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Boishakh 9, 1421Jamadius Sani 21, 1435Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 2, No 23

News5 Environmental activists and leaders of 50 organisations termed the recent com-ments of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club President Manjur Kader on the Dhanmon-di playground issue as a reiteration made by the ghost of late former Pakistan dictator General Ayub Khan, yesterday.

Nation6 Thousands of passengers su er every-day as there are no facilities for them at the bustling Patgudam Bridge Bus Stand in Mymensingh.

Op-Ed11 The government, leading nancial in-stitutions, prominent entrepreneurs, and

intelligence agencies are in league with one another to preserve the status quo of the oppression of the average citizen at any cost.

Entertainment12 A brand new set of The Tom and Jerry Show, one the worlds most loved cartoon duo, is back with a fresh take on the classic cat and mouse frenemies.

Sport13 According to the International Cricket Council, the eighth and ninth ranked side of the ICC ranking will have to play in the qualifying round to play in the fty over World Cup which is scheduled to be held in England in 2019.

INSIDE

TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

8 | GAZA STRIP, ISRAEL EXCHANGE STRIKES7 | HOW YOU CAN PREVENT CORRUPTIONTMAG | TMAGS HOUSE OF CARDS B1 | HERO LAUNCHES OPERATION IN BD

Load shedding compounds summer heat n Aminur Rahman RaselWith the ongoing heat wave causing demand for electricity to grow, the country is facing fresh rounds of load shedding, despite the state minister for powers recent claim that the country would not experience any load shed-ding during summer.

The daily production of electricity has reportedly been reduced to bring down the cost of buying power from rental plants, forcing the power supply

companies to enforce daily load shed-ding to cover the shortage of around 100-800MW of power, according to of- cial sources.

The crisis has intensi ed as import of electricity from India has also come down to 350MW a day, although it was around 400-450MW last month, o -cials said.

The country is likely to experience around 500-800MW of load shedding during summer, with power demand reaching 7,500MW. The Power Division

has reportedly asked the power distrib-utors to use load shedding to balance the power shortage during summer

Although the country had achieved a record daily production of 7,356MW on March 30 from the existing produc-tion capacity of 11,000MW, the average daily power production has now fallen to 6,800MW.

The website of the Power Develop-ment Board (PDB) put yesterdays load shedding forecast (sub-station end) at 449MW, the rst time it had raised the

forecast from zero megawatt in the last couple of months.

Currently, the production of 1,500MW of power is reportedly sus-pended because mechanical faults, along with a further suspension of around 11MW of power production be-cause of gas and oil shortage.

As we are unable to generate ad-ditional electricity because of short-age of gas, we have to manage the gap with load management, which will be

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Teesta long marchto play politicsn Emran Hossain ShaikhBNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has called the long march towards Teesta as part of her subtle politics, said senior Awami League leader Suranjit Sengup-ta yesterday.

She has called it to instigate an anti-India campaign when the elec-tions take place in India, he said at a discussion in Dhaka city, calling it evil politics.

The BNP will begin its long march towards the Teesta Barrage in Lalmon-irhat from Dhaka today.

The Teesta treaty has already been

signed with India and so they should not make it a political issue. We will re-solve it through talks with Indias next government, he said.

He urged the BNP leaders to stop the long march from happening and to sup-port the government for the sake of na-tional unity, saying, The BNP chairper-son has called the long march for mere politics, not for resolving anything.

Suranjit, a member of the Awami League Advisory Council, warned that strict action will be taken in the event of any anarchy resulting from thelong march.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

BNPs long march to Teesta begins todayn Mohammad Al-Masum MollaThe Bangladesh Nationalist Party will begin its long road march toward the Teesta Barrage in Lalmonirhat from Dhaka, today, to highlight the scarci-ty of water in the countrys northern areas, which they are blaming on the unilateral withdrawal of common river waters by India.

The organisers, however, have changed the starting point of the march from the partys Nayapaltan head-quarters to the airport intersection atKurmitola, considering the capitals tra c situation.

We have shifted the starting point of our march considering the tra c congestion in the city. Usually, there are huge jams during o ce hours. That is why we have decided to start our mo-torcade from the airport intersection, instead of our Nayapaltan o ce, Ru-hul Kabir Rizvi, BNPs joint secretary general, told reporters at a press brief-ing yesterday.

Rizvi said the Teesta River is facing water shortages and this is a national problem.

India withdraws water unilateral-ly by constructing dams and barrages

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

AB SIDDIQUE ABDUCTION

Couple presumes cause, police doubtful n Kailash Sarkar Although police have yet to make any headway in pinpointing the motive for the abduction of apparel businessman Abu Bakar Siddique, the husband of prominent environmental lawyer Sye-da Rizwana Hasan, the couple have narrowed down the list of reasons by excluding the ones they believe are not linked to the kidnap.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, BELA (Bangladesh Environment Law-yers Association) chief Rizwana and her husband claimed that the abduc-tors have not picked Siddique for an-ything concerning his business since there was no dispute between him and the owner of the factory. The factory had faced a closure and Abu Bakar re-sumed operations.

There was no row over ownership of the factory located in Fatullah of Narayanganj. State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid Bipu was the sole owner of it and he had no partner, Rizwana asserted.

Although the environmental lawyer could not reveal any exact reason for her husbands abduction, she claimed he might have been kidnapped for her professional activities and not for his own acts.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Security dialogue with US starts todayn Sheikh Shahariar ZamanThe third security dialogue between Bangladesh and the US is set to be-gin today in the capital with a view to strengthen cooperation in the areas of strategic priorities, military-to-military engagement and counterterrorism.

The Secretary (bilateral) of the For-eign Ministry Mustafa Kamal will lead the Bangladesh side of the dialogue while Acting Assistant Secretary Thom-as Kelly will lead the visiting team.

Both sides will discuss regional pri-orities and issues that include India, Afghanistan, Myanmar and the Indian Ocean region.

The o cials will review the last military-to-military dialogue held in November of last year in Dhaka and discuss maritime security, potential cooperation in command and intelli-gence.

Outcomes of the security dialogue will be discussed at the partnership di-alogue led by the foreign secretary in June. The previous security dialogue was held in Washington last year.

Peacekeeping operations and coun-terterrorism issues will be highlighted in the dialogue, said sources.

The o cials will exchange views on defence trade, the purchase of arms under the Excess Defence Article and

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

TIB: 50K RMG workers lost jobs for order cancellationn Tazlina Zamila KhanAround 20-25 factories were closed and around 50,000 workers lost their jobs in the past year due to the cancellation of orders by buyers, reveals a study of Transparency International Bangla-desh (TIB).

Findings of the study titled Good Governance in Readymade Garments Sector: Promises and Development were revealed at the Hotel Abakash in the capitals Mohakhali, yesterday. It is

a follow-up study of the previous TIB report styled Readymade Garments Sector: Problems of Good Governance and Way of Solution.

Another 500,000 workers could be-come jobless and more factories could face closure in the future for the same reasons, the study states.

Two forums, Accord, comprising European retailers, and Alliance, com-prising North American retailers, have sometimes presented wrong informa-tion about factory inspection and as a

result, the factories were shut down, said the study.

The forums suggested the shutting down of another 13 factories employ-ing 11,500 workers that are housed in shared buildings and the cancellation of orders valued at $110m of some 57 factories. However, BGMEA (Bang-ladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) o cials stated that the buildings are safe for work and not vulnerable.

TIB Deputy Programme Manager

Sharif Ahmed Chowdhury said: We noticed a lack of transparency in the published inspection reports and a lack of compulsion to show the reports to the authorities concerned on the part of the forums. Thus far the Accord has published 10 probe reports, though it is required to publish reports within a maximum of six weeks. Besides, there is no binding on the Alliance for pub-lishing inspection reports.

The Accord has only completed the PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Factories shut on inspectors whimsAccord team allegedly forces government committee to shut down RMG units; workers unpaid though there is fundn Tazlina Zamila KhanAt least 10 readymade garment fac-tories have been recently shut down in the country amid allegations that nothing much was wrong with some of these factories in terms of re and structural compliance.

The owners of some of these fac-tories have blamed Accord a team of inspectors sponsored by Europe-an buyers for forcing a govern-ment-formed review committee to shut those factories down on the basis of their verbal reports.

According to Transparency Interna-tional Bangladesh (TIB), the Accord has produced only 10 complete inspection reports, although it has visited around 80 factories in the last six months and recommended halting production of at least 10.

Sources said the Accord team did not have either the expertise or the equipment to properly inspect a fac-tory. There are allegati ons that the rec-ommendations were mostly based on the inspectors whims.

Among many other allegations against Accord, one is that it has so far not paid a penny as compensation

to the workers of the closed factories, although it was handed over a fund by the European buyers for this purpose.

On November 21 last year, the La-bour Ministry formed a six-member review committee, tasked with evalu-ating Accords recommendations and close factories if needed.

The committee was formed on the basis of an agreement called the Na-tional Tripartite Plan of Action (NTPA) on Fire Safety and Structural Integrity in the Garment Sector of Bangladesh, signed on July 25 last year among the government; representatives of the employers and workers associations; and foreign buyers.

