E-Bangladesh

Detective branch of police arrested two Islami Charttra Shibir activists yesterday (Monday) in Carmichael College for their involvement in giving death threat to the Principal of Carmichael College, Rangpur.

Police, Locals and the informed sources told that the ICS were trying to create a chaos and restless situation in the campus again when the Honours first year admission and Degree exam were going on. The activists have been distributing posters, leaflets to the student mess at Darsona, Asrotpur, Modern, Lalbag, Adarshawpara area adjacent to the campus for the last two days in order to mislead the general students. The members of detective branch held two ICS activists on Monday noon while they were distributing leaflets and posters among the students at the campus. The leaflets read - family scandals of Principal, Deep Kendra Nath Das and Professor Dr. Hafizur Rahman. The arrested guys were identified as- Masud Rana and Alamgir Hossen who were the students of Masters first year of Islamic History and Second year honours in geology department respectively.

Principal Deep K. Nath Das told that the ICS activists were giving death threat to him over cell phone several time soon after the violence at the campus on Feb, 06 that led the college authority to close the college for an indefinite period. They not only gave me threat but also defamed my family reputation, the principal noted.

Earlier the principal filed a case against the ICS activists for creating violence at the campus on Feb’06. The police arrested 15 ICS activists in this connection who were in jail custody. Police also submitted charge sheet against 18 ICS activists.

Later he also filed a GD with the Kotowali police as the ICS activists were giving death threat to him over cell- phone and pressed him to withdraw the case against its party members.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

A news item published by some newspapers on March 31 saying ‘Jacob wants immediate trial of war criminals’ has come to the notice of Lieutenant General JFR Jacob.

The retired Indian General denied having made such comments. Before leaving Dhaka, he said in a written statement, ‘No such statement was made by me at anytime during my visit to Bangladesh. Officers from the Army of Bangladesh were present to confirm this.’

General Jacob expressed his deep concern on the motive of ‘interested quarters publishing untrue and misleading sensitive information,’ according to an ISPR press release.

Major General (retd) Lachman Singh, another member of the Indian delegation, also denied having made any statement calling for trial of war criminals, a spokesman of the Indian high commission said.

Earlier during a press meet on 28th the Lieutenant General JFR Jacob was asked to comment on the war criminals since sector commanders joined in, but he denied saying it was an internal matter of the BD. He though said that he had his uttermost respect for the freedom fighters and people of Bangladesh should respect what they did and recognize them.

Wow! Am I dreaming? It seems I went back to 1994 world cup football. Lots of Big names were there . There was great Bebeto-Romario Duo . But one name is heard every where as antonym of great Edison Arantes do Nascimento (Pele). This name is none other than another Living Legend of Brazil Ronaldo. He is my all time favorite. I first came to see Ronaldo from his PSV Eindhoven days. But unfortunately half of Potentiality of this great could not be utilized because of his Injury. Even after that he is the highest scorer of all time time world cup history. I truly miss trademark with and with out ball movement of Ronaldo master Piece.

But I think my wait is over . A New 18 years Phenomenon has already  declared his arrival in highest stage of world football. This name is Alexandre Pato. Present Brazil Coach and Ex BrazilCaptain Carlos Dunga has already declared ” Pato reminds him his ex team mate Ronaldo.

The Video Clips of Pato reminds me to the Young Ronaldo of PSV days.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

The BNP chairperson’s adviser, ASM Hannan Shah, on Sunday demanded formation of a fresh election commission labelling the incumbent commission hostile to BNP. 

‘This Election Commission has lost its neutrality… Hold the next election under a neutral election commission as the statements and actions of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners have proved that they are hostile to BNP and protecting the interests of a certain quarter’, Hannan Shah told a discussion organised by Dhaka city unit of the party marking the Independence Day at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh. 

‘The chief election commissioner has said he does not want to be branded a “national traitor”. When he speaks so, I recall the statement of a leader in 1986 that “whoever will participate in elections under Ershad will be regarded as national traitors” but contested that polls the very next day,’ he said in an oblique reference to Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina.  

Hannan Shah also slammed those who were preaching formation of a national government and asked the grassroots activists of the party to ‘gain in strength to get rid of the present situation’. 

He castigated the government for indicting BNP joint secretary general Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman and mother-in-law Syeda Iqbalmand Banu on ‘false charges’. 

He asked all young party activists in the city to be present on the court premises on the day the hearing in the case begins to demonstrate their support for Tarique. ‘The BNP will engage at least 500 attorneys to defend Tarique in the false case’, he said. 

Chaired by city unit BNP vice-president Abu Sayeed Khan Khokan, the discussion was also addressed, among others, by joint secretaries general Selima Rahman and Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, organising secretary Mohammad Shahjahan, former adviser for commerce and energy Mahmudur Rahman, elderly party leader Shah Moazzem Hossain and leaders of the front organisations. 

