'15th Amendment a conspiracy to establish one-party system'

The 15th Amendment to the constitution is a high-level conspiracy to establish a one-party state, the BNP alleged on Thursday.

“Chief Justice ABM Khairul Huq helped the government move toward a one-party system through the 15th amendment to the constitution. It was a naked conspiracy at the highest level to move forward on a one-party ruling system.

“This has been made clear before the public again by incumbent chief justice SK Sinha,” Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of the party, told journalists at a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters.

“Khairul Huq took Tk10 lakh from the prime minister for his treatment and to get the law commission chairmanship. He wrote the verdict and signed it after his retirement,” Rizvi alleged.

Chief Justice SK Sinha recently said: “Some judges take a long time to write their judgements. Others continue writing their verdicts even after retirement, a practice that is against the law and the Constitution.”

Sinha said a judge is an ordinary citizen after retirement.

“Court papers are official documents. A judge loses his authority to keep them, review them, prepare judgements and sign on them after retirement,” he said.

HC stays Kalyanpur slum eviction

The High Court has issued a stay order on the eviction of Kalyanpur slum for three months.

The bench of Justice Tarikul Hakim and Justice Bhismadev Chakrabarti passed the order following a writ petition filed by Ain O Shalish Kendra on Thursday afternoon.

The court also issued an order asking the authorities not to harass or arrest the slum dwellers without any specific reason.

Tension mounted at Kalyanpur slum as the National Housing Authority started eviction drive on Thursday morning.

Agitating slum dwellers were seen protesting in the area with sticks to bar the drive. Thousands took position on the streets after their slums were demolished.

Later, with the help of police, Executive Magistrate Nur Alam started the drive again around 12 noon.

The slum dwellers pelted brick chips at police when they tried to evict the 4 no slum around 1:45pm, forcing the law enforcers to retaliate.

SC stays case filing against torturer cop Masud

The Supreme Court today stayed a High Court order that directed police to file a case over cop torture on Bangladesh Bank official Golam Rabby.

Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Hasan Foyez Siddique ordered the stay until January 25 and sent it for a full bench hearing on that day.

The High Court observes that sub-inspector Masud Shikder has committed a criminal offence by detaining and torturing bank official Golam Rabby.

His order came following a petition moved by the government seeking a stay on the High Court order, which had said that the torturer cop should be dismissed.

Masud, formerly a police sub-inspector of Mohammadpur, drew widespread flak after torturing Bangladesh Bank official Golam Rabby and asking for Tk 5 lakh bribe from him.

READ MORE: Tortured BB official recalls cop brutality

The policeman threatened to implicate the bank official in a narcotics case, kill him and frame him as a victim of a shootout if he failed to pay the bribe.

Following countrywide outrage after the incident, the policeman was first closed and later suspended. A writ petition was moved with the High Court in this regard.

The High Court had directed Mohammadpur police to record Rabby’s allegation as an FIR in response to the writ petition. The court observed that Masud should be dismissed.

AKM Ehsanur Rahman, one of the writ petitioners, told The Daily Star that the police cannot lodge a first information report (FIR) over torture on Golam Rabby until January 25 after the chamber judge’s order.

Kerala beedi baron Nisham sentenced to life, fined Rs 80 lakh

Muhammad Nisham, a beedi tycoon had rammed his Hummer SUV into a security guard leading to the latter’s death two weeks later

A court in Thrissur on Thursday sentenced beedi tycoon Muhammad Nisham to rigorous life imprisonment and another 24 years in jail for causing the death of a security guard with his Hummer at the Sobha City apartments last year. The 39-year-old businessman, reportedly with assets worth Rs 5,000 crore, will also have to pay a fine of Rs 80.30 lakh of which Rs 50 lakh is to be paid to the widow of the victim, K Chandrabose.

Quoting the verdict of judge K P Sudheer, special public prosecutor C P Udayabhanu said the life term served for murder and 24 years of jail term for other six offences would run consecutively. The appellate courts have to uphold the quantum of punishment.

Nisham was convicted under sections of 302, 326, 323, 324,427,449 and 506(1) of IPC.

The court also asked the prosecution to initiate criminal procedures against Nisham’s wife Amal on charges of perjury. Amal, who had been a prosecution witness, had earlier given a statement to the magistrate that she had seen injured Chandrabose in the Hummer SUV of her husband. Later, during the trial, Amal turned hostile.

