Print Edition: January 21, 2014

8/13/2019 Print Edition: January 21, 2014

1/21

nMohammad Al-Masum Molla

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday

condemned the Sheikh Hasina-led gov-

ernment for the January 5 election and

the misdeeds during its previous term,

and also asked it to initiate a dialogueimmediately for an inclusive election.

Khaleda also questioned the join

forces drive in Satkhira and the law

enforcers role in Gaibandha clash with

Jamaat-e-Islami saying that peoplewere sceptical about their operations.

She also criticised the government for

closing the daily Inqilab and arresting

its three journalists.

In her speech at the post-elec-

tion rally in the capitals Suhrawardy

Udyan, the three-time former premier

refrained from declaring any fresh ag-

itation and asked the party supporters

to observe programmes p eacefully.

The alliance after the election they

had boycotted declared black flag pro-

cessions across the country for January

29, the day when the first session of

10th parliament sits.

Khaleda said the BNP did not want

instability, rather peace and develop-

ment. I am not urging you to do any

war. You just wage peaceful move-

ment. She hoped that the government

would not obstruct the programme.Though Khaleda earlier announced

that the alliance will hold the rally, on

Sunday night, the party announcedthat they would organise it alone.

Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Oikya Jote,

Khelafat Andolon and Jamiat-e-Ula-

maye Islam leaders were not seen at

the venue even though a huge number

of activists of Jamaat and its student

wing Islami Chhatra Shibir attended

the alliances rallies in the past.

The BNP, which apparently fails to

resist the January 5 polls even sponsor-ing non-stop agitations resulting in vi-

olence and destruction, has been stick-

ing to pre-poll position on resolving the

political crisis through a dialogue.

Addressing a rally after nearly

two and a half months at the historic

Suhrawardy Udyan, Khaleda thanked

people for boycotting the farcical

election and urged the government to

hold fresh poll. The previous rally tookplace on October 25.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

nBSS, Satkhira

Accusing the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Is-

lami of violent acts like killing, arson

and vandalism, Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina yesterday warned that none in-

volved in these heinous crimes would

be spared.BNPJamaat terrorists brutally

killed numerous Awami League, Jubo

League and Chhatra League leaders

and activists across the country and

looted and torched their houses in the

last few months. They also destroyed

roads and felled trees, she said.

None involved in the atrocities will

be spared and stern action will be taken

against all culprits, she added.Hasina, also the Awami League

President, was addressing a public ral-

ly at Satkhira Government High School

Grounds here this afternoon.

The meeting was addressed by,

among others, by Health Minister Mo-

hammad Nasim, Civil Aviation Minister

Rashed Khan Menon, State Minister for

Home Asaduzzman Khan Kamal, for-

mer minister Dipu Moni and local MPs

including Mostafa Lutfullah.

The prime minister arrived to open

11 development projects and distribute

cheques among the family members ofthe victims of violence that has been

going on since February 28, 2013.

Hasina called upon the BNP chair-

person not to disrupt peace and said

she would have to pay the price for the

mistake she committed by boycotting

the January 5 polls.

The BNP did not join the p olls as its

ally Jamaat-e-Islami was barred from

participating in the election by a High

Court order, she said, adding the court

had declared the Jamaat to be a mili-tant organisation.

They not only boycotted the polls,

they also unleashed violent acts to re-

sist the election, she said.

The Awami League chief said

BNPJamaat terrorists made the life

of the people of Satkhira miserable.

Ordinary peace-loving people could

not lead a peaceful life due to the ter-

rorist acts of the BNP- Jamaat, includ-

ing killing, arson, felling trees, up-

rooting rail lines and cutting roads,she said.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

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Business

B1Finance Minister AMAMuhith criticised the

countrys insurance sector for

huge corruption and worst

performance.

News3 Three trained militants

of banned Tehrik-e Taliban

Pakistan, allegedly assigned

to carry out destruction

ahead of January 5 election,

were arrested in Dhaka late

Sunday night with bomb-

making manuals.

Nation6 At least 100,000 people

in three upazilas of Narail and

adjacent areas are waiting for

a bridge on the Madhumati

River that will ease their

distresses and bring a wave

of development.

INSIDE

Jamaat hints at new strategyTies with BNP will remain as strong as before

nMohammad Al-Masum Molla andManik Miazee

Jamaat-e-Islamis usual visible show-

down, demanding release of their lead-

ers convicted for war crimes, in the

BNP-led 18-party alliance rallies in the

past was not seen at BNPs rally yester-

day at Suhrawardy Udyan.

Leaders of three other alliance part-

ners, known for having close ties with

Hefazat-e-Islam, were also absent from

the rally.

For the first time since the emer-gence of the BNP-led 18-party alliance,

the BNP yesterday held a public rally

alone, keeping its distance from key

ally Jamaat-e-Islami and three other re-

ligion-based alliance partners.

Jamaat leaders told the Dhaka Trib-

une their men had participated in the

rally, but without the usual banners

and festoons. This was part of their

strategy, they said, but refused to dis-

close anything about the strategy.

A senior leader of Jamaat, wishing

not to be named told the Dhaka Trib-

une their main concern was to ensure

that the government stepped down.

For this the BNP will devise a strat-

egy and we will just follow the strate-

gy, he said.

Whatever decision the BNP takes,it will not harm our relations. We took

the decision of not joining the rally after

consultation with the BNP, said Syed

Abdullah Mohammad Taher, a Jamaat

central working committee member.

He also said Jamaat-Shibir men took

part in 18-party alliance rallies across

the country yesterday with banners but

avoided the Dhaka rally.

Jamaluddin, the assistant press sec-retary of Shibir, said, Our leaders and

activists joined the programme but we

did not bring any placards and banners

for strategic reasons.

Jamaat and its student wing Isla-

mi Chhatra Shibir have been blamed

for killing policemen, ordinary citi-

zens and activists of other parties, in-

cluding the Awami League. The pres-sure is mounting on BNP inside and

outside the country to cut ties with

Jamaat.

Since the alliance began its street

movement on October 27, Jamaat men

have allegedly perpetrated a great

amount of violence across the country.

Many ordinary people were killed and

burnt alive during the movement. This

appears to have tarnished the image of

the alliance and the international com-

munity have urged the parties to avoid

violence.

The BNP held the rally at Suhrawardy

Udyan to thank people for boycotting

the January 5 polls. Many alliance lead-

ers like Oli Ahmed, Andaleeve Rahman

Partha and Shafiul Alam Prodhan ad-

dressed the rally but nobody from theJamaat attended or addressed the rally.

Also no one from the Islami Oikyo

Jote, Khelafat Andolon and Jami-

at-e-Ulama-e-Islam were present in

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Presidents concessionfor BNP rallynKamran Reza Chowdhury

President Abdul Hamid yesterday

made a concession by cutting short

his stay at the parliament building

and leaving early for Bangabhaban at

Dilkusha, Motijheel to make the

BNPs rally at the Suhrawardy Udyan

uninterrupted.

Abdul Hamid went to the Jatiya

Sangsad Bhaban around 2pm to pay

respect to Awami League MP Shawkat

Momen Shahjahan who died in Shakhi-

pur, Tangail early yesterday. He attend-

ed the namaz-e-janaza of his formercolleague.

He left the parliament building im-

mediately after the janaza.

The parliament authorities had

made preparations, assuming that the

president might stay there for a few

hours as he had done in the past. But

Hamid had planned otherwise.

No, I will not stay here for long.

The traffi c will come to a halt [because

of his movement] and they [the BNP

activists] will face hindrances to attend

the rally, an additional secretary to the

Parliament Secretariat quoted Hamid

as saying.

Serjeant-at-Arms Captain Ashraful

Haq told the Dhaka Tribune that his

team had cleaned up the presidentsroom anticipating his stay. But later

we were told that the honourable pres-ident decided not to go to his chamber,

possib ly conside ring the traffi c chaos

that would follow.

Abdul Hamid, a former speaker,

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

BNP offers olive branch again PM: No criminal will be spared

Inqilab reporterremandednMd Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday granted police

two days to question Ahmmed Atiq,

reporter of the Bangla daily Inqilab,

and sent two others of the newspaper

to jail.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate SM

Ashiqur Rahman passed the order afterhearing separate remand and bail plea

petitions in a case filed under the Infor-

mation and Communication Technolo-

gy Act 2006.

Wari police station Sub-Inspector

KM Firoz Ali on January 17 sought five

days to grill Atiq in custody. As per theremand prayer, the police needed to in-

terrogate Atiq to know why he had pre-

pared a fabricated news report, on

what grounds, and which people were

involved.

