Himu's Window

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=16810   ZIA-based smuggling ring destroyed stolen artefacts Claims Rab after arrest of 10 more but fails to recover remains in daylong search; motive still unexplained   Julfikar Ali Manik and Pinaki Roy Rapid Action Battalion personnel with the help of Dhaka City Corporation workers search for the remains of the two stolen Vishnu statues at a garbage-dumping site in Amin Bazar on the outskirts of the capital yesterday. Photo: STAR   After five days of artefact theft from Zia International Airport (ZIA), investigators yesterday said a ring of smugglers based at the airport destroyed the precious archaeological masterpieces and dumped them in a dustbin in Uttara. The revelation was stunning although the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) could not recover the broken pieces of the stolen statues even after conducting massive raids in different areas following confessional statements of the arrested suspects. Rab officials raided

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Artefacts heist: the crime scene http://uk.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUKDHA17836220071225 Bangladesh wants return of artifacts loaned to France DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh wants a consignment of ancient artifacts on loan to France for an upcoming exhibition to be returned after two 1,500 year-old statues of the Hindu God Vishnu were stolen while awaiting shipment from Dhaka airport. "The Guimet Museum (in Paris) would be informed, regretfully, that it would not be possible to go ahead with holding the exhibition of the items as planned," a statement from the office of the head of the interim government said on Tuesday. One consignment of items had already been successfully sent to France when the theft occurred on Saturday as a second shipment was being loaded on a Paris-bound flight. A government spokesman said the French exhibition would have to be cancelled and the artifacts already in Paris returned to Bangladesh. The authorities have ordered the remaining items

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=15426   Killing of Intellectuals in 1971 Existing evidence enough to try killers   Zayadul Ahsan and Shakhawat Liton   Bodies of unknown intellectuals dumped at Rayer Bazar mass killing field by local collaborators of Pakistan army days before Bangladesh won the Liberation War. Photo: File Photo   The killers of intellectuals during the Liberation War can be prosecuted on the basis of evidence preserved by the government. It only needs to take a move to resume the long halted process of trial of the intellectuals' murder cases. Sufficient number of documents and records on the cases have been preserved since 1972 at the home ministry, Criminal Investigation Department, Ramna police station, district and sessions judges' courts, chief metropolitan magistrates' courts and deputy commissioners' offices. Over the years, eminent jurists said all this evidence has now become ancient documents according

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=15429   Govts overlooked filing case under Int'l Crimes Act Shariful Islam The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which probed an intellectual-murder case that dates back 10 years, made suggestions to the home ministry in 2001 that the government could file the case under International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. No subsequent government, however, took the initiative to that end. Prof Farida Banu, sister of martyred intellectual Giasuddin, filed the case with Ramna Police Station on September 24, 1997 against two al-Badr cadres--Chowdhury Mainuddin and Ashrafuzzaman--for killing her brother on December 14 in 1971. The CID submitted the final report of the case in 2001 on grounds that it was filed under "wrong" section of law. Giasuddin was a history department lecturer at Dhaka University. The complainant now sees no hope of getting justice as the subsequent political governments and the present caretaker admi

Rajshahi speedy trial court yesterday acquitted two teachers and a official of Rajshahi University in the case for torching a DGFI vehicle and beating its staffs breaking emergency power rules of 2007 on August 22 campus violence. But the court sentenced each of ten other accused RU students and an employee in the case to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined them with Tk 5000. They will suffer three months more in jail in case of defaulting to pay the fine. The acquitted teachers Dr Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan Sajal and Dr Golam Sabbir Sattar Tapu of geology and mining department and Sadikul Islam, deputy chief information officer of RU Public Relations Office were released from Rajshahi Central Jail at 5pm. The convicted students are -- Bangladesh Chhatra League RU unit secretary Ayenuddin, Dipayan Sarkar Dip, Mizanur Rahman Mithu, Sardar Ayaz, SM Fakrul Islam Raihan, Abu Sayem, Shamim Ahmed, Kazi Abdul Latif, Shakhawat Hossain, Aziz Bin Kamal Uzzal. All the convicted students a

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=15193   Freed RU teachers to go ahead with appeal against conviction The lawyers of four Rajshahi University teachers yesterday decided to go ahead with appeal proceedings against their clients' convictions even though the government freed the academics two days ago amid mounting public demand. The defence lodged the appeals with the District and Sessions Judge's court on December 9, one day before the teachers walked out of prison. The court set December 27 to hear the appeals. The four teachers, meantime, joined their respective departments yesterday. They were given two-year jail terms on December 4 for breaking the emergency power rules by bringing out a silent procession on the campus on August 21. Two other teachers and two university staff are still behind bars on charge of abetting torching a DGFI vehicle during the violence. The verdict in the subsequent case is due today. "The teachers were freed followin