The members of that committee are: Brad Loewen, chief inspector of Accord; Kazi Wahidul Haque from the Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Safety; Prof Ahsanul Kabir and Prof Syed Fakhrul from Buet; Syed Ahmed, inspector general of the Labour Minis-trys Department of Inspection for Fac-tories and Establishments; and Shahid-ullah Azim, vice-president of BGMEA.

Usually, about two weeks before inspecting a factory, the Accord team would send an email to the owner.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Relatives mourn at the grave of a Rana Plaza collapse victim at the Jurain graveyard in the capital yesterday. The rst anniversary of the countrys biggest industral disaster will be observed on Thursday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, April 22, 2014GTF compensation fund for Rana Plaza victims to be disbursed from todayn Mohosinul KarimThe compensation for the victims of Rana Plaza and their family members from the Global Trust Fund (GTF) will be disbursed today, on the eve of the rst anniversary of the catastrophic disaster.

The fund authority will begin the disbursement at the conference room of the labour and employment minis-try by handing over compensations to only two persons as a token distribu-tion. Rest of the victims will receive their due compensation through their mobile accounts, Labour Ministry Joint Secretary Khandoker Mostan Hossain con rmed the Dhaka Tribuneyesterday.

He further added that the authori-ty had already completed all arrange-ments for opening mobile accounts for all victims and their families.

A programme will be arranged at 3pm on Tuesday [today] at the minis-

try to distribute the compensation. The state minister will hand over the mon-ey from the global trust fund to two of the victims, he added.

Mostan said a total of 3,080 victims and their family members will be com-pensated, each receiving Tk50,000 from the trust fund created by interna-tional retailers.

Earlier, ILO Country Director Sri-nivasa Reddy, the key stakeholder for managing the fund, had assured that the compensation for Rana Plaza vic-tims would be handed over shortly.

According to the ministry, the some 580 victims who have already received compensation from the British retail-er Primark have been excluded fromthe lists.

The Primark gave $1,000,000 for compensating the victims of the trag-edy. Of the amount, $900,000 was disbursed among the employees and workers of Neway Bottom, one of the factories housed in the collapsed Rana

Plaza. The rest was transferred to the fund for common compensation.

Currently, the trust fund has only $1.7 crore, while it needs around $4 crores to complete the compensation process.

The compensation gure was summed as per the International La-bour Organisations Convention 121, used as a guideline to pay o victims of industrial accidents across the globe.

Meanwhile, IndustriALL, a global union federation; UNI, a global trade union; and Clean Clothes Campaign, a leading rights network for the garment sector, recently demanded that the 29 brands which sourced from factories housed at Rana Plaza must pay towards the trust fund before April 24.

Currently, 15 retailers including Ben-etton, Matalan, Adler Modemarkte and Auchan have failed to even make an initial contribution to the trust fund, UNI Global Union General Secretary Phillip Jennings said. l

IGP: Terrorism and militancy under controln Kailash SarkarInspector General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandker yesterday claimed that although the people of the country had to face the worst consequences of terrorism in recent times, the law en-forcement agencies have kept terrorism and militancy under control.

Terrorism and militancy in the coun-try are now under control due to the ac-tivities being carried out by the law en-forcement agencies, the police chief said while addressing as the chief guest the in-

augural session of a four-day workshop.The event on Responding to Ter-

rorism: Alternative Approaches began at Police Sta College in Mirpur.

The IGP said: The professional members of the law enforcement agen-cies have combated terrorism and mil-itancy e ciently and we want to play more active role in curbing terrorism.

In the global perspectives, he said, terrorism was no more an issue of any speci c country so regional and inter-national cooperation was essential for controlling terrorism.

Time has come to improve the ef- ciency of law enforcement agencies for curbing crimes. E ective measures needs be taken through joint e orts, the IGP said.

This workshop has been organised for the personnel of those agencies which are working to ght crimes and terrorism in Bangladesh.

Police Sta College, Bangladesh or-ganised the four-day workshop in co-operation with Singapore-based Inter-national Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR). l

20kg gold seized, CAAB guard among 4 held n Kailash SarkarMembers of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) last night seized 20kgs of gold at the Shahjalal International Airport after ar-resting four persons, including a secu-rity guard of the Civil Aviation Authori-ty of Bangladesh.

Ayesha Akhter, an assistant commis-sioner of the CIID, said they had seized the gold bars following the arrests. Each of the bars weighs 1kg.

The four are businesspersons

Shahnaz Hossain, 44, Anjila Hossain, 26, Navil Ibne Ekram, 35, and CAAB se-curity guard Mobarak Hossain, 40.

Shahnaz, Anjila and Navil arrived at Dhaka on a ight of the Singapore Airlines around 10:30pm. They were arrested along with CAAB security guard while crossing the immigration area around 11:15pm, Ayesha said.

The CAAB man was arrested for help-ing the smugglers to cross the immigra-tion area. The gold bars, smuggled into Bangladesh from Singapore, were found after searching all the four persons.

According to sources, smuggling of gold has turned a common phenom-enon since the Indian authorities im-posed some restrictions in the import of gold. Over 1,200kg gold was seized at the airports in Bangladesh in the last one year.

The sources also said a section of unscrupulous o cials and employ-ees of di erent government and pri-vate organisations including customs,NSI, CAAB and di erent airlines work-ing at the airports have been aiding the smugglers. l

TIB trustee board Chairperson Sultana Kamal speaks at a programme marking the launch of a research report on the countrys garment sector at Abakash Hotel in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Factories shut on inspectors whims PAGE 1 COLUMN 2After inspection, they would hold a meeting with the government review committee to discuss the ndings and decide on next course of action.

Buet Professor Ahsansul Kabir told the Dhaka Tribune that: During our discussion, we [the committee and Ac-cord] try to nd out the discrepancies between the original approved design and the actual structure. The Accord team verbally tells us about their nd-ings following which we do some rough calculations and reach certain estima-tions.

When the Dhaka Tribune wanted to see documents, he claimed: Those are engineering terms, which you will not understand. The estimations are 100% accurate.

There are also discrepancies be-tween what the Accord team says and the review team knows about how the inspections are done.

Rob Ways, executive director (Bang-ladesh operations) of Accord, claimed that they used ferro scanners and ther-mal imaging cameras to check structur-al compliance of factories.

However, Prof Kabir said the Accord inspectors only used sledgehammers to check the material used in the col-umns.

Last month, the team recommended the review committee to temporarily shut down two factories Fame Knit-wear and Softex Cotton both located in the same building in the capitals Mirpur. They said the columns and the foundation of the building was not strong enough bear the load. They also claimed to have found discrepancies between the original design and the ac-tual structure.

Md Moshiul Azam Shajal, owner of Fame Knitwear and also a BGMEA di-rector, told the Dhaka Tribune that: The Accord team told me that the foundation of the building was weak.

He claimed that the Accord team did not conduct the soil boring test and therefore could not comment on the foundational weakness of the building.

Mahbubur Rahman, o cer of Dhaka development authority Rajuk, also said a soil test was needed for determining the strength of the buildings founda-tion.

Interestingly, the Accord team has not discussed anything about the mat-ter with the review committee. Prof Ka-bir said they discussed problems with the buildings structural design, not about foundational weaknesses.

When asked, Mahbubur Rahman said there was absolutely nothing wrong with the structural design of the building.

Rajuk or the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakka is the authority in charge of approving structural designs of the buildings erected within the capital. The Labour Ministry review committee does not have any representative from Rajuk.

Mahbubur also said: The Accord team cannot say anything verbally and recommend closing a building. What they are doing is not the proper way. They have to give a certi cate men-tioning the tests they have conducted and also their results so that we can understand. If any building is unsafe, it should be written in a certi cate.

Earlier this month, a member of the review committee informed the Dhaka Tribune that Accord had recommend-

ed closing Attune Garments Ltdin the capitals Mirpur area. It is located in the same building as the Softex Cotton, which the Accord team had actually in-spected and recommended for closing.

Interestingly, Attune owner claimed that the factory had been under lock and key for more than 15 years because of fund crunch.

Neither did I get any email for did any Accord team inspect my facto-ry. I have no idea how the team could call for closing a factory that had been closed many years ago, said Towhid Is-lam, owner of Attune.

According to the working norms of the review committee, if just one member disagrees with the Accord rec-ommendations, the committee cannot shut down a factory.

Shahidullah Azim, a member of the review committee, told the Dhaka Tribune: Accord is kind of stubborn. During a meeting, our Buet specialists did not want to sign a closure order but they literally forced them to.

Azim said: Accord did not give any money for remediation as is mentioned in their rules. They have a fund for the

workers but the workers did not get any money from it.

He also said: If the results are based on estimation then they are not cor-rect. I am not a technical person so I do not understand. If it is true then I will not sign [any closure order]. As far as I know, they use a formula for calcula-tion.

Softex Knitwear owner and BGMEA Director Md Moshiul Azam Shajal said he had a suspicion that the Accord team might have come on a mission to destroy the highest foreign currency earning sector of the countrys econo-my, only to serve the interest of some other countries.