Defence counsel Syed Ahmed Gazi

pleaded bail for the three accused and

also filed remand rejection prayers.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Charge sheet finalisedagainst Oishee, 3 othersnMohammad Jamil Khan and

Nazmus Sakib

Detective Branch (DB) of police has

completed the investigation of the

murder of Special Branch (SB) Inspec-

tor Mahfuzur Rahman and his wife

Shapna Rahman. The finalised charge

sheet accuses four, including their only

daughter Oishee Rahman of the crime.

The investigators will bring charg-

es against Oishee as the killer of her

parents. The charges say Oishee killed

her parents with the support of house-

maid Sumi, and with instigation and

planning from two of her friends. The

charge sheet will probably be submit-

ted to the court this month, a DB police

source told the Dhaka Tribune.

Deputy Commissioner Jahangir

Hossain Matubbor of DB police claimed

they had finally unearthed the mystery

of the double murder case after ana-

lysing different reports, samples and

information.

The charge sheet is almost finalised

and it will be submitted to the court

soon, he said.

On August 14 last year, SB inspector

Mahfuzur and his wife Shapna were

stabbed to death at their rented flat in

Chamelibagh, Malibagh. Police recov-

ered their bodies on August 16. Oishee,

19, with housemaid Shumi, surren-

dered at Paltan police station on Au-

gust 17.

Later, Oishee gave a statement un-der interrogation that she had killed

her parents and housemaid Shumi

had helped her do this. Investigators

also found the involvement of her two

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Criminal masterminds hire rookies and stay behind the scenesnAshif Islam Shaon and

Mohammad Jamil Khan

The formation of new crime gangs has

been on the rise over the past few years

as listed fugitive criminals prefer to op-

erate from behind the scenes and use

rookie operatives in the field, detec-

tives have said.

With a multi-layered contractingstrategy in place, the criminal master-

minds manage to evade law enforcers

by using third or fourth party contacts

to hire young people, mostly teen-

agers, to commit killings, attacks or

extortion.

Detectives from Dhaka MetropolitanPolice and Rapid Action Battalion said

some new groups of hired guns that

were not previously on their radar

have been identified during investiga-

tion into a number of murder cases in

the past few years.

Detectiv e Branch offi cials sai d they

discovered a new gang of hired kill-

ers last July after the arrest of listed

criminal Banga Babu from Mirpur. All

nine members of an emerging gang,

who were involved in the killing of

Chhatra League leader Fazlur Rah-

man Babu, were arrested on Babus

information.

The ring leader Titu said he ar-

ranged the killing over a dispute about

a garment wastage business. He hired

two youths to shoot Babu and after ar-

resting them we found that the youths

were new to the profession, said a DB

senior offi cial seeki ng anonymity.

On December 6 last year, a young

businessman, Kamruzzaman Sumon,

was shot dead at Paris Road in Mir-

pur section 10. Investigation later re-

vealed that three hired shooters

were used to kill Sumon over extortion

demands.

In another incident, three members

of Savars Ganchil crime gang were

arrested following the killing of Basu

at Shah-Ali in the capital. During a po-

lice remand, one of its members, Selim,

told police that they nowadays did not

take part directly in killings or collect-

ing extortion money. Instead, a first

party is hired who later hires another,

and usually the fourth or the fifth party

executes the killing.

A DB offi cial sa id the novic e crim-

inals belonged to the fourth party,

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir talks to party Chairperson

Khaleda Zia at the rally held in Suhrawardy Udyan yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina consoles family members of a victim who died in an attack

during the January 5 poll. The photo was taken in Satkhira yesterday PMO


2/21

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 21, 2014

A portion of supporters at the BNP rally held in the citys Suhrawardy Udyan yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Presidents concession

PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

used to spend hours at his parliament of-

fice, but his movement would result in

massive traffi c jam as the Special Security

Force would close the roads for a long time.

Considering the consequences, Ha-

mid has decided not to attend any pro-

gramme far fro m his offi cial reside nce

Bangabhaban. He hardly attends pro-

grammes at the Bangabandhu Interna-

tional Conference Centre at Agargaon

or any hotel in the heart of the city.

Anyone wishing Hamids presenceas the chief guest must arrange the

programme at the Osmani Auditorium

in front of the Secretariat, which lies in

the 200m radius of Bangabhaban so that

traffi c movement is not disr upted.l

Oishee: ChargesheetPAGE 1 COLUMN 3friends Roni and Joni in the murder

case and they were arrested later. They

are now in jail while Oishee and Sumi

are in Kashmipur Womens Jail.

Investigators said they had finalised

the charges after getting evidence of

Oishees presence at the murder scene

from DNA report.

Meanwhile, the High Court yester-

day denied Sumi bail. The bench of

Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Gobinda

Chandra Tagore said the bail for Sumi

might disrupt the process of investiga-

tion and her safety might also be com-

promised.l

Inqilab reporterremandedPAGE 1 COLUMN 1

The court rejected the bail pleas for

News Editor Rabiulla Ulla Robi and

Deputy Chief Reporter Rafiq Moham-

mad and sent them to prison.

The three journalists were detained

on January 16 for producing fabricat-

ed news regarding the presence of

Indian military inside Bangladesh ter-

ritory and the newspapers press was

sealed off. Later, the daily apologised

for producing the report.l

BNP offers olive branch againPAGE 1 COLUMN 3

She said it was necessary to initiate a

dialogue immediately with a view to

hold an acceptable election to bring

peace in the country.

The BNP chief termed the government

illegal, shameless, killer and b etrayer.

Branding the government as fa-

ther of autocrats, she alleged that

it assumed power forcibly through a

one-sided election and raised the is-

sues of vote rigging.

The government formed after theelection in which people did not cast

their votes cannot be pro-people. The

election has proven that a fair poll can-

not be possible without a non-party gov-

ernment. As the government does not

have public support, it is trying to stay in

power by using force and no government

can stay in power by this way, she said.

Khaleda said the government had

no right to sit in parliament. Every-

body has rejected the election. It is not

acceptable to anyone. That is why, we

want to say, take initiative for talks im-

mediately to hold elections.

She also termed the Election Com-mission spineless and criticised it for

claiming the voter turnout to be 40%.

Five percent vote was not cast in the

election she claimed adding: No fair

election could be held under this Elec-

tion Commission.

Several election monitoring groups

have recorded the turnout to be around

30-37%.

Citing two national dailies, the BNP

chief said, Those who are voters did

not go to the polling centres that day.

Only non-voters cast their votes. It is a

stigmatised government.

Attack on minorities

The 18-party leader brushed aside the

allegations that the activists of Jamaat

and BNP were attacking the Hinducommunities across the country.

She alleged that it was the govern-

ment supporters who had attacked the

minority communities to divert peo-

ples attention from its failure to get

public support during the voting.

She said: It is the responsibility of

the government to ensure security of

the minorities. The government has

also failed to arrest the attackers.

Joint forces drive

Khaleda claimed that the indepen-

dence and sovereignty of Bangladesh

was under threat and urged freedom

fighters and young people to protect

the country and its democracy.

In her speech at the post-election

rally in the capitals Suhrawardy Udyan,

the three-time former premier claimed

that the government had been killing

and abducting people in the name ofjoint forces drive across the country.

Criticising the government for clos-

ing the daily Inqilab, Khaleda said: The

reports they published also came in

Facebook and many online [media]. If

the incident was not true, the govern-

ment should explain it. Why did it arrest

the journalists and sealed off the press?

In a report on January 16, the news-

paper claimed that Indian troops were

seen among the members of law en-

forcers conducting joint operation in

Jamaat-dominated Satkhira area. Fol-

lowing this, police launched a drive at

the newspaper s offi ce on Ramakrish naMission Road and arrested three of its

journalists reporter Ahmmed Atiq,

Deputy Chief Reporter Rafiq Moham-

mad and News Editor Rabiulla Ulla

Robi. They also sealed its press.

Later, the daily apologised for pro-

ducing the report.

Khaleda yesterday said: The way

repression is taking place seems that

they [join force members] are not the

forces of our country. No citizen of Ban-

gladesh can act this way with the coun-

trymen.

She asked the government to stop

repression or face the peoples trial

one day.

Mentioning about the law enforc-

ers-Jamaat clash in Gaibandha, the

BNP chief asked whether the countrys

sovereignty was still intact or the gov-

ernment had sold it to others.

MilitancyKhaleda said militancy would be com-

pletely uprooted from the country

when the Awami League steps down

from offi ce. The BNP will not allow

the country to be a free place for mil-

itants.

She claimed that the BNP-led gov-

ernment in 2001-06 had the experience

of uprooting militancy. Militancy in-

creased in the country during the Awa-

mi League tenure and the BNP evicted

the militan ts after assumi ng offi ce.

The former premier ruled out alle-gations and cases of money laundering

against the BNP leaders. You [gov-

ernment] are laundering money from

the country. We have the information

[about the senders and the amount].

She alleged that the government

was violating the constitution.