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=14977   Editorial   Welcome moves to free teachers and students Restoring proper campus atmosphere is necessary In response to family demand backed by the public, the government has released convicted teachers of Rajshahi University following presidential decision. That they are finally free is commandable.We are also happy to learn that moves have got underway to free the detained teachers and students of Dhaka University. The fact that such steps are now being taken following discussions between the Dhaka University Teachers' Association and the authorities is a matter of relief for the country. It is so because the nation can now look forward to a proper and necessary resolution of an issue that has been agitating minds over the past many months. We believe that it is a positive development and everyone aware of the priorities before us at this point can move on to everything else that needs to be done in the greater

The Eid-ul Azha is on December 21.     The Eid-ul Azha is on December 21. The moon of Arabic month of Zul Hizzah was seen Tuesday. News agency bdnews24.com said quoting an Islamic Foundation official.    

  Birshreshtha Hamidur finally laid to rest in homeland   Birshreshtha Hamidur Rahman was finally laid to eternal rest in his independent homeland with state honours.   Before the burial, the nation paid last respect to the Liberation War hero as his remains was brought to the National Parade Square at Shere-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital this morning.   President Iajuddin Ahmed, also supreme commander of the armed forces, formally received the coffin that contained the remains of Hamidur at the parade square and placed wreath at the coffin draped with the national flag at about 10:40am.   Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed also placed wreath at the coffin after the president.   A munajat was offered for divine blessing for the departed soul of the valiant freedom fighter, but the scheduled namaj-e-janaza was not held as he was buried in Ambasa in the Indian state of Tripura after namaj-e-janaza following his death in battle.   A brief life sketch of the Birsh

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=15035 ww.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=15035 4 RU teachers freed from jail; Govt claims president pardoned them; academics unaware of their mercy petition In the face of a rising public demand, the government finally freed the four convicted teachers of Rajshahi University from Rajshahi Central Jail yesterday afternoon. The government claimed that the release came following a petition of mercy to the president from the convicted teachers. But the freed teachers rejected the government claim saying they had not petitioned the president for mercy. Moloy Kumar Bhoumik of the management department, and Dulal Chandra Biswas, Sayed Selim Reza Newton and Abdullah Al Mamun of the mass communications department came out of the jail around 3.45pm. Maj Hafizur Rahman Mollah, deputy inspector general (DIG) of prisons in Rajshahi division, told The Daily Star that the teachers were released following a clemency for them from the president. "We [the j

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=14334     Editorial   Sentencing of RU teachers Harsh and disproportionate WE are shocked and surprised at the sentencing of four teachers of Rajshahi University (RU) to two-year rigorous imprisonment. It is beyond our comprehension how university teachers can be treated with such triviality, and marched off to serve their term like some petty criminals, particularly when the so-called 'proof of the crimes' does not meet rigorous standards of our own laws It is unprecedented, unfortunate and uncalled for. With full respect to the judicial system, we are compelled to ask the question -- what was the gravity of their crime? Was awarding rigorous imprisonment truly compatible with charges brought against them? Regrettably, this is for the first time in Bangladesh that university teachers have been given such harsh sentence for ventilating their grievance in a peaceful manner. The facts on hand suggest that three char

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=14251         From left: Moloy Bhoumik, Selim Reza Newton, Abdullah Al Mamun and Dulal Chandra Biswas     The speedy trial court of Rajshahi yesterday sentenced four Rajshahi University teachers for two years of rigorous imprisonment for bringing out the silent procession in the campus on August 21 violating Emergency Power Rules (EPR) of 2007.   Each convicts -- Moloy Bhoumik of Management, Dulal Chandra Biswas, Sayed Selim Reza Newton and Abdullah Al Mamun of Mass Communication departments were fined with Tk 1000, defaulting on which will suffer one month more in jail.   Two other accused in the case -- Dr M Saidur Rahman Khan, former vice chancellor of the university, and Dr M Abdus Sobhan, syndicate member and convenor of RU Progressive Teachers' Society, were cleared of the charges and acquitted.   Both the teachers from applied physics and electrical engineering department went home after they were relea