When asked whether they made rec-ommendations based on estimations, Accord ED Rob ways said: The allega-tion is misplaced. Accord assessments are based on professional assess-ments performed by highly quali edexperts.

When inquired about the name and quali cation of the engineers, he did not give any direct answer. Our engi-neers are very busy, so it is not possible to talk to them, he said. l

Security dialogue PAGE 1 COLUMN 1review international military educa-tion. Bangladesh usually procures US arms under the Excess Defence Article initiative. These are the agendas xed for discussion during the dialogue, said a Foreign Ministry o cial.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque said the dialogue will enhance partnerships in peacekeeping, counter-terrorism and security cooperation as well as joint military exercises and exchanges.

He said cooperation between the countries has increased in training, in-formation sharing and counterterrorism and collaboration in other areas has also increased since the rst dialogue in 2012.

About the regional brie ng, he said both the countries will discuss strategic relationships with regional countries in terms of security issues.

Bangladesh would like to know the US-India relationship while the US may want to know about the Bangladesh-My-anmar relationship, Shahidul said. l

Load shedding compounds summer heat PAGE 1 COLUMN 5implemented through load shed-ding, acting PDB chairman Tamal Chakraborty told the Dhaka Tribune.

Abul Kalam Azad, managing direc-tor of West Zone Power Distribution Co Ltd (WZPDCL), also admitted that they had to enforce load shedding as demand exceeded supply.

Comments could not be collected from the State Minister for Power, Nas-rul Hamid, as he was visiting Japan.

A PDB o cial, seeking anonymity, said people in the urban areas might have to experience up to four hours and rural people up to six hours of

load shedding, adding that e orts were on to keep load shedding at around 500MW during the irrigationseason.

Each spell of rolling blackouts re-portedly lasts one hour or longer, var-ying for di erent areas.

According to Power Division o -cials, irrigation requirements prompt an additional demand of 1,700MW of power during summer.

Last year, the country experienced about 2,000 MW of load shedding dur-ing summer, as 5,000- 5,600MW of power was produced against a demand for 7,500MW.

Sources said the Rural Electri ca-tion Board (REB) was getting only an average of 3,300MW against its peak demand of 3,700MW during the Boro season.

The Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) which covers Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Dhaka (south) and Narayanganj had a demand of 1,100MW, against which it got only 900MW on Sunday.

The Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco) covers Mirpur, Shy-amoli, Gulshan, Badda, Dhaka (north) and Tongi areas. Against a daily de-

mand of around 850MW in these areas, average supply was only 700MW.

The PDB supplies electricity both to rural and urban areas except Dhaka Metropolitan, Barisal and Khulna met-ropolitan areas. PDB was getting an average of 1,300MW supply against its demand of 1,600MW.

The WZPDCL covers 21 districts in-cluding Barisal and Khulna City in the southwestern region of the country. Against daily demand of about 900MW, the average supply was only 800MW.

Meanwhile, power consumers across the country complained of suf-ferings caused by the frequent spells of

blackout. Sha qul Islam, a farmer from Sat-

khira sadar upazila, said: We are not getting electricity properly to operate irrigation pump and Boro cultivation.

Abu Talib, a resident of Dhakas Ut-tara, said: Sometimes we have to wait for two hours without electricity. It is really unbearable.

Shamima Khatun, a resident of Khulna, told the Dhaka Tribune: My baby could not sleep at all last night (Sunday) because of frequent power failures We are experienc-ing load shedding ve to seven timesa day. l

TIB: 50K RMG workers lost jobs PAGE 1 COLUMN 6inspection of 80 factories out of 1,626 when they had said they would inspect all by April 2014. On the other hand, the Alliance inspected 247 factories among 626 and BUET engineers inspected 247 among 2,000. Inspection is running at a snails pace which is killing time. Be-sides, there could be uncertainty over ensuring safety in the factories because of the sluggish progress in completing inspection, he added.

Moreover, during the period that a fac-tory is temporarily shut down for a retro t, the lack of coordination between buyers and the owner over workers pay was ob-served, though there is a condition which says buyers will continue placing orders for at least two years if a factory is tempo-rarily shut down for structural aws.

It has been found that some buyers have reduced the volume of orders and sometimes have even stopped placing orders, the TIB study pointed out.

If the buyers dont act sensibly then social unrest will grow. In addi-tion, our economy will be hampered and workers will become jobless, Sha-rif observed.

A hotline for receiving complaints made by workers was supposed to be set up as part of the National Tripartite Plan of Action, which hasnt been set up yet, he added.

The speaker suggested including Ra-juk and the re service o cials in the Accord and Alliance team so that their skills can be developed.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuz-zaman said: When it came to compen-

sating the Rana Plaza collapse victims, a lack of responsibility among buyers was noticed. We suggest forming a Sramik Kallyan Tahabil for workers where buyers and owners will contribute.

He also demanded a separate minis-try for the readymade garment sector to ensure labour rights and improved working conditions.

There is a lack of coordination among the government agencies in-volved in the sector, said TIB Chair-person Sultana Kamal.

TIB also made around nine sugges-tions, including mandatory formation of trade unions in every factory and the formation of a separate authority titled Readymade Garment Good Govern-ance Authority, for resolving the ex-isting problems. l

Couple presumes cause PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Abu Bakar also rmly claimed that he had not been abducted for ransom as the abductors did not demand any money from him.

They just discussed how much they should have demanded among themselves, he said.

Superintendent of Police in Narayan-ganj Syed Nurul Islam said they have yet to ascertain whether claims made by the couple are the real facts behind the abduction.

We are still investigating and the probe is being carried out with scrupu-lous attention to details. We are work-ing with total sincerity. We, however, cannot jump to a conclusion until we can get hold of a lead, he said.

Policemen conducting the investiga-tion said they had taken all possibilities into consideration.

Abu Bakar, who was kidnapped by armed miscreants on April 16 while on his way to Dhaka from work, claimed to have been dropped o at the capitals Mirpur in the later hours of the night on April 17, bringing his more than 30 hours of captivity to an end.

Apart from police in the Fatullah police station, where Rizwana lodged a case in connection with the abduc-tion, the Narayanganj district po-lice formed a 12-member committee while the police headquarters formed another 5-member committee com-prised of o cials from the police,RAB and DB. l

Teesta long march PAGE 1 COLUMN 5The government and the law enforc-ers will extend every co-operation if you observe it peacefully, he said.

Award-winning environmental law-yer Syeda Rizwana Hasans husband Abu Bakar Siddique was rescued on Thursday a day after he was abducted.

We also dont like incidents of the abduction and/or kidnapping of any-body. The nation heaved a sigh of relief following his recovery 35 hours after ab-duction. The nation should know about the questions raised regarding his ab-duction. We want it to be solved through proper investigation, Suranjit said. l

BNPs long march PAGE 1 COLUMN 3upstream in the Teesta River. The neighbouring country has been with-drawing water from the common river, violating international laws, he said.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will lead the long march, while the partys standing committee members, vice chairmen, advisers and hundreds of leaders and activists will take part.

Rizvi said they are hopeful that the general people will also join the march.

The former opposition party will hold six roadside rallies on the way to the northern region to drum up public support in favour of their programme.

Rizvi said the meetings will be held at Kaliakoir in Gazipur, at the Tangail bypass crossing, at Koddar Mor in Sirajganj, at the Matidhali intersection in Bogra, at Go-nidaganj in Gaibandha and at Palashbari.

The marchers will stay overnight in Rangpur city and head to the Dalia point in Nilphamari tomorrow. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, April 22, 2014ACC seeks a davit of Ruhul Amin Hawladern Mohammad ZakariaThe Anti-Corruption Commission has sent a letter to the Election Commis-sion, seeking the copy of the a davit of the former secretary general of Jati-ya Party (Ershad) Ruhul Amin Hawlad-er, to investigate his wealth statement.

A senior assistant secretary of the EC told the Dhaka Tribune that the com-mission received the letter signed by ACC Assistant Director Hamidul Hasan yesterday. The letter was submitted to the returning o cers concerned in the ninth and 10th parliamentary polls, he added. The o cial also said the ACC sought the certi ed copies of Hawlad-ers a davit by April 22.

Hawlader contested from the Barisal 6 and Patuakhali 1 constituencies in the 9th and 10th parliamentary polls, respectively.

It is alleged that in the a davit of the ninth parliamentary polls, Hawlad-er gave incorrect information regarding his educational background.

Recently, the ACC also sought the af- davit of Mozammel Hossain from the EC who contested from the Bagerhat 4 constituency in 2008 and 2014.

ACC o cials said they have received the copies of a davit from the EC. l

GRAFT CASES AGAINST KHALEDACourt grants defence time petition n Md Sanaul Islam TipuThe Dhaka Special Judges Court 3 yesterday deferred the date for the submission of the High Court order in two corruption cases led against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia until May 21.

It also said the prosecution witness-es will testify if the High Court order is not submitted on that day.

The Judges Court passed the order after the defence led a petition seek-ing time for witnesses to testify in the cases.

Judge Basudev Roy granted the time petition and the deferral.

In the petition, Khaledas defence said the High Court would pass its order on April 23. The HC heard the defence last Sunday when they challenged the lower courts order on the charges against the BNP chairperson.