Terming HM Ershads role during

the election drama, Khaleda said in

1986, Hasina had taken part in the elec-

tion under Ershad and this time the

opposite.

The two autocrats are eating up the

country and plundering the countrys

assets, Khaleda said.l

PM: No criminal will be sparedPAGE 1 COLUMN 6

They created such a situation that eco-

nomic activities came to a standstill and

it was very diffi cult to ru n schools . But

due to our timely steps for containing ter-

rorism and militancy, peace was restored

and people could cast their votes, she

said.

Hasina congratulated the people for

playing a courageous role and casting

vote in the January 5 poll.

BNPs cohort is Jamaat, which com-

mitted genocide and crimes against

humanity during the Liberation War of

1971 by killing people, torching hous-

es and raping mothers and sisters, she

said.

She said the BNP chief had failed both

in waging movement and resisting polls.

Now she is getting burnt in the fire of

failure and also burning people in the

flame, she said.I would like to warn the BNP leader

that the people want peace, food, shelter

and healthcare services. So do not de-

stroy the peace of the people, she said.

The prime minister said her previous

government started the trial of the 1971

culprits who committed crimes against

humanity during the War of Libera-

tion in 1971 to free the country from the

stigma.

But the BNP leader became mad

when the trial began and she tried to pro-

tect the 1971 culprits by unleashing atroc-

ities across the country, she said.I want to ask the BNP leader why

she is trying to save the war criminals. I

think she does not believe in the coun-

trys independence. Her mind remains in

Pakistan and she always dreams of Pyare

[beloved] Pakistan and for this, she is so

sympathetic to the war criminals.

The prime minister said the aim of

her government was to establish Bangla-

desh as a peaceful country in South Asia.

There will be no room for terrorist and

militant organisations in the country,

she said.

Hasina said those who had stained thesoil of Satkhira with blood by unleashing

killing would not be spared and called

upon the people of the district to stand

up against the atrocities.

We will be with you and the law en-

forcement agencies will stand beside

you. And Satkhira will not remain blood-

stained. We will root out terrorism from

the district, she said.

The prime minister said the country

had been liberated under the leadership

of Bangabandhu and people irrespective

of caste, creed and religion fought for in-

dependence.

So people of all faiths will live in the

country with equal rights, she said.

The premier said the affected families

of the victims of the BNPJamaat atroci-

ties had already been given financial as-

sistance. The Border Guard Bangladesh

has been tasked with rebuilding their

damaged houses, she said. l

Criminal mastermindsPAGE 1 COLUMN 6

while the second or the third party sup-

plied them small arms for executing

the orders.

After negotiating the fees, the hirer

reportedly provides the name, address,

phone number and location to the

channel. A token amount is also paid

during the dealings as security money.

The wages, ranging between one

and five lakh taka, are reportedly fixed

according to the profile of the targeted

person. The costs come down when the

crime is related to establishing domi-

nance in an area. The shooters get 30-

40% of the contract money.

According to sources, the killer

groups are operated by Tejgaons listed

criminal Sweden Aslams maternal fa-

ther-in-law Tutul, Pagla Delu, Sarboha-

ra Badsha, Kader and Miraj.

On January 14, 2010, criminals shotdead ward No 41 ALs General Secre-

tary Fazlul Haque. Following the arrest

of one Dulal, he told the court that he

received only TK5,000 and some drugs

in exchange of the execution.

On December 20, 2009, Ramna

Mosques Imam Shaheed Hossain was

killed by Bayejeed and Uzzal both

novice hired shooters.

When contacted, Senior Assistant

Commissioner of DB Tawhidul Islam

said: We have found examples of

hired killing in the last one year...But

these youths do not get much moneyfor the executions.

RABs Additional DG Col Ziaul Ahsan

said professional killers took part with

Jubo League leader Jahid Siddique Tarek

in the murder of Jubo League leader Ria-

zul Haque Milki last August.

Sources said listed criminals like Sub-

rata Bayeen, Mollah Masud, Nobi Hossain

Adnan, Prince, Haris, Ashique, Prokash,

Bikash, Shahdat, Pial, Zishan, Aga Shahim,

Nasir, Imam Hossain, Omar Faruk Kochi,

Mashiur Rhamn Kochi, Snaullah, Kala

Mabud were on the run, while Sweden

Aslam, Joseph, Killer Abbas were in jail. l

EC behind schedule in providingservices for candidatesnMohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission was nearly aday behind schedule in providing ser-

vices related to the first phase of the

upazila polls as the guidelines for aspi-

rant candidates and nomination forms

and electoral equipment were yet to

reach their destinations until yesterday

evening.

The commission announced the

schedule of the first phase of the fourth

upazila polls on Saturday and was ex-

pected to perform these tasks immedi-

ately after that.

Many aspirants visiting the com-

missions o ffi ce to k now pro cedures

for candidature returned disappointed

yesterday, as the later failed to provide

them with necessary information.

However, a seni or offi cial s aid the

commission issued two circulars in-

cluding one with guidelines for the

aspirant s and one for the returning offi -

cers and sent nomination forms to the

respective upazilas in the evening.

The documents are likely to reach

their destinations early today.

Three aspirant candidates from

Munshiganj returned from the

commis sions offi ce in th e morning ,

without getting any information

with regards the polls scheduled for

February 19.

According to the schedule announced

on Saturday, polls to 102 upazila par-

ishads out of 487 will held in the first

phase. The last date for filing an appli-

cation for candidacy is January 25 andthe applications will be scrutinised on

January 27.

The last date for withdrawing candi-

dacy is February 3.

EC offi cials said asp irant candid ates

could not collect nomination forms

from their respective areas since the

forms did not reach their destinations

on the day of the schedule announce-

ment.

The commission has reportedly

appoint ed some of its own offi cials

as return ing offi cers in the upa zila

parishads polls and is currentlyexamining several pieces of election

equipment such as stump pad and

brush seals.

According to offi cials, it has also tak-

en preparations for printing 24-crore

ballot papers for the three-phase polls

considering the eight crore voters

available in the upazila levels.

The possible number of polling cen-

tres is over 42,000 while that of polling

booths is 200,000.l

Upazila polls:schedule for 2ndphase soon

Last week of February or the week nextamong probable choices for election

nMohammad Zakaria

The election commission is likely to

announce the schedule of the second

phase of upazila polls sometime this

week, with the probable dates of elec-

tion ranging between the last week of

February and the first week of March.

The commission is bound by law to

hold elections before the tenure of an

upazila parishad expires. We already

announced the poll-schedule for par-

ishads nearing their expiry dates and

will announce the schedule for the

second phase in a day or two, Election

Commissioner Md Shah Newaz said

yesterday.

The second phase of polls will be

held either in the last week of Febru-

ary or the fi rst week of March, he said,

narrowing down the list of possibledates to February 27-28 and March 1-2.

The commission on Sunday an-

nounced that the first phase of polls,

with 102 upazila parishads out of 487,

would be held on February 19.

The second phase will include polls

to over 100 upazilas while polls to some

upazilas will be held in the third week

of March.

The third phase of polls, with the re-

maining upazilas, may occur sometime

in the third week of May, the commis-

sioner added.

In deciding election dates, the com-mission is keeping in mind the dates

of SSC examinations so that students

do not run into snags resulting from a

schedule clash.

According to the electoral laws, polls

to the upazila parishads must be held

within 180 days before their terms ex-

pire. The five-year term starts with the

first meeting of the respective upazila

parishad.

In the last upazila parishad polls

held in 2009, Awami League-backed

candidates won a landslide victory by

bagging around 400 posts of chairper-

sons.l

Jamaat hints at new strategyPAGE 1 COLUMN 4

the meeting. These three parties are

known to be directly involved with He-

fazat-e-Islam, an Islamist organisation.

Though the party staged the pro-

gramme alone in the capital, rallies

across the country were held under the

banner of the 18-party alliance.

BNP leaders said they held the rally

alone to restore its tarnished image,

showing people that the BNP was a

political party which did not believe in

violence and the responsibility of vio-

lence was not on them.

Islamic parties were not invited to

the programme, Mustafizur Rahman

Iran, chairman of Bangladesh Labour

Party, an alliance member, told the

Dhaka Tribune.

When asked why, Iran said, Proba-

bly in the face of pressure from the in-

ternational community.

The European Union parliament ad-

opted a resolution on Thursday, urging

the BNP to distance itself from Jamaat

and Hefazat, while emphasising shun-

ning of political violence and an urgent

consensus between the major parties.

The EU parliament stressed that

parties which turn to terrorist acts

should be banned.