Gayeshwar asked the ‘most powerful people’ in the government to make clear their intention. ‘Make clear what you want… Speak out loud if you have any “hidden ambitions” and let the people know about that.’ 

‘Exit is not a problem at all if your intention is good. If you have “ambitions”, please, collect the notebook of Pervez Musharraf,’ he said. ‘Someone is saying he has no ambitions, but who asked him if he has any ambitions or not? Why make such announcements in advance?’ 

Mahmudur Rahman said the case against Khaleda Zia regarding Niko contract was not true at all. ‘I was given the charge of energy adviser 18 months after Niko deal was signed and after taking the charge I forced the company to pay Tk 700 crore. If Khaleda had been involved in Niko deal she would surely have prevented me from taking the action’, he said. 

‘They [government] are talking too much and claiming that all the “powerful people” in the government are “clean”.  But the fact is that each and everyone of them had been appointed by the BNP-Jamaat coalition government. Now they have turned “clean” while others remain “dirty”. I challenge every “Uddins” in this government they ranked much below me in terms of transparency’, he said. 

Mahmud also denounced the government for ’secretly’ signing the air-transit treaty with India and denigrating the parliament house by setting up ’sub-jails’ and ‘kangaroo courts’ there.   

Most of the top city BNP leaders, including its president Sadeque Hossain Khoka and general secretary Abdus Salam, were not present at the discussion.  

When asked why he did not attend the discussion, Khoka told E-Bangladesh, ‘I was not aware of the meeting’. 

Photo:Sheikh Hasina ,on the way to Court.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

The detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday told a special court that she had been produced in court by force and complained of her incomplete treatment and mental harassment by the government.

Hasina, also the Awami League president, was discharged at about 2:00pm from Square Hospital where she had undergone treatment since March 11, produced in court at 2.15pm and taken to the special jail on the Jatiya Sangsad complex at about 3.15pm.

Deputy inspector general (prisons) Shamsul Haider Siddiqui told reporters outside the court that as Hasina was discharged by the hospital, she was sent back to jail.

Hasina was produced in the special judge’s court 1 on the Jatiya Sangsad complex after she had failed to appear in court on March 13, 17 and 23 to face the hearing in the framing of charges in the barge-mounted power plant case.

On March 23, M Firoz Alam, the judge of the court, ordered the jail authorities to produce Hasina, then under treatment in Square Hospital, in court ‘without fail’ on Sunday.

Hasina told the court on Sunday that she was discharged by the hospital authorities without completing her treatment.

‘The doctors did not want to discharge me, but the hospital management had to send me back at the instruction of the jail authorities,’ she alleged, adding that she had an appointment with a doctor on Sunday and that had to be cancelled.

‘What is the reason for dragging me to court straight from the hospital, leaving my treatment incomplete?’ she told the court. ‘This is nothing but mental harassment.’

After the court proceedings, Hasina told her lawyers, ‘The people who are now doing such injustice to me will also have to relinquish power one day and then they will face trial in people’s court.’

The general manager of the hospital, James Gomes, told, ‘We have discharged her as she is fit now and she does not need to stay here any more as an indoor patient.’

As her health condition is quite normal, her blood pressure is under control and the necessary tests have been done, she now needs another check-up of the eyes which can be done as an outdoor patient on April 2, he said, adding that the hospital management recommended the prison authorities to take her to the hospital on Wednesday.

A physician at the hospital, also a member of the medical team formed to treat Hasina, however, told , ‘She [Hasina] was discharged as the prison authorities wanted it. She did not fully recover and some of her tests remained incomplete.’

In the courtroom, Hasina complained that she had lost hearing in one ear and 25 per cent of the vision in the left eye because of ‘negligence of the jail authorities.’

She suffered damage to the ears in the grenade explosion in the Awami League rally in Dhaka on August 21, 2004.

She, however, brushed aside the report the jail authorities submitted to the court on March 23 which said she was not produced in court on the date because of her unwillingness.

Hasina said, ‘Why should I not appear in court because of unwillingness?’

She also said the medical report the jail authorities submitted to the court on March 23 which claimed that she was fit had been prepared without her knowledge.

Everywhere in the world, there is a provision for on-call doctors from outside to attend a patient in a hospital, she said, but she was denied such privilege and none of the doctors, who have been treating her for long, were allowed to attend her.

She also alleged that the jail code was not being properly followed in allowing her relations and lawyers to meet her from time to time.

The court, scheduled to resume at 9:30am to hear the defence petition seeking discharge of Hasina from the case, began the proceedings at 2.15pm after Hasina had been produced.

After Hasina’s statement, the chief prosecutor, Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan Mukul, prayed to the court for beginning further proceedings in the case.

Opposing him, defence counsel Qamrul Islam told the court that as Hasina was ill and her senior counsels had left the court at noon, the proceedings should be adjourned for the day.

Hearing both the sides, the court adjourned the hearing till April 3.

Hasina was arrested on July 16, 2007 in connection with an extortion case and has since then been detained in the special jail on the national assembly complex.