As the High Court order was pend-ing, they asked for more time to begin the testimonies of the witnesses, said the defence counsel.

On March 19, the court framed charges against Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust and the Charitable Trust graft cases.

On August 8, 2011, the Anti-Cor-ruption Commission led a case with the Tejgaon police station, accusing four individuals, including Khaleda, of abusing power while raising funds for the Zia Charitable Trust from unknown sources.

The ACC led another case with the Ramna police station on July 3, 2008, accusing Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and four others of misappro-priating over Tk21m which came in as grants from a foreign bank for the orphans. l

ETV sues Mitford Hospital director and four interns n Md Sanaul Islam TipuEkushey Television Director Md Zahid-ul Islam yesterday led a case against Mitford Hospital Director Brigadier Md Zakir Hasan and its four interns over as-sault on journalists.

The four other accused are Mo-hammad Nayeem, Mohammad Soeb, Shawon and Md Shahin.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Keshab Roy Chowdhury asked Detective Branch of police to investigate the case and submit a probe report by May 11.

According to the case led with Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrates court, a group of interns working in the hos-pital assaulted ETV reporter Moham-mad Elias Hossain and cameraperson Monirul Islam on April 19 when they went there to cover news for Ekusher Chokh programme.

At this time, the interns along with the hospital employees attacked them, snatched their cameras and con ned them in a room.

After getting information, two oth-

er newsmen went there, but they also con ned them in the same room, the complainant said.

When another reporter Nurun Nabi and cameraman Rumi reached there, he said, the sta of Mitford Hospital beat them up and smashed their cameras.

Meanwhile, the interns in the hospital started work abstention from 2pm yesterday in protest at ling of the case.

Soeb, one of the accused in the case, said they would not join work until the ETV authorities withdrew the case.

A total of 207 interns are now work-ing at the hospital, he claimed. l

Forgery of NID card increased as none follows EC directivesn Mohammad ZakariaThe Election Commission says forgery of national ID card has increased be-cause of making it a mandatory docu-ment for enjoying di erent services, which it has always opposed.

A number of EC o cials have told the Dhaka Tribune that ignoring the commissions suggestion di erent ser-vice sectors, especially banks and in-surance and other private companies, have made the national ID card manda-tory for getting their services, and vest-ed interests have taken the opportunity to make illegal businesses out of it.

Law enforcers seized around 53,000 fake national ID cards on April 19.

Election Commissioner Mohammad Abu Ha z yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the commission had issued circulars twice, asking all authorities concerned not to make the national ID card mandatory in any service sector.

But no one followed it, he said.

Aggrieved people can le cases against the institutions that have made the na-tional ID card mandatory for getting their services.

About the recovery of fake ID cards, the commissioner said those who forged the national ID cards would be punished as per the laws.

As per the National Identity Card Registration Act, a person can be sen-tenced to maximum seven years im-prisonment and ned Tk1 lakh for forg-ing the national ID card, Ha z said.

The parliamentary standing com-mittee on the Public Administration Ministry has assigned two lawmakers to inquire into the incident of counter-feiting of national identity card and talk to the EC on the possibility of opening of its database to stop such forgery.

At a meeting the 10-member com-mittee observed that the EC database containing the numbers and names of nationals should be opened to enable people to verify the authenticity of the data. l

Seventh witness in Qaisar case cross examined n Udisa Islam The seventh prosecution witness, Shah Ali Hasan alias Fulu Mia, in the case against former Jatiya Party state min-ister Syed Mohammad Qaisar was cross examined at the war crimes tribunal, yesterday.

Fulu testi ed on Sunday and de-scribed the abduction of his father Shah Hossain Ali by the Qaisar Bahini, a group of collaborators led by the ac-cused in Habiganj.

During the questioning, defence counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder asked the witness more questions about his personal life rather than fo-cusing on the deposition he had sub-mitted earlier.

The tribunal refused to accept some of the questions related to Fulus per-sonal life.

The International Crimes Tribunal 2 adjourned the proceedings until today and asked the prosecution to call in the next witness.

Qaisar was indicted on February 2 this year on 16 counts of crimes against humanity which he had committed during the 1971 Liberation War. l

Only 19 out of 37 cabinet decisions made since January implementedSheikh Hasina asks ministers to stop illogical hike of house rents

n Mohosinul KarimPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina yester-day asked the cabinet members to take immediate steps to execute the exist-ing law on house rents in a bid to resist illogical hike of house rents in the capi-tal city and its suburbs.

At the regular cabinet meeting held at the secretariat, she also asked them to create new posts and ll the vacan-cies in the civil bureaucracy, a senior cabinet member who attended the meeting told the Dhaka Tribune, seek-ing anonymity.

Chaired by the prime minister, the meeting was also attended by senior o cials.

After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told re-porters that the premier had asked the high o cials to take immediate steps to create new posts and ll the vacancies in di erent ministries and public o ces.

There are few stages to complete a recruitment process. It takes enough

time to create new posts and recruit manpower as recommendation of the Public Service Commission is a must for appointing Class I and Class II o cers. It is time-consuming. But the authority can easily appoint other employees, he said, adding that the premier asked them to develop a mechanism to expe-dite the process.

The cabinet, nance and public administration secretaries as well as secretary to the Prime Ministers Of- ce will nd out a way to streamline the process. A committee would be formed, if necessary.

He added: The PSC will do it; we will just help them work out the mechanism.

The meeting also discussed the progress in implementing the cabinet decisions. It was informed that around 51.35% decisions of the present gov-ernment were implemented during its three months. Only 19 out of total 37 decisions taken by the present cabinet have been implemented, the cabinet secretary said.

The premier asked the authority to accelerate the preparation of their plans as per the election pledges of the government.

She ordered completion of prepara-tion for laws following important mil-itary ordinances which became invalid due to High Courts order.

State Minister for Labour Mujibul Haque Chunnu raised the issue of hike in house rents across the country main-ly in industrial areas, causing su er-ings to the labours.

He requested the prime minister to take initiative to resist increasing house rents as garment workers and labours can easily lead their life with their existing wages. Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan also supported the state minister.

The prime minister said, We have a number of good laws, but those are not being enforced properly. As a result, the people of the country have to su er a lot. Peoples su erings would ease, if the house rent act is executed. The au-

thorities concerned should take steps in this regard.

Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain informed the meet-ing that the government is building some ats in Dhaka city and other ar-eas. It will reduce the crisis of houses and house rents too.

Another cabinet member said most of the ministers took part in an open discussion on shortage of manpow-er and huge vacancies. The issues of shortage of doctors and nurses as well as AC (land), kanoongo and surveyors came up in the meeting.

The premier asked the ministers and high o cials concerned to take steps in this regard. She also asked the min-istries to follow the recruitment and posting rules.

She said, The ministries must take the rules into account while posting public servant couples. They must get a posting in nearer place, if it is not possible to accommodate them in the same place. l

Picture shows the depleted condition of the Dhaka-Purbachal highway due to ongoing construction work of a nearby yover. The picture was taken yesterday RAJIB DHAR

The court asked DB police to investigate the assault of four ETV newsmen at the hospital on April 19 and le a report by May 11

Mugger eats up gold ring in capital n Kailash SarkarIn a bizarre mugging incident, a mug-ger ate up a gold earring as he was caught red-handed by mob during his attempt to ee after whisking away the ornament from a teenage girl in the capitals Gulistan last evening.

The 28-year-old mugger was identi- ed as Amir Hossain who was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital while the 15-year-old Munni and her moth-er Anwara Begum, an employee of the capitals Shuhrawardi Medical College and Hospital, had been waiting at the in rmary for recovery of the gold ring.

Anwara said the mugger whisked o the earring from one of the ears of her daughter, Munni, while they were cross-ing the road in Gulistan around 6pm.

As my daughter cried out, pedes-trians caught the mugger red-handed while he was trying to escape, she said, adding that when the mugger could understand he would not be able to escape, he ate up the gold ring.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Iqbal Mon-ir of Sergeant Ahad police outpost in Gulistan said the mugger admitted that he had eaten up the ring as the pedes-trians gave him a sound beating.

We rescued the mugger at a critical condition and took him to DMCH for treatment, said ASI Monir.

He added that the mugger, who was mainly an addict, resided in the vicini-ty near the Golap Shah Majar.

Anwara Begum said they came to DMCH by hiring a rickshaw following the policemen, who took the mugger to

the hospital.I purchased a pair of rings for my

daughter with my income and we want the gold ring back, she said, but failed to say how.

Meanwhile, a gang of criminals took away Tk65,000 by stabbing a fruit trader at Dholaipar in Jatrabari in the morning yesterday while he was on his way to Ja-trabari intersection for purchasing fruits.

Identi ed as Sabuj Hossain, 27, the trader said four- ve criminals inter-cepted him on his way and stabbed him as he was trying to resist their attempt to take away his money.