The BNP has maintained an alliance

with Jamaat for more than a decade,

calling it a strategic partner.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

has announced that her government

would hold talks with BNP if the party

severed ties with the Jamaat and

in different media interviews BNPChairperson Khaleda Zia said BNP

would cut ties with Jamaat at the right

time.l

5 BNP leaders, including Fakhrul, secure bailnNazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday granted bail

to five detained BNP leaders who are ac-

cused in various cases lodged during re-cent anti-government protests.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Goyeshwar Chandra

Roy, Mirza Abbas and Aman Ullah Aman

were freed on anticipatory bail for different

periods by the bench of Justice Borhanud-

din and Justice KM Kamrul Kader.

The same bench granted six months

ad-interim bail to jailed BNP Joint Sec-

retary Mahbub Uddin Khokon in each of

the three cases against him, clearing the

way for his release, his lawyer, AJ Mo-

hammad Ali, said. Khokon was shown

arrested in two cases of arson filed with

Motijheel and Ramna police stations and

one of instigating Hefazat-e-Islam.

The court also gave bail to Mirza Fakhrul

for eight weeks in three cases by modifying

an earlier order that had directed law en-

forcers to refrain from arresting or harassing

the BNP leader in new cases without due

process, his lawyer Bodruddoza Badal told

the Dhaka Tribune.

The HC bench that passed the order

on Thursday did not have the jurisdiction

to pass such an order, Badal said. The

bench that deals with writ petitions has

that jurisdiction, he added. l

Aspirants could not collectnomination forms from theirrespective areas since theforms did not reach theirdestinations on the day of theschedule announcement


3/21

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 21, 2014Growth not less than6.3% this year: MuhithnAsif ShowkatKallol

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said

the countrys GDP growth will not fall

below 6.3% from the 7.2% targeted for

the current fiscal year,since the an-

nounced rate was ambitious.

Nothing can cut down the econom-

ic expansionof Bangladesh, financem-

inister told journalists yesterday after a

meeting with the chairmen and man-

aging directors of state-owned banks,

insurance companies and financial in-

stitutions.

Muhith also said the growth target

was fixed at 7.2% in the current fiscal

year in accordance with the good per-

formance of the previous fiscal year and

would be revised in the next budget.

Regarding the estimation of the

growth rate by development partners,

Muhith said the World Bank and the

International Monetary Fund had es-

timated the GDP growth rate conserv-

atively.

The World Bank annual forecast

said Bangladeshs GDP growth would

be around 5.7% in this fiscal year, due

to political unrest, image crisis of the

garment sector and slow remittance

growth.

IMF estimated the growth to be 6%

in 2013-14 fiscal year.

In Grand Alliance governments

last tenure, the growth rate remained

above 6% except for one fiscal year in

which it was 5.7%, he added.

Muhith said the countrys economic

position had been well during the firsthalf of the current fiscal year.

The position of GDP growth rate,

export, foreign exchange reserve of

Bangladesh was also good but import

and revenue earningshad slowed down

a bit, he said.

Our economic situation is still quite

well,although we had feared that the

economy would fall into a bad situation

due to the prolonged blockades and

hartals, the minister said.l

Biman NY flightsresume in June

nMuhammad Zahidul Islam

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is going to

resume its flights to New York from

June 12, a high offi cial of the national

flag carrier said last night.

A source in Bimans marketing di-

vision told the Dhaka Tribune that the

airline would start selling tickets of the

New York flights from January 31.

The Biman New York flights were

grounded in 2006.

Initially, there will be two flights a

week one leaving Dhaka for the US city

at 2pm and the other leaving New York

for Dhaka at 4pm local time.Biman, however, could not yet con-

firm the days of the flights.

We have initially confirmed about the

date [of resuming the flights] and we are

planning measures to meet that target,

Khan Mosharaf Hosen, general manager

for Bimans public relations, said.

Resuming Biman flights to New York

was an election pledge of the Awami

League and although it tried hard in the

past couple of years, it failed.

A Biman source said they had re-

ceived nods for the two flights from

the New York safety agency and the US

Department of Transportation, and Bi-

mans next steps now depended on the

availability of passengers.

Although we have some technical

challenges, we are ready and have al-

ready leased two Boeing aircraft from

Egypt Airli nes, a high offi cial sai d.

Biman, now a losing concern, re-

cently requested the government to

allow it a commercial borrowing of

$200m to help overcome the financial

crisis before the fleet lands. l

Pakistani militants heldin Dhaka remandednKailash Sarkar

Three trained militants of banned

Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), alleg-

edly assigned to carry out destruction

ahead of January 5 election, were ar-

rested in the capital late Sunday nightwith bomb-making manuals in their

possessions.

The South Division of Detective

Branch arrested TTP members Me-

hmud, 26, from Malir district, and Us-

man, 23, and Fakhrul Hasan, 50, from

Kourangi district, in front of Shilpakala

Academy around 11pm.

Two separate cases were filed

against them with Ramna police sta-

tion under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009

and the Foreign Act 1964.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrates

Court yesterday granted the DB 13 days

in the cases to interrogate them.

Immediately after the execution of

war criminal Abdul Quader Molla, the

TTP threatened to bomb the Bangla-

desh High Commission in Pakistan.

The detained TTP members from

Arakan in Myanmar settled in Paki-

stan with their families and secured

Pakistani citizenships. According to DB

offi cials , they used to visit Myan mar

often, said Joint Commissioner Mon-

irul Islam at a press briefing at the DMPMedia Centre.

Monirul said of the TTP men, Me-

hmud and Usman did not have any

passports although a Pakistani passport

was found in the possession of Fakhrul,

but his visa expired. All the three ac-

cused had been staying at Kakrail to

start for Teknaf in Coxs Bazar.

The detectives were informed that

the TTP members were staying in Bang-

ladesh to carry out destructive activities

ahead of January 5 election, he said.

DB offi cials s aid alt hough al l the

three detained used to speak Urdu, of

them, Usman and Fakhrul could speak

in Bengali. Fakhrul was acting as guide

to travel to Teknaf, said the DB offi cials.

Monirul said the manuals seized

from the three militants contained

instructions of making of 12 types of

bombs.

All the three TTP militants have

also the expertise in the making of 12types of bombs, including grenades

and car bombs. They also have the ex-

pertise in the operation of heavy and

automatic firearms used by militants in

Afghanistan and Iraq, he said.

Among them, Fakhrul came in Bang-

ladesh one and a half months ago while

Mehmud and Usman had been arrested

earlier by another intelligence agency.

After being freed on bail, they want-

ed to go back to Pakistan. But Fakhrul

did not let them return as he had a

special mission to conduct destructive

activities in Bangladesh. Their attempt

was foiled for the activities of the DB,

Monirul claimed.

According to the DB offi cials, the

detained TTP members had trainings

from the TTP experts at Waziristan in

Pakistan on making bombs, attacking

techniques and operation of various

firearms.

They were also determined to be or-

ganised under the banner of Tehreek-e-

Azadi Arakan for fighting there.

The DB offi cials sa id they had beentrying to know about the motive be-

hind their attempt to travel to Teknaf

as well as their aides and associates in

Bangladesh.l

ACC to scrutinise rising wealth ofministers, MPs and their relativesnSyed Samiul Basher Anik

The Anti-Corruption Commission will

soon form a committee to conduct a

formal i nquiry int o the affi davits of

ministers and MPs who participated in

the January 5 poll.

Following newspaper reports on

the phenomenal rise in wealth of some

ministers and MPs during the last five

years, the ACC has collected the news-

paper clippings and is now scrutinising

the files, ACC Secretary Faizur Rahman

Chowdhury told reporters yesterday.

He said the commission was yet to

initiate any formal inquiry against any

specific person.

A committee will be formed soon to

formally inquire into the wealth rises of

MPs and ministers, he told reporters

while addressing the monthly briefing

at the ACC headquarters.

He added that the commission

would also investigate all the suspect-

ed candidates relatives wealth, as the

ACC realised that people may have ac-

cumulated illegal wealth in their rela-

tives names.

Responding to a query, the secretary

also said the ACC was not hesitant to

inquire into the wealth of ministers and

MPs, and that it will conduct all its ac-

tivities in accordance with the ACC act.

However, sources at the ACC said

the commission has already started in-

quiring into the wealth of nine people,

including six from Awami League, twofrom BNP and one other from a small

party.

Asked about the ACCs course of ac-

tion were the government to disapprove

of charges being filed, Faizur said al-

though the commission did not require

government permission to file a case,

they did need permission to file charges.

If we do not get permission, the

media is here. Additionally, if we can-

not get permission after having all the

documents, we can seek courts sup-

port on the matter, he said.Two and half years after it was ta-

bled, the Anti-Corruption Commission

(Amendment) Bill 2013 was approved

by parliament on November 10 last

year; ignoring protests from politi-

cians, civic forums and corruption

watchdogs. A provision in the bill

requiring the graft-busting agency to

get approval from government before

filing cases against judges, magistrates

and public servants drew huge criti-

cism from different sectors.