Reacting to the verdict, Chadrabose’s wife Jamanthi said the culprit should have been hanged. “We did not get justice. We are not enthused to hear about the compensation ordered to be paid to us. It was not an accident. He ran the vehicle into my husband. When he tried to escape, Nisham crushed him against a concrete wall using his vehicle. We are not satisfied by the verdict,’’ said Jamanthi, who was given the job of a lower division typist with a public sector firm in Thrissur after Chandrabose’s death.

Nisham’s family members also said they would move an appeal in the High Court as the trial court did not look into the attack against Nisham.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the prosecution was asked to move an appeal seeking maximum punishment for the culprit.

This has been one of the most sensational cases in Kerala in recent years. Nisham is the managing director of Tamil Nadu-based King Beedi Co. Apart from being a prominent tobacco supplier, he had business interests ranging from a hotel in Dubai to jewellery businesses in the Middle East and Kerala (King’s Jewellers in Triprayar, Thrissur) to real-estate. He owned a fleet of 18 imported cars, including Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Road Ranger, Ferrari and Jaguar. Nisham had faced several traffic offences connected with these massive vehicles.

However, Nisham’s return from a late night party in Thrissur to his apartment at Sobha City on the night of January 29, 2014 in his Hummer SUV was the beginning of the fall of the powerful businessman. Nisham rammed his SUV into Chandrabose and pinned him against a concrete wall, reportedly over a delay in opening the gates of Sobha City.

After ramming him against a wall, he dumped Chandrabose at the back of the Hummer and drove to the parking area of the apartment complex, where he further assaulted him. Nisham prevented others from taking the victim to the hospital. Later, the police, who reached on being alerted by the Sobha City staff, rushed Chandrabose to Amala Hospital in Thrissur where he died two weeks later. Nisham was then charged with murder.

The attack leading to the security guard’s death exposed the criminal history of Nisham, who had allegedly been involved in 11 cases, but managed to escape prosecution. He had enjoyed clout among leaders of all political parties and police officials.

While an undertrial in the murder case, Nisham was listed as a goon after the state police slapped relevant sections of the Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act. Accordingly, he was consigned to jail without any trial for six months.

Nisham moved a bail plea in the Supreme Court which was rejected with the court observing that the case showed the rich were becoming egocentric.

When the trial began, prime prosecution witness K C Anoop, a colleague of Chandrabose, turned hostile. He said he had not seen Chandrabose being hit by the vehicle driven by Nisham. The statement triggered a ruckus, forcing Anoop to correct it. When the trial resumed, Anoop told the court that he had diluted his statement under duress from Nisham’s family, and went back to the original version in which he said he had seen Chandrabose being attacked by Nisham.

The case also triggered ripples in the police department. Former Kerala DGP K S Balasubramaniam faced allegations that he tried to protect Nisham. Then Thrissur city police commissioner Jacob Job was suspended for a secret meeting with Nisham.

Putin Probably 'Approved' Ex Spy's Assassination

President Vladimir Putin probably approved a plan by Russia’s FSB security service to kill former agent Alexander Litvinenko, a British judge said today.

In a lengthy report, Judge Robert Owen said that he is certain Litvinenko was given tea laced with a fatal dose of polonium-210 at a London hotel in November 2006.

He said there is a “strong probability” that the FSB directed the killing, and the operation was “probably approved” by Putin.

Litvinenko, a former FSB agent, fled to Britain in 2000 and became a vocal critic of Russia’s security service and of Putin, whom he accused of links to organized crime.

Owen said Litvinenko “was regarded as having betrayed the FSB” with his actions, and that “there were powerful motives for organizations and individuals within the Russian state to take action against Mr. Litvinenko, including killing him.”

Moscow has always strongly denied involvement in Litvinenko’s death, and Russia refuses to identify the two main suspects, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun.

Litvinenko, who had become a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died after he was poisoned with polonium-210, an isotope that is deadly even if ingested in tiny quantities.

He had fled from Russian to Britain in 2000 after breaking with Putin and his inner circle.

Maldives ex-leader Mohamed Nasheed due to arrive in UK

Former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed is due to arrive in the UK for surgery after a stopover in Sri Lanka, according to his party.

Nasheed, who was controversially jailed last year, is seeking urgent treatment for his spinal cord.

The Maldivian government has attracted criticism for asking for a guarantor who would be criminally liable if Nasheed did not return.

After tense negotiations the government finally agreed to waive that condition.

