Himu's Window

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/08/08/d70808013220.htm           A businessman in Rajshahi city filed two cases yesterday against Lutfar Rahman, detained former president of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industries, in connection with extorting around Tk 1.50 crore. Nurunnabi of Shalgharia in Durgapur upazila, former business partner of Lutfar, lodged the cases with Boalia Police Station in the city. Joint forces arrested Lutfar at Dhaka several days ago. The complainant in one of the cases said Lutfar, former city BNP vice-president and a close aide to detained Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu, extorted Tk 1 crore from him using names of high-profile political figures like BNP Senior Secretary General Tarique Rahman and Minu. Ramjan Ali, officer-in-charge of Boalia Police Station, told newsmen that police started investigating the cases. "If other people were found to be involved during the investigation, they will be implicated in the c

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/08/02/d70802070186.htm     Disabled preparing their voter lists in Rajshahi Speakers at a press conference held here yesterday said the disabled are now engaged in preparation of voter lists in Rajshahi City Corporation areas. Action on Disability and Development (ADD), working with the disabled, in collaboration with Election Working Group (EWG), a network of 33 NGOs, organised the press conference at Rajshahi Public Library auditorium. They said about 15 disabled persons are now conducting a survey at all the 30 wards of the city corporation to prepare separate lists for the disabled. In many cases, they are going from door to door with the enumerators (data collectors). On completion of the survey, they will hand over the lists to Rajshahi Election Office tomorrow, they said. The conference stressed on enrolment of the disabled in the voter list for establishing their fundamental rights. They also stressed on giving identity c

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/07/28/d70728020124.htm     Editorial Verdict against militancy Let no one doubt our resolve to fight it   The conviction of former minister Barrister Aminul Haque and 24 others to a long prison sentence is clearly a historic judgment. There are quite a few reasons why this verdict stands out as a judicial landmark. In the first place, it is a maiden conviction ever to be handed in a case of patronising militants. The number of convicts -- 25 to be exact, including the former minister -- is indicative of the magnitude of the crime committed. The fact, however, that 17 of them, inclusive of the ex-minister, are absconding, means that they have to be ferreted out and made to face justice. That they have been found guilty of promoting and supporting Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh in their acts of extortion and torture of people in a court of law puts across some strong signals. It lends a robust credence to the widely acknowledged fact t

http://us.franceguide.com/edito.html?EditoId=91545   Masterpieces of Ganges delta. Collections from the Bangladesh museums     M usée des arts asiatiques Guimet Bangladesh possesses an immensely important cultural heritage, this arising from the fact that the eastern half of Bengal has been one of the cultural richest regions of the Indian world; a vision far from the catastrophic one that the western world often tends to favour. The region is associated with the art of the Pala and Sena dynasties (8th – 13th century). Archaeological study has however revealed vestiges that are more ancient like the Mahasthan site which stands on what used to be Pundravardhana, and goes back to the Maurya and Sunga periods (3rd – 1st century BC). It has also revealed vestiges from the Gupta period (4th – 6th century). Pundravardhana-Mahasthan is, to this day, the old

  http://thedailystar.net/2007/07/27/d7072701011.htm     JMB patron Aminul jailed 24 others also handed 31 years behind bars for helping militants   Anwar Ali, Rajshahi Former post and telecommunications minister barrister Aminul Haque and 24 others were yesterday sentenced to 31 years and six months' imprisonment in the first-ever judgment of a case for patronising Islamist militants. The convicts also include Rajshahi district BNP Secretary Shish Muhammad. The Second Additional Sessions Judge's Court, Rajshahi convicted them for aiding and abetting the militants of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in extorting and torturing people in Bagmara upazila of the district in 2004. The convicts were also fined Tk 25,000 each and in default they will have to suffer three years more in jail. Two accused union council chairmen--Besharatullah and Rafiqul Islam--were acquitted in the case. Judge Rezaul Islam delivered the judgment amid tight security

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/debate/letters/article2120659.ece   From The Times July 23, 2007 Bangladesh arrest Sir, Bangladesh, a strategic country of 150 million people, has a proud history of progress under secular democracy since its independence in 1971, punctuated by regrettable periods of regression under authoritarian military rule. We are therefore gravely concerned about the undignified arrest this week of the former Prime Minister and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina. She was seized in the early hours of July 16 and imprisoned under emergency powers that appear to deny her basic legal rights, including legal representation. Sheikh Hasina returned voluntarily to her homeland in early May to answer accusations of extortion and murder laid against her, even though the Government sought actively to keep her in exile while transiting through London after a family visit to the US. There are widespread allegations that her arrest is politica

    http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/07/24/d707240702104.htm     Ancient Bengal treasures finally being flown to Paris for display   Anwar Ali, Rajshahi Finally, the 24 rare ancient Bengal treasures of Barind Research Museum (BRM) under Rajshahi University (RU) are being flown to Paris for display at a museum there for 'a great global exposure' of Bangladesh. The priceless objects of historical interest will be flown in the first week of next month. A team from France's Guimet Museum are already in Bangladesh and it is due to visit BRM soon for packaging the treasures, said BRM Director Mohammad Zakaria. These are scheduled to be taken to Dhaka on August 1 and to be flown for Paris on August 4, he said. Some 120 objects selected from Bangladesh National Museum, Mahasthangarh, Paharpur and Mainamati Archeological Museum and BRM will be put on display at the mMuseum, said sources. France's famous Guimet Museum, dedicated to Asian arts, will s