Answering a separate query about

the money laundering case against

BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique

Rahman, the secretary said the ACC

had appealed in the case after the ac-

quittal of Tarique.

Following the ACCs appeal, the

court directed him to surrender him-

self. If he does not fo llow the directives

and does not surrender, that is a matter

for the court, not for the ACC, he said.

The High Court on Sunday accept-

ed the ACCs petition, which appealed

against the lower courts verdict ac-

quitting the BNP senior vice-chairman,

and ordered Tarique to surrender be-

fore the court in the aforementioned

money laundering case.

The secretary also shed light on the

activities of the commission, saying the

ACC, in December, had received 490

corruption allegations; out of which

which, 71 cases were considered for

further investigation.

The ACC also approved the filing of 17

cases and 16 charge sheets in December.The judgments of seven cases inves-

tigated by the ACC were pronounced

during the month, among which, the ac-

cused were acquitted from four cases.l

Ershad, Rawshanto choose reservewomen MPsnManik Miazee

Jatiya Partys Secretary General ABM

Ruhul Amin Howlader yesterday said

Ershad and his wife Rawshan Ershad

would jointly select candidates for

competing in the reserved seats, in-stead of conducting interviews. They

would list candidates and send it to the

Election Commission soon, he said.

It was not possible to nominate all

of the 96 aspirants for the six seats.

Howlader denied the allegation that

JaPa nominates candidates for re-

served seats in exchange of money.

In reply to a query on the ongoing

conflict between Ershad and Rawshan,

he said it was false and rootless.

The decision to drop the interview

session to select candidates for the

female MPs election has dissatisfied

the aspirants whose interviews were

scheduled to take place at Ershads po-

litica l offi ce at 11am.

The nomination seekers and Ershad

went there on time, but the JaPa chief

did not conduct any interview.l

Razakars chantedYusuf Bhai

Jindabaad: witnessnUdisa Islam

War crimes suspect AKM Yusuf was re-

sponsible for the killing of 60 Hindus,

looting and arson at Ranjitpur of Khan-

pur in Bagerhat, a new prosecution

witness told the International CrimesTribunal 2 yesterday.

Bijoy Krishna, the 22nd witness in

the case, gave his deposition after the

defence completed cross-examination

of previous witness Dilip Das. Both of

them placed their statements on charge

number two. Bijoy said the villagers

had formed pro-liberation groups after

March 7, 1971. After over two months,

on May 13, they came to know that some

razakars had been preparing to attack.

On May 13, Yusufs accomplices

came to the village and set the houses

on fire. All of them who were on duty to

protect the village from any attack re-

treated as they were not well prepared.

After around four hours of the de-

struction, razakars had left the area

chanting slogan Yusuf Bhai Jindabaad.

Bijoy said he and the villagers had

seen many dead bodies lying here and

there. The body of his younger uncle Sa-

natan Das was found beside his house.

The witness mentioned about a mon-

ument on Ranjitpur School ground erect-

ed in memory of at least 24 martyrs.His testimony remained incomplete

as the tribunal adjourned the proceed-

ings until today.

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Yusuf is fac-

ing 13 counts of crimes against human-

ity including genocide, murders, arson

attacks, abduction, torture in confine-

ment, and forced conversion and de-

portation of Hindus at different places

of Bagerhat district. l

Detective police present thr ee militants of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan before the m edia after their arrest in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Crackdown onillegal workersin Malaysiafrom todaynRabiul Islam

The Malaysian government will com-

mence with its crackdown on undoc-

umented migrant workers after the

three-month grace period set by theirhome ministry expired on January 20.

The Malaysian authorities have

informed us the crackdown will start

from January 21, Bangladesh labour

counsellor to Malaysia Mantu Kumar

Biswas told the Dhaka Tribune.

On October 20, 2013, the authorities

declared a three-month amnesty peri-

od for all illegal foreign workers includ-

ing Bangladeshis to become legalised.

As the deadline ended, Malaysia

would start crackdown from today, of-

ficials at Bangladesh High Commission

in Malaysia said.

Asked about probable number of il-

legal migrants from Bangladesh, the la-

bour counsellor said the Malaysian au-

thorities had not yet provided the list.

At least 4,00,000 to 5,00,000 Bang-

ladeshis were working in Malaysia, he

said.

Bangladesh High Commission said

approximately 30,000 Bangladeshis

failed to become legalised.

While talking to the Dhaka Tribune,

Minister for Expatriates Welfare andOverseas Employment, Khandker Mos-

harraf Hossainsaid, We have nothing

to do for those who could not become

legalised as we have done much to

persuade the Malaysian authority to

extend the amnesty period, and the

authority gave three more months. l


4/21

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 21, 2014

City High Low

Dhaka 23.9 16.6

Chittagong 28.0 15.9

Rajshahi 19.8 11.3

Rangpur 22.2 15.7

Khulna 24.3 15.1

Barisal 26.0 13.7

Sylhet 28.5 13.8

Coxs Bazar 29.1 17.2

PRAYER TIMES

Fajar 5:24am

Sunrise 6:43am

Zohr 12:10am

Asr 4:01pm

Magrib 5:37pm

Esha 6:56pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Weather to remainunchanged

nUNB

Weather is likely to remain dry with

temporary partly cloudy sky over the

country until 6pm today.Moderate to thick fog may persist

over the country from midnight till

morning, Met Offi ce said.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:37pm

today and rises at 6:43am tomorrow.

Countrys highest temperature 29.5

degrees Celsius was recorded yester-day in Teknaf and lowest 11.3 degrees

in Rajshahi. Highest and lowest tem-

perature recorded in some major cities

yesterday were:

Government websites yet to update profiles ofministers, state ministersnSyed Samiul Basher Anik

Though over a week has passed since

the new government sworn in, many

ministries are yet to update the pro-

files of their newly elected ministers

and state ministers on their respective

websites, according to Dhaka Tribunefindings.

At least 15 ministry websites out

of the total 40 ministries were yet to

update the profile of their designated

minister or state minister as of yester-

day. Some of the websites still showed

the previous ministers profile, while

many did not have the field for profiles

of state ministers.

On January 12, a 49 member cabinet

led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

was sworn in among which 29 were

ministers, 17 were state ministers and

two were deputy ministers.

After visiting all the websites, it was

found that profiles of ministers were

not uploaded in Ministry of Religious

Affairs, Ministry of Planning, Ministry

of Land, Ministry of Social Welfare and

Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamen-

tary Affairs websites.The website of religious affairs min-

istry showed the profile of Mujibul

Haque as its minister, the law ministry

showed Barrister Shafique Ahmed, the

planning ministry showed Air Vice-

Marshal (Retd) AK Khandker and the

land ministry showed Amir Hossain

Amu as its minister.

On the other hand, Ministry of So-

cial Welfare is yet to create any field

for its new minister Syed Mohsin Alisprofile.

The ministrys website only had the

profile of Promod Mankin, the state

minister.

Meanwhile, the food ministry

which was created splitting Ministry

of Food and Disaster Management on

September 15, 2012, is yet to start a

website. Similarly, the railway ministry

also do not have a website though it wascreated on December 4, 2011, separating

from the Ministry of Communications.Many ministry websites are yet to

initiate a designated place even for the

state ministers profile. The textiles

and jute ministry, finance ministry,

fisheries and livestock ministry, land

ministry, primary and mass education

ministry and information ministry do

not have any option for the profile of

state ministers till date. These are the

ministries where no state minister was

designated during the previous ten-

ure of the ruling Awami League from2008 to 2013.

No profiles were also found at the

website of Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs

ministry and on the site of the Minis-

try of Youth and Sports, clicking on the

ministers profile field prompted the

message The page is under-construc-tion. The field for the ministrys depu-

ty minister was also not found.

Moreover, when the profile of the

designated minister for home ministry

was searched, the page showed an er-

ror message saying Page not found.

On the other hand, the website of

Bangladesh Parliament has also not yet

updated the list of newly elected MPs.

The fields Members of Parliament

and Contact a MP on the website

gives information on the MPs of the

ninth parliament. l

Bangladesh stresses collaborativepartnerships for ocean governancenSheikh Shahariar Zaman

Bangladesh has stressed that sea re-

sources must be governed on the prin-

ciples of mutual trust, respect and ben-

efits and equitable sharing of benefits.

Many of the developing countries

like Bangladesh do not possess the crit-

ically required resources, capabilities

and technologies.

"But that must not limit their ac-

cess and right of equitable harnessingof vast marine resources, said Secre-

tary (maritime affairs) Khorshed Alam

at the Blue Economy Summit in Abu

Dhabi yesterday.

In his speech, Alam said Bangladesh

recognised the need for collaborative

partnerships in the wider space of

ocean governance in a bid to explore

the untapped potentials in sea.