Abani Shankar Kar, o cer-in-charge of Jatrabari police station, said the in-jured trader was taken to DMCH by the pedestrians and police were trying to nab the muggers. l

Excessive heat and lack of adequate water destroy yields of a brinjal farm causing immense losses to farmers in Rajshahi. The photo was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Schoolboy killed, 20 injured in Lakshmipur gun ghtn Tribune ReportA schoolboy was killed and 20 others sustained injuries when separate gun- ghts issued between law enforcers and two criminal groups in Latifpur and Deopara village of Chandraganj upazila in Lakshmipur last night.

The deceased was Rabiul Hasan Shimul, a class VIII student of Pratap-ganj High School. The injured include local Chhatra League President Kazi Babul.

Police and witnesses said members of Awami League-backed Nasir Bahini of Chandraganj attacked and set re to the residences of two local BNP lead-ers, Tofail Ahmed of Deopara and Ali Karim of Latifpur, to establish suprem-acy in the area. Later, re ghters from Lakhsmipur rushed to the spot and brought the re under control after a two-hour long e ort.

After the news of the attack spread, members of the BNP-backed Jishan Bahini rushed to the area and the two groups were locked in a gun ght.

At one state, members of Jishan Ba-hini attacked the residence of Kazi Ba-bul. During the gun ght, Shimul, who was also the nephew of the Chhatra League leader, sustained bullet injuries while trying to escape the scene.

Police intervened and exchanged several rounds of bullets with both the criminal gangs in separate gun ghts.

Later, the law enforcers recovered the body of the schoolboy and sent it to Sadar hospital.

A gun ght took place between the members of Nasir Bahini and Jishan Bahini. A minor boy was killed and two houses were also set ablaze during the clash, con rmed Chandraganj police investigation centre In-charge Abu Taher. l

Belkuchi fruit trader, employee released ve days after kidnap n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj The kidnapped fruit trader and his em-ployee from the Mukundagati Bazar under the Belkuchi upazila of the dis-trict were released on Sunday night in a village in Natore by their abductors, ve days after their kidnapping.

Following their release, the abduct-ed fruit trader Abu Bakkar Siddique and his employee Yusuf Ali came to Hatikumrul, Sirajganj on di erent modes of transport around midnight, and later reached their relatives house at Belkuchi under police custody.

The Belkuchi police station O -cer-in-Charge Abdul Hye Sarker said the kidnappers were forced to release

them because of the prompt actions taken by the police to rescue them.

They were hale and hearty, the OC said, adding that the fruit sellers were taken to the o ce of superintendant of police and their depositions were re-corded through legal proceedings.

We cannot disclose any of the infor-mation we received from them in the in-terest of arresting the abductors, he said.

Sources said the fruit trader and his employee were abducted from near a crematorium on the night of April 16.

The two were returning home on a rickshaw after closing shop and the kid-nappers were lying in wait in a microbus.

The abductors demanded a ransom of Tk80 lakh for their release. l

UK envoy: Active opposition needed for democratic accountability n Our Correspondent, Sylhet British High Commissioner to Bangla-desh Robert Gibson has stressed the need for an active opposition for estab-lishing a democratic system character-ised by accountability.

Britain wants to see the country having a democratic system where there will be accountability. For this to happen, an independent media, an ac-tive opposition in the parliament and institutional independence are import-ant, Gibson said.

He was speaking with reporters fol-lowing a meeting with Sylhet City Cor-poration Mayor Ariful Haque Chowd-hury in the district yesterday.

Commenting on the January 5 gen-eral elections, the UK envoy said the in-ternational community, including Brit-ain, wanted to see an inclusive election in Bangladesh with participation of all political parties.

As that did not happen, many got the opportunity to be elected parlia-mentarian uncontested, Gibson said, adding that they were now working to strengthen the ties between the two countries.

The British High Commissioner said he was content with local government polls as those had been inclusive.

He talked about the curry industry in Britain and said the UK government was trying to overcome the crisis in that sector.

Our e orts are on to assist people in-volved in the sector, he said.

Speaking of yesterdays visit, Gibson said it was his rst visit in the district since Mayor Ariful had taken o ce.

Mentioning the historic relation be-tween England and Sylhet, he said many people from Sylhet now live in the United Kingdom.

This is why Sylhet bears a signi cant importance to the British High Com-mission, he observed.

Earlier in the day, during his courte-sy meeting with Mayor Ariful, the Brit-ish envoy said England is a key devel-opment partner of Bangladesh and the relation is getting stronger day by day.

In response to the UK envoys assertion, Mayor Ariful said the city corporation authorities are very sincere about the expatriates. He said a website would be launched soon for solving problems of the expats.

The Mayor said the city corpora-tion would be extending all necessary supports so that the expatriates could invest safely in Sylhet. He also sought assistance of the British government in solving a variety of problems in the city, including water-logging.

Chief Executive O cer of Sylhet City Corporation Enamul Habib, Secre-tary Mamtaz Begum, Chief Health O -cer Dr Sudhamoy Mazumder and act-ing chief engineer Nur Azizur Rahman were present there among others. l

Civil initiative needed to improve trade between BD and 7 sisters n Tribune ReportSpeakers at a seminar held yesterday in Shilong, the capital of Meghalaya, India, underscored the need for informing the new generation of the century-old glorious history and traditions of Bangladesh and north-eastern India (called Seven Sisters) in order to improve trade relations between both sides.

A north-eastern India based social

organisation called Asian Con uence arranged the seminar, aiming to nd ways and means to increase trade rela-tions between both sides.

In the day-long seminar, a three-member team, comprising DU History Department Professor Mejbah Kamal, journalist Sumi Khan and the founder of the Bangladesh Founda-tion for Tourism Development Rezaul Ikram Raju from Bangladesh, and some distinguished people as well as local

business leaders of the state attended the seminar.

The speakers urged the concerned authorities to ease the visa process and the transport system between Bangla-desh and Seven Sisters so that people can exchange views easily and build up a smart trade relationship.

When contacted, the DU professor told the Dhaka Tribune that a follow-up seminar will be held in Dhaka in June. l

Registered doctors details publishedn Moniruzzaman UzzalThe Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) has published detailed information of 60,000 registered doctors and dentists on its website, in a bid to allow people to verify the authenticity of doctors as well as identify the fake ones.

The details, including pictures and registration numbers, will be available on the website: www.bmdc.org.bd.

Dr Zahedul Hoque Basunia, registrar of the BMDC, told the Dhaka Tribune that information on 60,000 doctors have already been uploaded on the website, while details on a further 5,000 registered doctors and dental surgeons

will be uploaded within a few days. BMDC President Professor Dr Abu

Sha Ahmed Amin said they have started a two-week long awareness programme regarding the so-called fake expert doctors. The BMDC is publishing advertisements in di erent newspapers to inform both people and doctors to follow their instructions, he added.

The existing BMDC act will be updated to make it compulsory for doctors to write their BMDC registration numbers on their prescription pads and visiting cards, Dr Amin said, adding that more initiatives will gradually be taken up to stop the illegal activities of unscrupulous doctors.

Admitting that extensive details

about doctors quali cations are yet to be published, since the website is still in its primary phase, the BMDC president said the website will be developed further in the future.

On April 17, the BMDC issued a circular to all registered doctors and dental surgeons, directing them to not use any name, designation, educational quali cation, or description of experience that is not recognised by the council.

Several senior health sector o cials told the Dhaka Tribune that a large number of doctors, claiming to be specialists, have been putting up nameplates and printing visiting cards by using di erent abbreviations beside

of their names to signify their medical quali cation. The combinations most commonly used include: PGT, BHS, FCPS (part 1), FCPS (part 2), MD (in course), MD (part 1), MD (part 2), MD (thesis), MD (last part), MS (in course), MS (course completed) etc.

Moreover, doctors have been writing the names of fellowships and training from home and abroad such as FRCP, FRHS, FICA, FICS, FAMS and FIAGP, which were not medical educational quali cations and are not recognised by the BMDC.

When questioned, Basunia said this is simply a matter of cheating the patients, and a violation of the BMDC rules and a punishable o ence. l

10 journalists injured in attack by RMCH interns n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi At least 10 journalists, who were cov-ering the news of a scu e between doctors and a patients relatives, were injured in an attack carried out alleged-ly by interns at the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital on Sunday night.

The injured have received medical attention at local clinics, while one jour-nalist Jamuna TV camera person Rasel Mahmud was shifted to the capitals Apollo Hospital in critical condition.

Sources said the initial scu e be-tween interns and a patients relatives broke out when an intern named Sub-rata refused to check on the patient at ward number 13, reportedly because he was busy watching an Indian TV serial.

When journalists from the electron-ic and print media arrived at the scene to cover the incident, the interns equipped with hockey sticks and bam-boo sticks attacked the media work-ers. The interns also allegedly snatched truncheons from police personnel and beat up the journalists in the presence of law enforcers, smashing their TV cameras.

The injured included Channel 24 camera person Raihan Ali and report-er Abrar Shair, Jamuna TV camera person Rasel Mahmud, Kaler Kantha photojournalist Salauddin Ahmed, ATN News camera person Mahfuzur Rahman Rubel, Maasranga TV camera person Sayed Masud and Independent TV reporter Mynul Hasan Jony.