Nasheed – the opposition leader – was jailed for 13 years under anti-terror laws. The government has said Nasheed must return after 30 days to serve the remainder of his sentence.

He left the Maldives on Monday and spent several days in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. He is travelling under what diplomatic sources called a deal brokered by India, Sri Lanka and Britain, according to the Maldivian government.

Mr Nasheed’s supporters said he met with ambassadors of several Western countries including the UK, Norway, Australia, France and Canada in Colombo to discuss his country’s political situation.

maldives ex-leader due to arrive in the UK

Maldivian MP Eva Abdulla said Mr Nasheed met with ambassadors of several Western countries in Colombo to discuss his country’s political situation

Controversial trip

The Maldivian government came under international criticism in recent months for not allowing Nasheed to seek treatment abroad.

It agreed to the trip last weekend, but days later it insisted that he nominate a family member to stay in the capital Male to guarantee his return. Nasheed’s party and lawyers called it “blackmail”, but Maldivian foreign minister Dunya Maumoon said it was “standard procedure” for any prisoner travelling abroad for medical treatment to sign a guarantee.

A compromise was eventually reached and the government waived criminal liability for the guarantor. Nasheed’s brother is acting as guarantor.

A former human rights campaigner, Nasheed became the nation’s first democratically elected leader in 2008, ending three decades of rule by former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

In 2012, he was detained after being accused of ordering the arrest of a judge.

He resigned months later amid an army mutiny and public protests over the judge’s fate.

Nasheed alleged that he had been removed by a coup, but this was denied by his vice-president, who replaced him.

The current President Abdulla Yameen was elected in controversial polls in 2013 and is the half-brother of Mr Gayoom.

Deadly assault on Pak Uni

A group of militants stormed a university in volatile northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens as the Army hunted for any gunmen still holed up on the campus, officials said.

A security official said the death toll could rise to as high as 40 as the Army cleared out student hostels and classrooms.

“Our four suicide attackers carried out the attack on Bacha Khan University today,” Umar Mansoor, a commander in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistani (TTP) militant group told AFP by phone from an undisclosed location.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party strongly condemns the terrorist attack on Bacha Khan University.

According to ‘AFP’, the operation has ended and the death toll in Pakistan university attack stands at 21 as of now. Meanwhile, Army continues to search block by block of the university.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan will visit Charsadda today.

Reports say that Pakistani Army has confirmed that snipers have killed two more terrorists. Four terrorists killed so far.

Deputy Inspector General Saeed Wazir says 70 percent of students have been rescued.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Paksitan claims responsibility for Bacha Khan University terror attack.

Pakistan Nawaz Sharif condemns the terror attack and said the sacrifice of the deceased will not go in vain. “We are determined and resolved in our commitment to wipe out the menace of terrorism from our homeland. The countless sacrifices made by our countrymen will not go in vain,” a statement issued on behalf of the Pakistan PM said.

Pakistan police say they have killed two of the militants who stormed the university.

Pakistan media reports that 60-70 students were shot in the head by terrorists.

Speaking to Reuters, Deputy Inspector General Saeed Wazir said the Army and police had moved into the university and a gunfight with the attackers was under way. He said it was unclear how many gunmen were involved.

One professor is reported to be killed in the attack.

Pakistan media reports that 50 have been injured in the terror attack and have been shifted to Charsadda District HQ hospital

Media reported that three gunmen entered the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and opened fire on students and teachers in classrooms and hostels.

The Bacha Khan University in Charsadda is about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the city of Peshawar.

Reports say that firing was still going on inside the campus where students, teachers and administration staff are present.

Television images showed female students clutching hands as they fled the university, with traffic blocked on the roads of Charsadda as security forces rushed towards the campus.

According to some reports two explosions were heard inside the university.

Geo TV reports that five injured have been taken out from the university.

It further said that over 3000 students were present inside the university when the attack happened.

Security officials have cordoned off the area and students are being evacuated from classes.

Peshawar was the location of Pakistan`s deadliest ever extremist attack, when Taliban gunmen stormed an army-run school in December last year and slaughtered more than 150 people, most of them children, in an hours-long siege.

Singapore arrests 27 Bangladeshi Islamists, deports 26

Singapore, a wealthy multi-ethnic city state, arrested 27 Bangladeshi construction workers who supported Islamist groups including al Qaeda and Islamic State and deported 26 of them, the government said on Wednesday.