Countries as ours must be support-

ed in terms of knowledge and criticalminimum of resources and capacity tobring the bay under surveillance, he

said.

In the summit, he invited the Indian

Ocean rim countries to an expert level

meeting in Bangladesh in July to assess

and re-discover the wider potential of

blue economy and determine actions

regarding it.

The secretary pointed out that ris-

ing sea level and salinity intrusion up-

stream have posed existential threatsfor Bangladesh.

There is a critical need to inquire

into the science of ocean acidification

and the meteorological behavior and

related aspects in the Bay of Bengal,

he said.

Bangladesh has 12 nautical miles of

territorial sea, 200 nautical miles of ex-

clusive economic zone and continental

shelf beyond 200 nautical miles and

over 700km coastal frontiers.

About 475 species of fish are found

in the Bay of Bengal, more than 200

commercial trawlers operate in the

bay and over 50,000 mechanised and

non-mechanised boats ply on coastal

waters for fishing, while around 30 mil-

lion people rely on the sea to make a

living.l

BNP leaders to getrelease

nOur Correspondent, Gopalganj

Communication Minister Obaidul

Quader said BNP leaders, who werenot involved with major and specific

crimes, would be released gradually.

The minister told these while talk-

ing to journalists yesterday after paying

visit to the proposed Kalna Bridge area

on the Modhumoti River at the KalnaGhat in the district.

The minister said: The initiative of

negotiation with the BNP is underway

and Interim poll will b e held.

However, the minister did not men-

tion any definite time for the interim poll.

The minister placed wreath at the

mazar of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman. The minister was accompa-

nied by Noakhali 4 MP Ekramul Karim

Chowdhury and offi cials of Go palgan j

Roads and Highways Department.

The construction work of Padma

and Kalna bridges will start soon as

the premier will inaugurate these two

bridges in 2017, he said.l

PM asks cabinetto prioritiseprojects soonnMohosinul Karim

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yester-

day instructed the cabinet members

and high-ups of different ministries

and divisions to prioritise projects as

soon as possible.

The projects have to be selected

in terms of priority at the very outset

as those must be completed within

the tenure of the government which

was the election pledges of the ruling

party, the premier said in the cabinet

meeting.

After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary

M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the

media about the directives of the pre-

mier.

The cabinet division placed at the

cabinet meeting the achievements,

work progress and implementation of

the cabinet decisions under the previ-

ous government.

The cabinet secretary said the pre-

mier expressed her satisfaction overthe progress of implementation under

the previous government.

Sheikh Hasina also ordered the high

offi cials to publ ish the progress repo rts

of separate ministries and divisions, he

added.

According to the report, the previ-

ous Awami League-led alliance govern-ment took 1,508 decisions during its

tenure at its 228 cabinet meetings.

Of those, a total of 1,427 decisions

had been implemented.

Earlier, the BNP and Jamaat-led gov-

ernment had taken 745 decisions from

October 10, 2001 to October 3, 2006

holding 208 cabinet meetings.

A total of 611 (82%) decisions of thegovernment were implemented.

The secretary said the cabinet of

previous AL-led government approved

271 draft laws for passage in the parlia-

ment.

He said eight acts which were sent

to the parliament for passage were still

pending.

It was mandatory to get further ap-

proval for the acts from the new cabi-

net as those were sent to pass in the

ninth parliament, Musharraf Hossain

said, adding that those would be placed

before the cabinet shortly.

He added that at least 20 amend-ment proposals and new acts were

pending at the ministries and divisions

after getting approval of the cabinet.

The previous cabinet also approved

49 policies and strategies and 118 mem-

orandum of understandings (MoU) and

agreements.l

JU students for cancellingbails of Zubair killersnJU Correspondent

Students of Jahangirnagar University yes-

terday demanded that the bails of 13 ac-

cused, all activists of Chhatra League, in

Zubair Ahmed murder case be scrapped.

They announced a sit-in programme

outside the Judges Court during the

next hearing on Thursday.

At a press conference, members and

activists of Shontrasher Biruddhe Ja-

hangirnagar vowed that the killers

would not be allowed on the campus.

On Sunday, the accused attacked

two friends of Zubair who have been

involved with the anti-terrorism move-

ment since Zubairs death on January 9,

2012, Bangla department student Sam-

jeer Ahmed said at the press conference.

The accused also threatened the

activists with death...Under this cir-

cumstance, we urge the High Court to

take necessary action against the at-

tackers and cancel their bails.

Based on the university authoritys

investigation, the Syndicate expelled

seven of the accused for life and six

others for two years for their direct in-

volvement in the killing.

The agitating students yesterday

asked the university authority to take ac-

tion against Estate Offi cer Azim Uddin fo r

remaining silent during Sundays attack.

Azim, a former Chhatra League lead-er, had been removed from his post of

security offi cer after Zubairs death.

The students expressed concern as the

accused were moving freely on the cam-

pus with the help of administration and

some were staying at the dormitories.l

Doa MehfilA Doa Mehfil for the late Mujtahed Ud-

din Ahmed, former director of Bengal

Development Corporation (BDC), will

be held tomorrow at Gulshan Central

Mosque, after Asr prayers.All friends, family members and

well wishers are requested to attend

the prayers. Mr Ahmed died on Friday,

January 17, 2014 at the age of 90. l

50% specialallowance forSC judges

nMohosinul Karim

Supreme Court judges will enjoy a spe-cial allowance, equivalent to a half of

their basic salary.

The cabinet yesterday approved the

draft of the Supreme Court Judges (Re-

muneration and Privileges) (Amend-

ment) Law, 2014, keeping a provision

to give the higher court judges an extra

50% of their basic salary as a special al-

lowance.

Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hos-sain Bhuiyan disclosed it to the media

after the meeting. The draft was ap-

proved at the second cabinet meeting

with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in

the chair.

The move to give a pay rise to the judg-

es came two weeks after Awami League

was re-elected to power in the 10th par-

liamentary polls, held on January 5. l

Two commit

suicide in citynKailash Sarkar

A female college student and a house-

wife allegedly killed themselves in the

city yesterday.

Rabeya Akhter, 17, of East Nakhal-

para, a first year student of Tejgaon

Womens College, allegedly took in-

secticides, while housewife Sharmin

Akhter, 25, of Faidabad in Dakkh-

inkhan, allegedly hanged herself from

a ceiling fan.

Rabeyas mother Mamtaj Begum

said her daughter took insecticide

around 10:30pm as she snub her over

her study related issue. The girl died at

Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Housewife Sharmins family said

she killed herself yesterday evening

after quarreling with her husband who

does not have any job and lives at his

in-laws house.l

Defamation casefiled against DailyJugantor

nOur Correspondent, Chandpur

A defamation case was filed with a

Chandpur Senior Judicial Court against

the Bangla daily Jugantor yesterday for

carrying a false report on former home

minister MK Alamgir and former for-

eign minister Dipu Moni.Kachua upazila Jubo League activist

Kazi Enamul Haque Shamim filed the

case as complaint with court of Asim

Kumar De, demanding Tk200 crore as

compensation.

The court took the case into cogni-

zance and summoned the newspaper's

publisher Salma Islam, acting Edi-

tor Saiful Alam, Chief Reporter Enam

Ahmed and News Editor Abdur Rah-

man to the court on March 11.

Helal Uddin, counsel for the com-

plaint, told The Dhaka Tribune: The

Jugantor published a report on January

13 and 17 defaming the ministers, and

published several distorted pictures.

The newspaper editor, publisher

and other journalists should avoid pub-

lishing false reports, he said. l

Former Jamuna

Bank DMD arrestednTribune Report

The Anti-Corruption Commission yes-

terday arrested Mozammel Hossain,

a former deputy managing director of

Jamuna Bank Limited, from capitals

Segunbagicha area with the assistance

of law enforcement agencies.

ACC Assistant Director Mahbubur

Rahman along with local police arrest-

ed the offi cial aro und 3pm in co nnec-tion with the Tk990cr scam by Bismil-

lah Group, ACC Deputy Director Syed

Iqbal Hosssain told reporters.

On November 3 last year, ACC filed

12 cases against 53 offi cials of five banks

and the Bismillah Group, a terry towel

producer, for their alleged involvement

in the embezzlement of funded loans

worth over Tk990 crore. l

About 475 species of fish arefound in the Bay of Bengal,more than 200 commercialtrawlers operate in the bayand over 50,000 mechanisedand non-mechanised boats plyon coastal waters for fishing

Workers busy in the construction work of sanitary toilets for the devotees of Biswa Ijtema at the event's venue in Tongi yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

School children place floral wreaths at the incomplete monument of Shaheed Asad,

martyr of the mass uprising in 1969, yesterday in front of the Dhaka Medical College

Hospital to mark his 44th death anniversary DHAKA TRIBUNE


5/21

News 5DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 21, 2014

BNP rally causes long tailbacks, upsets commutersThe rally was set to start at 2pm,but thousands of supporters startedconverging on the venue earlier than thescheduled time

nAbu Hayat Mahmud

Traffi c congesti on in the capital reached

an intolerable height yesterday in the

wake of the BNP rally at Suhrawady

Udyan that contributed much to the

tailbacks across the city, much to the

dismay of commuters.