Protesting the attack, a large num-ber of local journalists staged a sit-in programme in front of the RMCH emer-gency department on Sunday night,

while local lawmaker and president of the RMCH conducting council Fa-zle Hossain Badshah, lawmaker Ayen Uddin and Rajshahi Metropolitan Po-lice Commissioner Mahbubur Rahman spoke to journalists at the spot.

The RMP commissioner later closed the O cer-in-Charge of Boalia police station, Sayedur Rahman, and assured justice for the journalists.

Meanwhile, a large number of jour-nalists yesterday brought out a proces-

sion from the citys Shaheb Bazar Zero Point and held a rally demanding im-mediate punishment of the attackers. A wide selection of people including Ra-jshahi Rakkha Sangram Parishad joined the rally to express their solidarity with the journalists demands.

Rajshahi journalists gave the police administration a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest the attackers and announced the holding of rallies tomorrow at ev-ery upazila and district of the greater

Rajshahi region. When contacted, RMCH Director

Brig Gen AKM Nasir Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune that the hospital admin-istration held an emergency meeting at noon yesterday to form a seven-mem-ber body, headed by himself, and probe the incident.

On the other hand, the intern doc-tors of the hospital have started an in-de nite work abstention programme since yesterday. l

Injured journalists being transported by an ambulance after being assaulted by intern doctors of RMCH yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Britain wants to see the country having a democratic system where there will be accountability

Abducted Jamaat man found dead n Our Correspondent, JhenaidahAn activist of Jamaat-e-Islami was found dead at Mamunshia village un-der Sadar upazila of the district yester-day.

The deceased was identi ed as Abul Kalam, 38, UP member of Elangi union under Kotchandpur upazila of the district and resident of the area.Additional superintendent of police Mohammad Hasanuzzaman said Abul Kalam Azad was abducted Friday night from his resident.

Later his bullet hit body was found in a eld of Bakultala area of the Ma-munshia village.

On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital morgue.

Kothcandpur police station O -cer-in-Charge Fazlur Rahman said he was a front-line leader of the Jamaat in Kotchandpur upazila.

Enmity with the villagers might have led the killing, he also said.

However, he did not say who ab-ducted the man and why. No case was led in this connection. l

Mother, two others to be hanged for killing son n Our Correspondent, Satkhira A housewife in Bagerhat yesterday was condemned to death for murdering her one and a half years old son over an ex-tramarital a air.

Thirty-four-year-old Latifa Begum, wife of Iku Biswas from Nagarkandi village of Mollahat upazila in Bager-hat, was given the death penalty as the court had found her guilty of killing her son Dipjol back in 2005. Bagerhat District and Sessions Judge SM Solaim-an pronounced the verdict.

Apart from Latifa, two others were also sentenced to death, namely Monir Molla, 44, and his sister Nazma Begum, 33. The two are Latifas neighbours liv-ing in the same village.

According to the case statement, it was proved in the court that Latifa developed an extramarital a air with Monir and killed her son Dipjol on April 12, 2005.

Before killing her son, the mother had decided to tie the knot with Monir as the relation between them led to a

dispute with her husband. Latifa and Monir then teamed up with Nazma and the three conspired to kill the child.

Iku Biswas was away from the house on the day before the killing. Dipjol went missing the next morning and his body was later recovered from an adjacent pond.

Following the recovery, police record-ed an unnatural death case with Molla-hat police station in this connection. On October 29 the same year, Iku as plainti led a murder case accusing Monir and Nazma of murdering his son Dipjol.

Sub-inspector of Mollahat police sta-tion and investigation o cer of the case Nazibul Haque submitted the charge sheet on May 10, 2006, upon completion of probe. Latifas name was also includ-ed in the charge sheet as an accused.

Following long case proceedings, the verdict was nally handed down yesterday.

Bagerhat court public prosecutor Sheikh Md Ali was the counsel for the prosecution while Advocate Farid Ud-din Ahmed was in the defence. l

Picture shows mealybugs infest a tree trunk on Dhaka University campus yesterday. The infestation of the foreign pest continues to grow in di erent parts of the capital SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, April 22, 2014

PRAYER TIMES Fajar 4:14am Sunrise 5:32am Zohr 11:58am Asr 4:25pm Magrib 6:23pm Esha 7:42pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Source: Accuweather/UNB

SUNNY

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A Y

Dhaka 39 28

Chittagong 37 26

Rajshahi 41 27

Rangpur 40 19

Khulna 40 25

Barisal 39 27

Sylhet 40 21

Coxs Bazar 36 25

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:23PM SUN RISES 5:31AM

YESTERDAYS HIGH AND LOW40.7C 20.2C

Rangamati Rangpur & Dinajpur

WEATHER

TUESDAY, APRIL 22

Manjur Kader is Ayub Khans reincarnationn Abu Hayat MahmudEnvironmental activists and leaders of 50 organisations termed the recent comments of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmon-di Club President Manjur Kader on the Dhanmondi playground issue as a re-iteration made by the ghost of late former Pakistan dictator General Ayub Khan, yesterday.

The protesters made the remarks at a rally held in front of the National Press club in the morning.

They further alleged that residents of Dhanmondi and its adjacent ar-eas are not allowed to enter the play-ground due to the boundary walls and tight security measures enforced by the private sporting club. Children re-siding in the area have also been barred from playing at the venue.

The activists also noted that the clubs president Manjur Kader spoke like the ghost of General Ayub Khan, when he cited that playground had been reserved for the societys elite by the late former Pakistani dictator.

Earlier on Saturday, Manjur Kader while addressing a press brie ng said: This is why only the elite living in the Dhanmondi area will use the playground. Its not for street children, and not for all.

Manjur, however, did not mention whom he considered to be part of the elite class in the residential area.

The activists also pressed home its 4-point demands, which included the withdrawal of the false suit against envi-ronmental activists and the demolishing of illegal establishments of the occupier and opening the playground for all.

The rally, chaired by the Nation-al Committee to Protect Oil-Gas, Port-Power and Mineral Resources leader Ruhin Hussain Prince, was also addressed by the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) General Secretary Dr Abdul Matin, Jahangirnagar University former vice chancellor Professor Saleh

Ahmed and Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) President Abu Naser Khan.

Addressing the rally Ruhin Hussain Prince said: The real owners of the Dhanmondi playground are the general people. So the general people should le suits against the grabbers of a pub-lic playground. Instead, the grabbers have led suits against the environ-mental green activists, who are ghting to recover the grabbed playground.

He further alleged that many groups

are now using portraits of Bangaband-hus family members for personal gain.

The general public should protest against this Pakistani ghost immedi-ately, he added.

He also said the movement to free the public playground will continue and will not be deterred by lawsuits and arrests.

Professor Saleh Ahmed said: The club authority has misinterpreted the High Court order and thus, we urge the government to open the public play-

ground to all.Bapa General Secretary Abdul Ma-

tin said: The club has been using funds from the Bangabandhu Trust for commercial activities, which is illegal.

Demanding the withdrawal of the false lawsuit against the environment activists, he further urged Prime Minis-ter Sheikh Hasina to direct authorities to open the playground for all as the children in the capital have no place for recreational activities and sports. l

Two youths hacked to death in Mirpurn Ashif Islam ShaonTwo youths were hacked to death in a feud between two families over a relationship between a painter and a teenage girl in the capitals Mirpur area early yesterday, police said.

The victims are Jahangir Hossain, 32, an electrical goods trader in Mirpur 1, and Kaiyum Hossain, 32, a former expatriate.

They were killed around 12:10am in the Dakkhin Pirerbaghs Bottola area.

Mohammad Salauddin, OC of the Mirpur police station, said the men were victims of a clash between the families of the teenage girl and her al-leged boyfriend.

The girl is aged between 12 and 14 years. She went missing from her Bot-tola Lane house on Friday. In a primary investigation, we learned that she was in a relationship with a painter named Billal, said the OC.

After the girl went missing, her fam-ily went to Billals elder sister Parvins house on Sunday night. Both the fami-lies got into a ght, and at one point, a member from the girls family slapped Parvin. In return, Parvins family ha-rassed them and left the house.

Later, four men including Jahangir and Kaiyum went to Parvins house on two motorbikes. Jahangir and Kaiyum

were killed in front of the house, the OC added.

Asked about the other two men, he said they had ed the scene. Parvin and her son have also been on the run since the incident.

One of Parvins neighbours told the Dhaka Tribune that she had heard shouting around midnight. We closed our front door when we saw some men shouting and knocking on Parvins door, the woman said, requesting anonymity.

We talked with the workers of a nearby construction site. They heard some youths shouting and exchanging heated words there. The workers also heard someone screaming for help but they did not take any step fearing dan-ger, the OC said.

Police went to the place around 1:30am and found the bodies on the road. They also recovered two motor-cycles and two mobile phones from the scene. Families of the victims did not le any case.

Kayser, Kaiyums brother, said his brother had gone out around 11:30pm with some men. Later, Kayser and his family were called by the police from Kaiyums mobile phone and were in-formed of his death.

After conducting an autopsy, the bodies have been handed over to the victims relatives. l

AL activist shot by Jamaat menn FM MizanurRahaman, Chittagong

An Awami League activist was shot by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami in Satkania upazila, Chittagong yesterday after-noon following a political dispute.