The 27 were arrested in November and December, the home ministry said. Twenty-six were deported, while the last one was jailed for attempting to leave Singapore illegally after hearing of the arrest of the others, the home ministry said.

The investigation revealed that several members of the group had considered carrying out armed violence overseas, but did not plan any attack in Singapore. Some of them had contemplated taking part in armed jihad in the Middle East, the ministry said.

“I appeal that we be more vigilant, whether against radical teachings and ideologies, or of any suspicious activities around us,” Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said on his Facebook page.

“At the same time, I hope we will remain united and not resort to discriminating (against) foreign workers here.”

Singapore broke up plots for militant attacks after the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the United States. Recently, concern has been growing in countries around the world about individuals joining the cause of the Islamic State.

The Bangladeshis were encouraged to return home and wage armed jihad against the government in Dhaka, and tried to recruit other Bangladeshis to their group, the ministry said.

The announcement came a week after an attack by suicide bombers and gunmen in the heart of Jakarta, the capital of neighbouring Indonesia, highlighting the growing threat Southeast Asia faces from radicalised Muslims.

PM Narendra Modi launches Essel Group Chairman Dr Subhash Chandra's autobiography

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the autobiography of Essel Group Chairman Dr Subhash Chandra.

Modi unveiled the book at his official residence 7 RCR in Delhi.

Dr Chandra, during the launch event, said that focus and determination is the key to achieving success in life.

PM Modi, praising Dr Chandra, said, “It takes a lot of effort to write an autobiography. Taking risk is Subhash Chandra’s habit”.

Modi also praised Dr Chandra for his contribution to society and education.

Applauding Dr Chandra’s continuous efforts to achieve excellence, Modi said that it is very important to read biography. “It helps you know the history better,” the PM said.

The autobiography titled ‘The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time’ has been written along with Pranjal Sharma.

A book launch event is also scheduled at Zee Jaipur Lit Fest at 12.25 pm tomorrow.

The panelists for the event are M J Akbar and Vallabh Bhansali who will interact with Dr Chandra in the launch session.

The book is published by Harper Collins and will be available in stores from tomorrow onwards. It is already available on Flipkart and Amazon India for pre-orders.

Dr Chandra, who is referred to as the Media Moghul of India, revolutionised the television industry by launching the country’s first satellite Hindi channel Zee TV in 1992 and later the first private news channel, Zee News.

His bouquet of businesses includes television networks (ZEE), a newspaper chain (DNA), cable systems (Wire and Wireless Ltd), direct-to-home (Dish TV), satellite communications (Agrani and Procall), theme parks (EsselWorld and Water Kingdom), online gaming (Playwin), education (Zee Learn), flexible packaging (Essel Propack), infrastructure development (Essel Infraprojects Ltd) and family entertainment centres (Fun Cinemas).

He has made his mark as an influential philanthropist in the country by setting up TALEEM (Transnational Alternate Learning for Emancipation and Empowerment through Multimedia), aimed at providing access to quality education through distance and open learning. Dr Chandra is also the Chairman of the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India – a movement to eradicate illiteracy from rural and tribal India. The Foundation provides free education to nearly eight lakh tribal children across 27,000 villages through one-teacher schools.

JP not splitting, Ershad declares

–JP not splitting, Ershad declares

–Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu removed as secy general

–Ruhul Amin Howlader replaces Bablu

A day into making his brother the co-chairman of Jatiya Party, HM Ershad today removed Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu as secretary general.

The JP chairman also appointed Ruhul Amin Howlader as the new secretary general of the party.

“No one can touch this party, I am its chairman. No one confuses anyone,” Ershad says. Photo: TV grab

“Impossible, Jatiya Party won’t split,” Ershad said after a press conference at his Banani residence today.

“No one can touch this party, I am its chairman. No one confuses anyone,” he said.

During the press conference, Ershad declared to remove his secretary general Ziauddin Bablu and made Ruhul Amin Howlader his new secretary general.

Also READ: Raushan calls press briefing too

The press conference was held at 2:00pm this afternoon after a much hyped rift within the party centering the appointment of Ershad’s brother GM Quader as the co-chairman.

The move displeased many leaders as they took it as an indication of Quader being the next chairman of Jatiya Party.

On the other hand, splitting is nothing new for Jatiya Party. It has already split four times with the last one of Kazi Zafar Ahmed “expelling” Ershad and joining hands with BNP.

Ershad, who is currently a special envoy of the prime minister, is also a known chameleon character who flip-flopped went back on his words countless times.