station against 3,000 unnamed people.

A tense situation has been prevailing in and around the upazila headquarters following the clash.

Rab, police and Border Guard of Bangladesh personnel have been deployed in the area to fend off any untoward incident.

Police raid Hannan Shah Residence

DHAKA NEWS

Police Tuesday morning conducted a 30-minute search at the Mohakhali DOHS house of BNP Standing Committee Member Brig Gen (retd) Hannan Shah but to no avail.

None was arrested nor could the law enforcers find any evidence of something illegal there during the raid, said Imtiaz Hossain, deputy police commissioner (DC) of Mirpur division, reports our Sylhet correspondent.

Describing the raid, the DC said a team of police cordoned off the house of the BNP leader since 1:00am following an intelligence report that a secret meeting was going on there.

They entered the house of the BNP leader around 6:00 in the morning as Hannan did not allow them to search his house till morning, he added.

After nearly 30-minute search, they came out of the house finding nothing suspicious, the police official said.

Kader Siddiqui lies Down on Street Protesting Detention

DHAKA NEWS

Kader Siddiqui, president of Krishok Sramik Janata League, lay down for nearly 45-minute on the street in front of BNP's central office as police detained ten of his party men on Tuesday.

The incident took place around 11:20am when police picked up ten of his party activists immediately after they came out of BNP's Nayapaltan office.

Kader along with some activists of his party went there to have a brief meeting with the BNP leaders who are observing hartal for the third consecutive day today protesting the disappearance of M Ilias Ali.

During the talks, he called upon the BNP leaders to look for alternative means of protest instead of hartal.

He however went away with his party men chanting slogans when police released the ten KSJL men around 12:40pm.

“Police detained my party men without any reason and so that I remain here lying on the street to protest the incident,” an angry Siddiqui

Siddiqui was accompanied by his wife Nasrin Siddiqui and KSJL General Secretary Habibur Rahman Talukder

Mirza Azam Acquitted of Graft Case

DHAKA NEWS

A Dhaka court on Tuesday discharged Jubo League General Secretary Mirza Azam from a case filed for amassing wealth illegally and giving false information to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Judge (in-charge) Borhan Uddin Ahmed of the Special Judge Court-8 passed the acquittal order as no element was found to frame charge against the AL leader.

Mirza Azam was earlier acquitted of a police assault case.

The judge in his order said the notice, which was served asking Mirza Azam to submit his wealth statement, was not issued legally. Moreover, the charge brought against him was baseless and concocted. So, he was discharged.

On July 7 of 2008, ACC Deputy Director SM Mofizul Islam, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, submitted the charge sheet against Azam to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (CMM) Court showing 34 people as prosecution witnesses.

The IO also prayed for dropping charges against Azam’s wife Aleya Azam as the charges brought against her were not proved. Aleya Azam was accused of abetting her husband.

ACC Deputy Director Mobara Khanam on January 10 of 2008 filed the case against the couple with Ramna Police Station for committing the offences.

In the case statement, the complainant said Azam accumulated wealth worth Tk 53,62,645 illegally and concealed information about his wealth worth Tk 64,34,295 from the commission.