Himu's Window

  An adivasi Garo rape victim of Rajshahi yesterday expressed concern that her case is not being investigated properly and she is under constant threat for withdrawing the case. Different adivasi organisations alleged that the medical report of the rape victim has been influenced by the rapist who is blessed with the local police. The victim, a 20-year-old girl from Panchanandapur village at Dhobaura upazila in Mymensingh, is the third year student of Rajshahi Medical Nursing Institute. She developed a friendship with Habibul Islam Kalam, a teacher of Fulbaria High School at Puthia upazila in Rajshahi. The victim said on July 19, Kalam, a married man, invited her for visiting his family at his rented house at Puthia sending his wife to her father's house with his children. Kalam then locked the door and raped her forcibly in the afternoon. He also tried to take photos and video of the rape scene. Locals rushed to the house hearing her screams and rescued her breakin...

    Security has been beefed up at all vulnerable points and important installations in five northern districts, including Rajshahi, in the wake of the killing of Dr Tutul, chief of outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (red flag), in 'crossfire' between the police and his accomplices in Naogaon on Sunday. All police stations, outposts and camps in the division have been put on high alert, sources in Rajshahi divisional police said yesterday. The sources said that the operatives of outlawed parties see Tutul's death as a blow to their two decade-old underground 'armed struggle for socialism'. The law-enforcement agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), have also intensified their combing operations to track down the listed outlawed party operatives. Tutul, a physician-turned-outlaw, was also known by the names 'Rafiqul', 'Masum', 'Masud', 'Milon' and 'Dadabhai'. He was killed in 'crossfire...

Chief of outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP Marxist-Leninist) Lal Pataka faction Dr Tutul was killed in "crossfire" between police and his accomplices before dawn yesterday in Naogaon. In a separate incident in Natore the same day, an outlawed party member and a suspect in the Bamihal police killing and arms looting case was killed in a similar fashion. A physician-turned outlaw, Tutul is believed to have masterminded the killings of political figures in Rajshahi, Natore and Naogaon as well as the police killings and arms lootings at Bamihal in Shingra, Taherpur in Rajshahi, Randhunibari in Sirajganj and Chowbaria in Naogaon, said police. He was wanted in over 200 cases filed with different police stations in greater Rajshahi, Pabna, Sirajganj and a number of other northern districts. The 42-year-old extremist group leader, son of Daud Hossain Biswas from Kotchandpur in Jhenidah, was known under several aliases including Dr Mizanur Rahman, Rafikul Islam, Masud, M...

    The two-day BBC dialogue on Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) election at Rajshahi Medical College auditorium has created enthusiasm among the electorates. All the 15 mayoral candidates answered to the questions from around 500 electorates in two shifts on Monday and Tuesday nights providing scopes for voters to choose the right person in election. BBC Bangla organised the dialogue in association with the Election Commission. Both the sessions of the dialogue were aired live on Bangladesh Television (BTV), BTV World and Bangladesh Betar. Kamal Ahmed, senior producer of BBC Bangla Service, moderated the dialogues while Waliur Rahman Miraz, producer of BBC Sanglap series, produced the event. While answering to a query on water crisis, acting Rajshahi mayor Rejaunnabi Dudu, also a mayor aspirant, said subscribers are not available even after creating water pipelines in many areas. Asked why water lines were taken to areas where there is no demand and when 40 per...

Anwar Ali, Rajshahi Canvassing for mayor and councilor candidates has become a source of income for hundreds of unemployed and poor youths, especially women, in Rajshahi city as they are being offered attractive figures for electioneering for the candidates. The opportunity has come as a relief among the poor against the backdrop of skyrocketing prices of essentials, although purchasing votes or influencing election through spending money is a violation of the election code of conduct. A good number of employees of Rajshahi City Corporation and some other government offices have also engaged themselves in the election campaign seeing a new source of income, even at times hampering their duties. The demand for women workers is high as women have easier access than men to households. Full-time workers are being paid Tk 100 to Tk 160 per day while part-time workers are getting Tk 30 to Tk 80, according to the workers. Children are also being hired despite the fact that engag...

  Mayoral and councillorship hopefuls in Rajshahi City Corporation elections yesterday at a meeting with local administration raised allegations of gross code of conduct violations. Campaigning under the banners of political parties, spending of black money and intimidation by hired thugs are widespread, claimed a number of contestants. The meeting, held at Rajshahi District Council auditorium, was organised by returning officer and regional deputy election commissioner of Rajshahi. Honest, educated and competent candidates are at a disadvantage due to the authorities' indifference toward the violations of the code of conduct, said the speakers. Bribing prospective voters and intimidation and attacks targeted at opponents by some of the candidates will foil the government's effort for holding an election free from violence, corruptionists and black money holders, they cautioned. Out of 15 candidates running for the mayoral post of the city, 12 were present a...

  Australian Deputy High Commissioner Kilmeny Beckering Vinckers paid a two-day visit to Rajshahi to monitor the situation here before the Rajshahi City Corporation election. During her visit, she met Acting Rajshahi Mayor Rejaunnabi Dudu, also a mayoral candidate, at his office yesterday morning. She had talks with other mayoral candidates including City Awami League President Masudul Haque Dulu and General Secretary AHM Khairuzzaman Liton over cell phone. Earlier, she met Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner Hafijur Rahman Bhuiyan, Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner M Ibrahim Khalil and Deputy Election Commissioner Sayed Muhammad Musa on Sunday.   http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=46910