According to Nayek Abdul Basar of Chittagong Medical College Hospital Police Outpost, the admitted injured was Md Kamal Hossain, 35, son of late Md Ismail of Sa Para area, Madarsha union.

Sub-Inspector (SI) Samsul Islam of

Satkania police station said Kamal was picked up by 10 or 12 Jamaat activ-ists from a local market in Madarsha around 2pm. They later shot Kamal in the right knee around 2:30pm and ed, leaving him critically injured, he added.

The SI said Awami League activist was rescued by locals and rushed to the upazila health complex, where the duty doctor referred him to CMCH.

No one was arrested in this connec-tion according to the SI who adding that a case with Satkania police station was in the process of being lodged. l

One killed, ve injured in gun ghtn Our Correspondent, Coxs BazarA robber was killed during a gun ght between the police and a gang of rob-bers in Coxs Bazars Ramu on Sunday night.

The gun ght left Faridul Alam dead and ve others, including ASI Mil-ton Dey, injured.

O cer-in-Charge of Ramu police station Oppela Raju Naha said the rob-bers stopped a CNG-run auto-rickshaw that was being used by police person-nel near the Rubber Garden area on the Coxs Bazar-Naikshyongchhori road around 9:30pm.

The robbers opened re when the po-lice personnel tried to nab them and the law enforcers also opened re in retalia-tion, triggering a erce clash in the area.

Injured Faridul Alam was arrested from the scene while the police were conducting drives according to his statement. Faridul succumbed to his injuries during the drives to nab the other robbers.

Additional Police Super of Coxs Bazar Tofayel Ahmed said ASI Milton was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, adding that two ri es and four round bullets were recovered from the scene.

Police patrol in the area was on to nab the other robbers, he added. l

Train ticket tout held in Chittagong n CU Correspondent Railway Nirapatta Bahini (RNB) arrest-ed a ticket tout along with 16 tickets of di erent trains plying on the Dha-ka-Chittagong from the Chittagong Railway Station area in the port city, yesterday morning.

The arrested, Mohammed Imran, 32, was handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP), said Yasin Faruk, o cer-in-charge of the GRP Outpost at the railway station.

He said the tout had been arrested after he had been caught red-hand-ed around noon near the station area while he was moving suspeciously. The tickets were found when he was searched, he added. A case was lodged with the GRP Outpost. l

Garment workers block a road at Rasulpur in the city yesterday, protesting closure of their factory without prior notice DHAKA TRIBUNE

DU teacher sent on forced leaven DU CorrespondentDhaka University yesterday sent a teacher on forced leave for an inde -nite period following a complaint that he had misbehaved with the Chairman of his department.

The DU syndicate took the decision against Dr ABM Obidul Islam, a pro-fessor of Physics Department and also convener of White Panel, the BNPJa-maat panel of teachers, at a meeting in the Senate Bhabanon Sunday with Vice-Chancellor AAMS Are n Siddique in the chair.

Dr Farid Uddin Ahmed, syndicate member of Dhaka University and also incumbent president of Dhaka Univer-sity Teachers Association informed the Dhaka Tribune about the matter.

According to campus sources, Chair-man of Physics Department Professor D Azizur Rahman and Obaidul were locked in an altercation over buying some instrument for the departments laboratory.

During the argument, Obidul Islam castigated the Chairman with abusive words.

Following the issue, D Azizur Rahman sent a written complaint to vice-chancellor and Dhaka Universi-

ty Teachers Association, demanding measures against Obidul.

Asked about his reaction about the action, Obidul Islam said he did not misbehave with Chairman and termed the move a politically-motivated co n-spiracy.

It is clear to everyone that it is po-litical game as the syndicate members have taken the decision against me without the probe committee report, he said.

Syndicate member Farid Uddin said it was a primary decision against himand he would get every facility during his leave, including salary.

He also said a ve-member probe committee was formed to investigate the matter.

Further action will be taken ac-cording the probe committee report, he added.

But Chairman of the department Azizur Rahman could not be reached over phone despite several attempts.

However, teachers of White panel of the university have expressed great discontent at the decision.

They termed it a politically-moti-vated decision and hoped that the real picture would be disclosed after proper investigation. l

The Nagarik Somaj forms a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday, demanding withdrawal of a case led against green activists, who have been demanding opening of Dhanmondi playground for public DHAKA TRIBUNE

BCL leaders beat up JCD member at JUn JU Correspondent Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League beat up a member of their rival Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal with metal rods and pipes yesterday for allegedly bothering a female student at Jahangirnagar University.

Sources said Chhatra League lead-ers Asif Ahmed and Shamim Molla of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rah-man Hall, along with some activists, swooped on Rabbi Hasan in front ofthe Zahir Raihan auditorium on) the cam-pus around 3.30pm, when few people were around.

Rabbi, a student of Bangla depart-ment and joint convener of the halls Chhatra Dal unit, sustained injuries in his head and body. He was rst rushed to the universitys medical centre, and

later referred to the Enam Medical Col-lege and Hospital at Savar for better treatment.

Touhid Hasan, a doctor at the JU clinic, said Rabbi had severe injuries all over his body.

The sources said Rabbi was proba-bly assaulted as he allegedly sent a text message over mobile phone to a female student, who happens to be a friend of Asif.

Rabbi, however, denied the allega-tion of bothering a female student.

I never disturbed any of their friends. The Chhatra League leaders and activists beat me up because of po-litical rivalry and their rageagainst me, Rabbi told the Dhaka Tribune.

Rabbi was assaulted twice and driv-en out of the hall in the past by activists of the ruling partys student wing.

Abu Sayeed Bhuiya, general secre-tary of the JU unit of Chhatra Dal, the student wing of former opposition BNP, claimed that Chhatra League leaders were torturing their activists intentionally. He also demanded im-mediate action against those who beat up Rabbi.

JU Proctor Tapan Kumar Sahasaid the university authorities would take stepsin accordance with a written com-plaint made by the victim. l

I never disturbed any of their friends. The Chhatra League leaders and activists beat me up because of political rivalry and their rage against me

Missing girl found dead in city coaching centren Kailash SarkarA teenage girl was found dead inside a coaching centre, run by a ministers relative, in the capitals Shiddheshwari last evening, two days after she had gone missing.

Daughter of eye specialist Saiful Islam, deceased Irin Akhter, 18, was a rst year student of Hafena Womens Dental College at Malibagh. They re-sided in Shantibagh.

Police detained Mujibul Huq, se-curity guard at the coaching centre named ECCP.

Police and witnesses said Irin was found hanging with her scarf from a ceiling fan on the ground oor of the coaching centre located on Khandaker Goli in Shiddheshwari.

The coaching centre is housed in a building owned by Lutfor Rahman, a

brother of Shipping Minister Shahja-han Khan. It is run by Ira Rahman, a niece of the minister.

Inspector Mashiur Rahman, o cer-in-charge of Ramna police station, said the girl had gone missing on Saturday. Her father led a general diary with police in this regard.

It is also a mystery why the girl went to the coaching centre although she was not a student there, the OC said.

The ground oor of the building was being used as class rooms, which are supposed to remain close after 3pm. O ce of the coaching centre is housed on the rst oor.

Detained security guard Mujibul said they had found the girl hanging in a room after opening the door and in-formed it to Ira Rahman. She was then staying on the rst oor at her o ce. l

Two found dead Police recovered two bodies from separate places in Savar yesterday. Sources said the locals found the body of an unidenti ed person near the Madhumati Model Town in the morning and informed the police. Later, the police recovered the body. The police also recovered another body, that of a youth, from the Sreepur bus stand on the Nabinagar-Kaliakoir road. The police suspected that the youth might have been killed in road accident. Our Correspondent

Schoolboy killed Miscreants killed a minor schoolboy yesterday in the Gorsthanpara of the district. The deceased was identi ed as Mohontha Robi Roy ,12, the son of Chun Moon Roy in the area. He was a class IV student at the local primary school. Sources said Robi went missing on Monday and did not return home. Later his body was found in a paddy eld near the school. Our Correspondent

Two held with rearms Police arrested two persons with pos-session of two rearms in the Brah-manpara upazila of Comilla district, yesterday. The arrested were identi ed as Maznu Pramanik, 31, and Sabuj, 18. Sources said the police, on a tip-o , stopped a private car in the Dhainnodol Kazi Market in the upazila and arrested the duo with the rearms. Uttam Kumer Barua, o cer-in-charge of local Brah-manpara police station, said the arrested were involved in the drug business in the area. Our Correspondent

Boy run over by tractor A 10-year-old boy died yesterday after he was run over by a tractor in Sajhimara village under the Bakshiganj upazila in the district. The deceased was identi ed as Suman, son of Bhanu Pagol. Sources said Suman was hit by the tractor while he was working in the eld. He died on the spot. Mosta zur Rahman, o cer-in-charge of the Bakshiganj police station con rmed the incident. Our Correspondent

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, April 22, 2014Lack of bus stand causes tra c congestion in Mymensinghn Our Correspondent, MymensinghThousands of passengers su er every-day as there are no facilities for them at the bustling Patgudam Bridge Bus Stand in Mymensingh.

