A devastating fire that broke out in the sixth floor of a 14-storey market at Sadarghat in the Old Town of the city on Friday night, quickly spread to several shops and gutted large stocks of clothes. Another fire gutted a mini restaurant at sector-7 at Uttara, on the other end of the city. The ... Read more
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3 of a family murdered
A businessman, his wife and mother of an influential family in Jatrabari were brutally murdered on Thursday morning. Police said the unknown assailants had entered the house at about 7:30 in the morning and slit the throats of the victims, Mizanur Rahman Milton, 55, his wife Bithi Rahman, 44, and mother Sufia Khatun,
Govt to take legal action against errant chemical warehouses
Relocation deadline expires on Thursday The industries minister, Dilip Barua, has said the government would take stern action against the people who failed to relocate chemical factories and warehouses from Old Town of Dhaka as the deadline for the job expired on the Thursday. The industries minister on Thursday told New Age the ministry would ... Read more
Form separate cell to probe HR violations
Suggests rights commission The National Human Rights Commission yesterday sought a separate investigation cell to look into human rights violations in Bangladesh. NHRC Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman suggested this while revealing its draft five-year plan to prevent human rights violations
Lack of commitment spoils CHT accord
Prothom Alo roundtable told The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord has not been implemented even 13 years after it was signed due mainly to lack of commitment in successive governments, indigenous leaders and civil society members said yesterday. The hill people, both indigenous and Bangalee settlers, have now been split in many groups
Tax return deadline now Oct 7
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday extended the deadline for submission of income tax returns to October 7 on ‘special consideration’ following strong demand from leading business chambers. NBR Chairman Nasiruddin Ahmed told The Daily Star last night that the deadline, which expired yesterday, has been extended for a
Bus drivers sued over Sayedabad accident
The gateman of Sayedabad Railway crossing, the site of Wednesday’s train-bus collision, was among the six killed and a case was filed yesterday with Government Railway Police (GRP) station at Kamalapur accusing the two bus drivers. The body of the gateman Aminul Islam Jewel, 32, a resident of nearby Karatitola area, was
Fresh move to reclaim 5 city canals by Oct
The government on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to reclaim at least five canals in the capital from grabbers, who include political leaders, by October, 2010 to save the city from water-logging. The Water Supply and Sewerage Authority and the district administration of Dhaka have been asked to remove all the structures that have encroached ... Read more
Airhostess held with forex worth Tk 2.5 crore
An airhostess of Biman Bangladesh Airlines was arrested from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday while trying to smuggle out foreign currency worth Tk 2.5 crore. Airport officials said Kamrun Nahar Tutul, 32, a cabin crew of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, was scheduled to board a London-bound plane of the national flag career. The aircraft was scheduled ... Read more
HC judge’s son remanded in custody
Allegation of acid attack HC judge’s son remanded in custody High Court judge Salma Masud Chowdhury’s son Shafayat Ahmed was on Wednesday remanded in police custody for a day for interrogation in a case filed against him on charges of acid attack on one of his friends on August 5. Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Nazrul Islam ... Read more
Woman dies from toxic gas
Cylinder Blast Woman dies from toxic gas A woman died and three fell ill inhaling poisonous gas after a cylinder exploded at an ice mill in Bagerhat town yesterday. The explosion at Price Ice Mill at a kitchen market in the town at around 10:15am left Majeda Begum, 65, wife of late Hasan Mollah, Nirapada, ... Read more
Culture of secrecy still big barrier to RTI law
One of the major challenges in implementing the Right to Information Act 2009 is the mindset of bureaucrats who are not yet open to the idea of providing information, said speakers at a roundtable yesterday. They pointed out that the RTI act overrides some outdated legislations, such as the Official Secrets Act 1923, Evidence Act ... Read more
Extortion using mobile phone a great threat
Extortion using mobile phone without proper registration has become a great threat in the country. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has made a major breakthrough in the fight against extortion with a number of raids in the city but they could not stop it. RAB sources said officers of the elite force were ‘awestruck’ after discovering ... Read more
No extension on offer for taxpayers
Sept 30 Deadline No extension on offer for taxpayers National Board of Revenue Chairman Nasiruddin Ahmed yesterday insisted that the September 30 deadline for filing income tax returns would not be extended, despite appeals from different business bodies to widen it. “This time a clear message has been sent out that there will be no ... Read more
Govt, info commission not yet ready on RTI
Neither the Information Commission nor the government machinery is ready to deliver the services to the citizens under the Right to Information Act though it was enacted nearly 18 months back, said officials. Short of manpower, the three-member commission can hardly function on its own, they said. Field level offices under different ministries have just ... Read more
Hospital not fit for healthcare
Observes HRC chairman after visit to DMCH The Dhaka Medical College Hospital now remains a neglected centre for the treatment of the lower middle-class and poor sections only, observed National Human Rights Commission Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman. “When I compare the present state of the hospital with that of 30 years back, it hurts me,”
Dhaka concerned over killing of civilians
Srivastava brands people killed in BSF firing criminals as BDR-BSF talks end The Indian Border Security Force director general Raman Srivastava on Monday claimed that most of the people killed in the BSF firing on the borders were ‘criminals’ and refused to call the incidents killing of civilians. At a joint briefing after a six-day ... Read more
One more dies in police custody
One more inmate died in Dhaka on Monday following torture by the police. Dipak Das, 45, son of Prafulla Das of Maruadi village of Araihajar upazila in Narayanganj died at Dhaka Medical College Hospi- tal after admission in police custody on Sunday night. His wife Rina Rani alleged Araihajar thana police ruthlessly tortured Dipak after ... Read more
Girl hacked for refusing marriage proposal
Miscreants hacked a school girl in village Aliabad under Shibpur upazila in Narsingdi Sunday night as she turned down a marriage proposal. The victim, identified as Mahinur, 15, daughter of Sundar Ali of Aliabad under Shibpur, is now fighting for her life at Narsingdi Zila Hospital, hospital
No progress in relocating chemical warehouses from Old Dhaka
Deadline for relocation expires on Sept 30 The taskforce for ensuring relocation of inflammable and risky chemical factories and warehouses from Old Dhaka is yet to initiate any move till Monday to oversee the progress of relocating process the deadline for which would expire on September 30. The industries ministry, responsible to deal with the ... Read more