The BNP rally was set to start at

2pm, but thousands of leaders and ac-

tivists started converging on the venue

earlier than the scheduled time.

Traffi c police were compell ed to seal

one side of the road from Shahbagh to

Matsya Bhaban because of a huge pres-

ence of BNP leaders, activists and sup-

porters.

The t raffi c mov ement h alted on

the connecting roads Matsya Bhaban,

Shahbagh, High Court, Press Club,

Purana Partan, Gulistan, Motijheel,

Bijoynagar, Kakrail, Bangla Motor, Kar-wan Bazar and Farmgate, causing the

tailbacks across the city.

Moreover, a large number of buses

entered the city with BNP leaders and

activists from outside the capital to

join the rally that put pressure on the

city traffi c too, said traffi c police.

Samsun Nahar, an employee of a pri-

vate bank, lost almost two hours trying

to return home from work.

I have been waiting at the Motijhe-

el bus station for a bus for over 30 min-

utes, but am yet to find any, she said.

Most commuters had the same ques-

tion: Why must ordinary people suffer

because of the political programmes ofthe two major political parties?

Like Samsun Nahar, many were seen

waiting for vehicles for hours at differ-

ent bus stations to reach their destina-

tions.

I waited for a bus at Purana Paltan

for nearly an hour. It would actually

have been far easier had I just walked

back home, said Nilufar Iasmin, who

had to wait with hundreds of commut-

ers to get a ride home.

Habibur Rahman, a biker, said it took

him an hour to reach the National Press

Club from Bangla Motor, although it

was at best a 10-minute journey.

With the current political situation

slowly easing off, one would hope that

exasperated commuters of the city

would find respite in the immediate

future.l

More poor farmers turning to tobacco cultivationnAbu Bakar Siddique

Although fertile land across the coun-

try is shrinking, tobacco farming is in-

creasing day by day, mostly because

the government is not taking proper

initiatives to stop tobacco cultivation

and encourage farmers to cultivate

other crops.

According to the Department of Ag-

riculture Extension, a total of 108,000

hectares of land have been brought

under tobacco cultivation this year,

38,000 hectares more than the last,while farmers cultivated tobacco on

70,000 hectares of land.

Of the total land, 40,000 hectares of

land was in Kushtia, 28,000 hectares

in Bandarban, 30,000 hectares in Nil-

phamari and Lalmonirhat and 10,000

hectares in Rangpur.

Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat dis-

tricts are new additions to tobacco

farming; interestingly however, to-

bacco farming has seen a reduction in

Rangpur, an area which has seen much

success in the past.

Currently, many farmers are not in-terested to cultivate paddy and winter

crops on their land as they often do not

get fair prices because of poor market-

ing and transport.

Unlike the government, many to-

bacco companies are providing various

facilities to farmers so that they feel en-

couraged to cultivate tobacco.

Most tobacco farmers earn more

profit from their production as they are

convinced by the prices tobacco com-

panies offer.

Tobacco farming needs a huge

amount of fertiliser and poor farmers

often receive credit from tobacco com-

panies to buy the fertilizer.

In many cases, these companies give

advance money and agri-inputs, in-

cluding fertiliser and seeds to farmers,

to encourage them in the cultivation.

Tobacco companies give me all

kinds of inputs, fertilisers and pesti-

cides, in advance to cultivate and final-

ly buy my produce, said Abdul Latif, a

farmer of Lama Upazilla in the hill dis-

trict Bandarban.

Poor farmers like me who do not

have ability to meet the expenditure

of farming materials are receiving ad-

vance money from tobacco companies

to cultivate their land, he said.

He said he had brought two acres of

his land under tobacco cultivation this

year.

In addition, some farmers, who have

ability to cultivate their farmland with

their own resources, are also engaged in

tobacco farming as it gives them guar-

antee of sale of their farm production.

Zamal Khondker, a farmer of Dow-latpur area of Kustia, who used to cul-

tivate sugarcane even five years ago,

had faced many obstacles in selling his

agri-produces.

Like me, many farmers have start-

ed tobacco cultivation simply because

theres more money in it, he said.

In Bangladesh, tobacco is generally

cultivated in Rabi (dry) season which is

approximately in between November

and March.

British American Tobacco (Bat),

Dhaka Tobacco and some other lo-

cal companies are engaged in makingfarmers interested in tobacco farming

to ensure supply of raw materials.

The DAE itself is worried about the

growing trend of tobacco cultivation as

it may reduce the acreage of the coun-

trys major cereal crop Boro paddy and

other seasonal crops, including wheat,

maize and pulse.

We have already taken different

initiatives, including creating aware-

ness on the negative impacts of tobac-

co, among the farmers to check the in-

creasing trends of tobacco cultivation,

said Abul Kalam Azad, deputy director

(Cash crops) of the DAE.

Farida Akhter, executive director of

Ubinig, said the rising trends of tobacco

cultivation is a result of governments

poor initiative as it failed to ensure fair

prices of agri-produces, which leads

the country towards infertility.

Farida urged the government to de-

marcate the area of agriculture land to

ensure countr ys food suffi ciency.

The government should impose a

ban on tobacco cultivation for food se-

curity of the country, she opined.

Abdul Wahab, an offi cial of BAT,

Bandarban, acknowledged that they

were helping farmers in tobacco culti-

vation.

He, however, said they did not force

farmers to cultivate tobacco in their

land rather they are creating opportu-

nity for farmers.

According to the DAE, Kustia, the

government has taken Greater Mujib-

nagar Project to discourage farmers in

tobacco cultivation.

Through the project, the depart-ment will create enthusiasm among

farmers so that they feel interested to

cultivate tobacco on their land. l

DANDY DYEING LOAN DEFAULT CASE

Court asks mediator tosubmit report on Feb 23nMd Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday asked the me-

diator of Dandy Dyeing Ltd loan default

case to submit report on the mediation

between complainant and defendant

on February 23.

Dhaka Artha Rin Court 1 Judge Md

Rabiuzzaman passed the order while

advocate Abdus Salam, mediator of the

case, filed for an extension before the

court to submit the report in writing.

The case was filed against BNP Se-

nior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman

and his brother Arafat Rahman Koko

for defaulting on the loan amounting

to Tk45.49crore.

On October 3, 2013, the court ap-

pointed the mediator for negotiation.

On October 2, 2012, Sonali Bank Ex-

ecutive Offi cer Md Nazrul Islam fil ed

the lawsuit against 10 directors of the

Dandy Dyeing Ltd, including Tarique

and Koko.

The 10 are Tarique Rahman, Arafat

Rahman Koko, Giasuddin Al Mamun

and his wife Shahina Yasmin, Nas-

rin Iskander, Shams Iskander, Shafin

Iskander, Sumaiya Iskander, Mozaffar

Ahmed and Kazi Galib Abdus Sattar.

As Mozaffar Ahmed died, the court

included his wife Samsun Nahar and

his son Masud Hasan as defendants in

the case.

33 Barisal BNP

leaders bailed

ad-interim

nOur Correspondent, Barisal

High Court yesterday granted ad-inter-

im bail for five weeks to 33 BNP leaders

and activists in Barisal in a case filed for

assaulting police.

An HC bench comprising Justice

Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Akram

Hossain granted the bail.

On November 11 last year, during a

blockade programme enforced by the

BNP-led 18-party alliance, the accused

BNP activists clashed with police in Ka-

shipur area of the c ity.

Sub-Inspector Mustafizur Rahman

lodged a case against 1254 people on

the same day including Maniruzzaman

Faruk, city BNP vice president, Ziaud-

din Shikdar, city BNP joint secretary

and Barisal City Corporation councilor,

and Afroza Khanam Nasrin, city joint

convener of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal

with Airport police station.

Mojibor Rahman Sarwar, Barisal city

BNP president and lawmaker and Mez-

bahuddin Farhad, lawmaker and dis-

trict (north) unit BNP president, wereearlier granted six-week ad-interim bail

in the same case. l

The people of Dhaka observe an unusual tailback after a long time yesterday. The photo was taken from Mohakhali flyover SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Minor girl

rescued afterabductionnOur Correspondent, Narayanganj

Narsingdi police rescued a one and

half-an-year old girl from the districts

Madhabdi upazila after 13-hour of her

abduction, but could not arrest anyone

in this connection.