There are neither any passengers shed nor any public toilets, which cause huge su ering for passengers here, says a bus passenger, Ra qul Islam.

Another bus passenger, Selina Be-gum, says, I have been waiting for a bus to go to Dhaka for about an hour here. I need to go to the toilet, but there isnt one here.

This bus stand was built in an un-planned manner in the early 1990s, after the bridge was erected over the Brahmaputra River, say locals.

Hundreds of vehicles, including those from six districts in the greater Mymensingh region, cross this bus stand every day, they add, stressing its importance.

But steps have yet to be taken to give it a planned look.

They added that they often hear of passengers falling victim to mugging and other varied kinds of harassment.

They also said the tra c jams, which result from unplanned bus park-ing, is unbearable, and demanded bet-ter planning of the bus stand.

There should be certain rules and regulations for the buses to park when picking up passengers, which may ease the tra c jam, they suggest.

Mymensingh Motor Sramik Union President Nazrul Islam also speaks of

the mismanagement here, such as the bus parking, tra c jams and the pas-sengers su erings.

Recently, a truck collided into buses and CNG-run auto rickshaws that were randomly parked there. Six people died in the incident, he says.

Tra c Inspector Syed Mahbubur Rahman says, There are no exit or en-

try points for buses here and so buses are parked randomly to pick up pas-sengers.

That causes huge tra c jams and to ease that, police have to struggle every day, he says, adding, It is not possible to get rid of this jam unless it is better planned and constructed.

Mymemsingh Municipality Mayor

Ikramul Haq Tito blames the tra c police and motorised vehicles associa-tions for the passengers su erings.

The passengers su er as tra c po-lice and motorised vehicles associa-tions do not ful l their duties properly.

He, however, hopes that this bus stand will be given a modern twist to ease the passengers su erings. l

SIRAJGANJ TRAIN CRASH

Driver, his assistant again blamed for accident n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj Another probe committee said the negli-gence of the driver of the Ekota Express and his assistant caused the train acci-dent at the Ullapara Railway Station in Sirajganj on April 13 which left two peo-ple dead and at least 30 people injured.

The Managing Director of western region railway Abdul Awal Bhuyan handed the report over to the Director General of Bangladesh Railway Md To-fazzal Hossain yesterday morning.

According to the report, the driver Bankim Chandra Roy and his assistant Abdus Sha are, either directly or indi-rectly, responsible for the crash that took place at the Ullapara Railway Station.

Both the driver and his assistant were suspended immediately for their alleged negligence while driving. The Station Master of Ullahpara Rail Sta-tion Khan Moniruzzaman was also sus-

pended in this regard. In the probe report, the director gen-

eral of western region railway put for-ward a set of recommendations on how to avoid train accidents on the route.

The recommendations include the appointment of greater manpower in the railway sector and providing train-ing to the employees of the railway.

Earlier, another probe committee-led by the Additional District Magistrate Md Sha qul Islam also found the driver Bankim Chandra and his assistant Ab-dus Sha responsible for the accident.

The probe committee submitted its report to the Deputy Commissioner Be-lal Hossain on April 15.

A head-on collision between the La-lmoni Express and the Ekota Express at the Ullahpara Railway Station killed two people and left at least 30 others injured, including the driver of the Lalmoni Ex-press, in the early hours of April 13. l

Muksudpur farmers excited over large production of onion seedn Our Correspondent, Gopalganj Muksudpur upazila of the district has experienced a large production of on-ion seed, which is gradually being con-sidered one of the most pro table agri-cultural varieties by the local farmers.

The farmers are not only making pro ts but also being able to supply quality onion seed to others, thus play-ing a pivotal role in the increase of local production.

Sources at the Department of Agricul-ture Extension (DAE) of Muksudpur said it would be a relief for the country to have the onion import burden removed.

The sources added that onion, a vastly used spice, has been grown on 350 hectares of land in the upazila this year and the onion seed production per hectare is expected to be around 500 kg priced at Tk1 lakh.

Nazmul Hasan, a farmer from Posar-gati village, said: Onion seed farming is very pro table and I produced 27 kg on nine decimals of land last year.

The quality of the seeds supplied by the local DAE is very good, and the growing rate is 90-95%. That is why we started commercially producing onion seed, the farmer added.

Muksudpur DAE o cial Abul Bashar Miah said we supply quality onion seeds to the farmers so that farming of the crops increases and the farmers can reap the rewards.

Another o cial, Dr Mosarraf Hossain, echoed Bashar, adding that the country imports huge quantities of onion from India and thus the latter controls its price. To lessen the burden, the govern-ment has taken on the onion seed pro-duction and expansion project and the farmers also get special facilities. l

Robbers shoot 2, loot Tk2 lakhn Our Correspondent, GaibandhaA group of robbers have shot two per-sons and looted Tk2 lakh from them in front of a National Bank branch in Park Road of Gaibandha on Monday morning.

Asihk Jahan Pallab, 42, owner of Grameenphone Flexi Load Distributor Messrs Somechi Traders, was admit-ted to Gaibandha sadar hospital while night guard Shakhawat Hossain was admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

District Superintendent of Police Mofazzal Hossain said a group of rob-bers numbering six to seven shot Pallab and Shakhawat when they were going to deposit Flexi Load money to the Na-tional Bank branch around 11am.

The robbers also snatched Tk2 lakh cash and two cheques of Tk46 lakh and Tk7 lakh from the duo, said SP Mofazzal.

Gaibandha sadar police station O cer-in-Charge Rajiur Rahman said police were conducting drives to arrest the criminals. l

3 Hindu houses, seven shops vandalised in Lakshmipur n Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur A gang of miscreants vandalised three houses and seven shops at Deopara and Amanilakshmipur villages of Lak-shmipur Sadar Upazila in the early hours, yesterday.

Local sources said a gang of over 100 armed miscreants vandalised the houses of Motilal Majumdar.

The miscreants also set re to seven shops adjacent to the house and looted gold ornaments from other houses.

Afterwards, the attackers kidnapped Motilal and demanding a ransom of Tk6 lakhs from his family for his release.

Shikha Rani Majumdar, Motilals daughter, said his father was freed in the morning as her family agreed to pay the ransom.

Another gang of miscreants torched the house of Noman, Chandraganj union unit

Awami League vice president, and that of its member, Mamun, in the morning.

The attackers also ransacked furniture and looted gold ornaments. The victims blamed Jisan Bahini for the attack.

In response, a number of Awami League leaders and activists blocked the Dhaka-Raipur road by setting re to tyres and putting logs on road.

Police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control as-suring the protesters that they would look into the matter.

Sheikh Sariful Islam, o cer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said they were in-formed about the matter and would take action against the attackers. A case was led in this connection.

People from the Hindu communi-ty demanded measures from the dis-trict administration to ensure their security. l

NEWS IN BRIEF

In the absence of a bus stand, a good number of buses are parked in Patgudam bridge area of Mymensingh town, causing tra c congestion DHAKA TRIBUNE

7Long Form Tuesday, April 22, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Benjamin Kuehne

I did not know until now that the RTI Act can be so powerful, said Mohammad Saud Khan, after getting an Agricul-ture Input Assistance Card and Tk800 for one bag of fertiliser and 2kg seeds.

Bangladeshs Right to Information Act was adopted by the Jatiyo Sang-shad in 2009. It is among the more elaborate RTI laws around the globe. As the law provides a great opportuni-ty for citizens to change their personal situation and to get involved with transparency and accountability of public authorities, it is a commendable step towards good governance.

Under the law, every citizen has the right to access information from any public authority and their private con-tractors. Upon demand of the citizen, the authority is bound to provide this information.

At best, only one form has to be lled and delivered to the designated o cial, to request the information and receive an answer within 20 days. However, some exceptions exist - on-going police investigations, personal data and information that pose a threat to public security and interna-tional relations.

Mohammad Saud Khan is a nomad-ic river gypsy belonging to the Bede community in Munshiganj district. He has been farming alongside the Padma River for a long time. Due to lack of agricultural utilities including seeds, fertilisers and equipment, his harvest has always been scarce. He repeatedly sought help from the local agricultural o cials, who promised him nancial support if money was o cially sanc-tioned. He soon gave up all hope for assistance.

In 2010, Khan became an animator in a non-governmental organisations (NGO) Right to Information project. It was only then that he became aware of the Agriculture Input Assistance Card, which the Government of Bangladesh issues to small farmers to provide them with cash subsidies. He felt that he had been denied this assistance because he belongs to the Bede com-munity.

After learning about the RTI Act, he requested for a copy of the rules to obtain a card and a list of most recent re-cipients in his area from the designated o cer of the Upazila Agriculture O ce. Khan received part of the information

and was invited to the o ce, where he was informed that his name would be added to the list of bene ciaries. Since he was not satis ed with the informa-tion he received within the RTI Acts time limit, he decided to le a complaint to the Information Commission. A few days before the scheduled hearing, he nally received the missing information.

The establishment of the Infor-mation Commission as an overseeing public body, is an important step towards properly implementing the RTI Act. An RTI applicant who was denied information, or is dissatis ed with th