The gang abducted the kid namedSumaiya Akter from her house in

Narayanganj on Sunday evening

around 4pm and demanded Tk30,000

as ransom.

Sayed Nurul Islam, superintendent

of police of Narayanganj, said Sharifa,

a member of an abduction gang who

was also a colleague of the minor girls

Metarnal aunt Munni, was used to visit

Sumaiyas house frequently.

On Sunday she visited the victims

house and took the girl with her by say-

ing the girls parents that she was going

out for a sightseeing. But they did not

return and the gang made a phone call

to the victims father demanding the

ransom money.

Following the incident, victim fa-

ther Sumon filed a complaint with Fat-

ullah Model police station.

Later, they rescued the girl yester-

day.l

Two AL MPs slate EC, newspapersin reply of show cause noticenMohammad Zakaria

Two newly elected Awami League MPs

Monirul Islam of Jessore 1 and Sheikh

Afil Uddin of Jessore 2 criticised the

Election Commission and mass media

in reply of a show cause notice.

Of the two lawmakers, Afil was

elected uncontested and Monirul in the

January-5 poll.

The lawmakers replied to the show

cause on Wednesday, criticising the EC,

electoral enquiry committee and five

newspapers Dinkal, Prothom Alo, Mana-

bzamin, Dhaka Tribune and Daily Star.

The lawmakers in the reply of the

show cause notice said the Election

Commission could not cancel their

candidatures after election.

If the ret urning offi cer wanted, he

could cancel their candidature before

the parliamentary polls, they said.

They also blamed the commission for

using indecent word against them and

urged the EC to withdraw it.

Afil, who is also the vice-president

of Jessore district unit Awami League,

allegedly called upon his supporters

to ensure win of Monirul by occupying

poll centres and casting false votes.

He made the directives while speak-

ing as chief guest at a view-exchange

meeting with Moniruls polling agents

on Parbazar High School premises in

Jhikargachha upazila on December 30.

A video clip of his speech was also

reached at journalists hand.

About the news story, they said the

news published in the newspaper was

not correct and the report made with

false information with a view to cre-

ate controversy. Attaching the copies

of news items, the EC issued the show

cause notice to them for violating the

electoral code of conduct on January 7.The commission, however, will hold

hearing over the matter on January 27,

EC offi cials sai d. l

Afil, who is also the vice-president of Jessore districtunit Awami League, allegedlycalled upon his supportersto ensure win of Monirul by

occupying poll centres andcasting false votes

The renovation work of Rajshahi Government Madrasa building is going on as its roof became risky. This administration

building of the institution was established around 130 years ago. The Photo was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE


6/21

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Maize cultivation gets a boost in JhalakatinTribune Report

Farmers in the district are cultivating maize in

larger areas of land this season as they made sat-

isfactory profit from the cereal item last year de-

spite onslaught of cyclonic storm Mahasen dur-

ing its harvest.

While visiting different areas of the district

recently, the UNB correspondent found growers

busy with maize cultivation in their fields.

They are now sowing seeds after tilling Aman

fields immediately after the harvest of the paddy.

This year, they have begun farming of the crop

earlier in order to avoid repetition of Mahasen-

like natural disaster.

Mohasen caused serious harm to maize cul-

tivation in the southern district last year, making

the growers deprived of more profit from the crop.

The farmers said non-government organisa-

tion Brac, under its Food Safety Programmes, en-

couraged them to cultivate maize, reports UNB.

Under supervision of the leading NGO, Hybrid

Variety of Pacific 984 maize is being cultivated on

213 acres of land (one acre=30 decimals) in Sadar

and Rajapur upazilas.

Besides, being encouraged by the offi cials of

local Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE),

farmers are growing the crop on further 385 ac res

of land in four upazilas, including Rajapur and

Sadar, of the district.

Of the 385 acres of land, some 125 acres are in Sa-

dar upazila, 63 acres in Nalchity upazila, 135 acres

in Rajapur upazila and 62 acres in Kathalia upazila.

Local agriculture offi cials said farmers require

Tk15,000, including the costs of seeds, fertiliser

and irrigation, to grow maize on one acre of

land, which can give 90-100 maunds yield (one

maund=37.32 kgs) of the crop. Maize is sold at

Tk8,000-9,000 per maund.

Anisur Rahman, a farmer of Bangkura village

in the Sadar upazila, said they made profit by

farming maize last year though Mahasen dam-

aged the crop during harvest.

Describing maize farming as profitable, Abdul

Hamid Akon, another farmer of the area, said

maize is not only a nutritious food but also a key

ingredient of fish and cattle feeds.Champack Aich, manager of Bracs Food Safe-

ty Programme, said as part of their initiative to

expand maize farming in the district, they are

encouraging the farmers to cultivate the crop and

providing necessary supports.

He also said farmers can earn net income of Tk

50,000 by cultivating maize on one acre of land. l

Freedom fighter threatened

by drug syndicatenOur Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

A freedom fighter at the Lalmonirhats

New Colony has complained of threats

from drug peddlers after he reported

their activities to police recently.

Jagodish Chandra Adhikary, 62, saidthe group was well-known in the vicin-

ity for selling and using illegal drugs.

They take hemp and phensidyl

openly, right in front of my house, de-

spite several complaints made by locals

to police. The police, for reasons un-

known to me, has taken no action yet.

Jagodish said he had lodged a for-

mal complaint with the Lalmonirhat

Sadar police station on January 14 after

fruits and bamboos from a nearby gar-

den were stolen, triggering an angry

backlash from the group which start-

ed harassing him and his family.

We cannot move freely now. We

fear they might assault us or do some-

thing like this in revenge for the com-plaint.

Abu Bakkar Siddique, who heads

the upazila unit of Muktijoddha Sang-

sad, acknowledged the fact of the har-

assment and warned of tougher pro-

gramme if police failed to take action

against those responsible for harassing

the Adhikary family.

Police said they would take action in

this regard soon. l

Brickfield workergang-raped

nOur Correspondent, Tangail

A brickfield worker was allegedly gang-

raped in Tangails Mirzapur upazila

early yesterday morning.

The woman is now admitted to the

Tangail district hospital.

According to police, the victim was tar-geted after she alighted from a bus at the

Gorai industrial area early in the morning.

She went to the brickfield in Hatuvanga to

cook meals for her colleagues.

Soon after, a group of six miscreants

emerged, took her to a nearby deserted

garden and raped her.

Later, police rescued the senseless

victim and took her to the Mirzapur

upazila health complex. She was then

shifted to Tangail General Hospital be-

cause of the severity of her condition.Liton, 25, a tempo driver, was de-

tained in this connection. Police said

they got the names of other rapists

from his confession.

They are: pickup driver Zamal (25)

of Taltola village, his assistant Johny

(23) of Sayedpur village, Mridul (23) of

Cadet College area, Murad (24) of Hatu-

vanga area, and Zahid (25) of Kamar-

para village.

SI Mizan M iah, duty offi cer of Mir -

zapur police station, confirmed thenews and said police were trying to ar-

rest others involved in the crime.

The victims uncle filed a rape case

with the police station accusing six in-

dividuals.l

Waiting for a bridge over MadhumatiNarail residents see glimmer of hope in ministers promise

nOur Correspondent, Narail

At least a hundred thousand people at

three upazilas in Narail and adjacent

areas are waiting for a bridge on the

River Madhumati that will easy theirdistresses and will bring a wave of de-

velopment.

People of Lohagora, Kalia and sadar

upazila have to take a boat to cross the

river to catch a bus or other vehicle to

go to the neighbouring districtsJes-

sore, Khulna, Gopalganj and the capi-

tal Dhaka.

Farmers said they are often deprived

of fair prices for their commodities

as they cannot carry all their produc-

tion to town because of transportation

problems.

Traders said buyers cannot reach

the village markets with their trans-

ports to bring agricultural produce, asroad communication is unsettled and

uncomfortable.

School and college students also

have to bear the brunt of poo r commu-

nication during rainy season.

Rahima, a first year honours student

of Lohagora government college, said

they often fail to attend classes on time

as communications is not easy and fre-

quent in the area.

Neoaz Ahmed, mayor of Lohagora

Municipality, said sometimes ill people

have to suffer more as they cannot go

to hospital on time because of the poo r

transport system.

A person has to pay Tk10 to cross theriver by boat and additional Tk5 for car-

rying a bicycle, Tk20 for a motorbike,

Tk75 for microbus and Tk150 for a bus

and truck.

Residents of the upazilas said dur-

ing election times, candidates come

and assure voters of a new bridge. But

their sweet words go in vain as none

had kept their promise so far.

But there is some good news: Com-

munication Minister Obaidul Qader

visited Kalna ghat point at Lohagora

upazila in Narail yesterday, and said

the g

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Print Edition: January 21, 2014