16-09-2021

ThUrSDAY, SePTeMBer 16, 2021
3
To take part in United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon, 75 members of Bangladesh Navy left
Chittagong on Wednesday.
Photo : Courtesy
Safety of citizens being ensured
in Rangpur city: RpMP Chief
RANGPUR : Rangpur Metropolitan Police
(RpMP) Commissioner Abdul Alim
Mahmud yesterday said RpMP has been
ensuring safety of citizens and law and order
since its inception three years ago to fulfill
the people's aspirations.
"We are providing legal services to the
citizens in a hassle-free manner at the
earliest possible times," the RpMP Chief said
this while addressing a press conference
arranged here before celebration of the third
founding anniversary of RpMP tomorrow.
He said the RpMP has taken zero tolerance
principle against drug trading and drug
abuse and none would be spared, including
police members, if found involved in taking
or trading drugs, harassing or implicating
any citizen with false charges or committing
any other types of crimes.
He discussed tremendous successes
achieved by RpMP in maintaining law and
order, arresting criminals, establishing
traffic rules, beat policing, community bank,
police training school, closed circuit cameras
and other triumphs in the metropolis.
"Members of RpMP have engaged
maximum efforts as front liners since the
beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and
distributed tens of thousands face masks,
hand sanitisers and other health safety
materials and relief goods among affected
people," Alim said.
During the last one year alone, RpMP
seized huge contraband drugs, including
177.35 kgs of ganja, 8,757 pieces of Yaba
tablets, 1,547 bottles of phensedyl, 64.58
grams of heroin, 114 litres of fermented wine
totally worth Taka 54.40 lakh.
"The Traffic Division of RpMP realised
Taka 5.97 crore as government revenue
through filing 34,648 cases adopting
digitised e-traffic prosecution without any
incident of harassment of the traffic rules
violators during the last one year," he said.
Besides, RpMP has unearthed motives of
many clueless and sensational criminal cases
and brought the criminals under the law of
land during the last one like in the previous
two years.
RpMP has launched an attractive archive,
first booth of Community Bank in Rangpur
division, Police Women's Welfare
Association, Metropolitan Ambulance
Service and published the book
'Muktijuddher Smriti Kotha' to inform the
young generations about the true national
history.
"Aiming at implementing the
government's Vision 2021 and Vision 2041,
RpMP will continue efforts and strengthen
its activities for law and order and
implement future work plans to make
independence meaningful for every citizen,"
the RpMP Chief said.
Additional Commissioner of Police of
RpMP Md Mehedul Karim, its Deputy
Commissioners Police (Detective Brach)
Kazi Muttaki Ibnu Minan, Abu Bakar
Siddique (City Special Branch), Maruf
Ahmed (Crime), Md Mohidul Islam
(Headquarters and Admin), Md Menhajul
Alam (Traffic) and high ranking police
officials.
55 held for
selling,
consuming
drugs in city
DHAKA : Members of plain
clothes and intelligence
agencies of Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP)
arrested 55 people on
charges of selling and
consuming drugs in the city.
According to a DMP
statement issued, in
separate anti-drug
operations of the DMP's
police arrested drug
paddlers and abusers and
seized banned and illegal
drugs from the city's various
areas.
As part of the anti-drug
campaign, the police raided
different areas under
various police stations and
detained 55 drug abusers
and recovered drugs from
their possession from 6 am
on September 14, 2021 to 6
am yesterday, it said.
Police seized 155 grams
and 297 puria (Small
packet) of heroin, 3.600
kilograms of cannabis
(ganja), 10 phensidyle and
6,449 pieces of yaba, from
them, according to the
statement.
Police filed 39 cases
against the arrestees in this
connection with police
stations concerned under
the Narcotics Control Act.
5th international conference on inclusive business was held at a city hotel on Wednesday.
Photo : Courtesy
Awami League
secretariat
meeting
Saturday
DHAKA : A meeting of
Awami League (AL)
secretariat will be held at
10.30am on Saturday at
the party's central office
in Bangabandhu Avenue
here.
AL General Secretary
and Road Transport and
Bridges Minister Obaidul
Quader will preside over
the meeting, said a press
release signed by AL
office secretary Barrister
Biplob Barua on
Wednesday.
Quader has requested all
concerned to attend the
meeting in due time.
Four to die in Shariatpur
Samad Master murder case
DHAKA : A special tribunal here sentenced
four people to death and another nine to life
imprisonment in a case lodged over murder of
Abdus Samad Azad alias Samad Master,
headmaster of Chikandi Saraf Ali High School
in Shariatpur, in 2010, reports BSS
Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 judge Md
Monir Kamal pronounced the judgement,
sentencing Nuruzzaman Khan, Jahangir
Matobbar, Julhas Matobbar and Chan Miah
to death. The court also fined them Taka 20
thousand each.
The convicts, who have been sentenced to
life imprisonment are- Abdul Halim Mollah,
Ajijul Matobbar, Faruk Khan, Ajhar
Matobbar, Mijan Mir, Akter Gazi, Jalil
Matobbar, Emdad Matobbar and Lal Miah.
The court also fined them Taka 20 thousand
each and to suffer six-month imprisonment in
default.
According to the case documents, Samad
Master had contested in the union parishad
(UP) election and was defeated by then UP
Chairman Abdul Halim Mollah by a small
margin. As Abdus Samad Azad again wanted
to contest in the next election, Abdul Halim
Mollah began to threatening him. Samad
Master was ultimately hacked to death on
January 15, 2010. Five others were injured in
the indiscriminate firing of the killers during
the killing.
Samad Master's widow later filed the case
with Palong Police Station in Shariatpur
against 30 people including then chairman
Abdul Halim Mollah and former chairman
Ajibor Ali. Investigation officer and Palong
Police Station sub-inspector Shahidul Islam on
August 14, 2010, filed charge-sheet against 17.
The complainant of the case, however, filed
a naraji (no confidence) petition against the
charge-sheet, making new IO sub-inspector
Sultan Mahmud to reinvestigate and filed
fresh charge-sheet against 19 on May 11, 2011.
Shariatpur Senior Sessions Judge Court on
January 20, 2016, framed charges in the case.
The case was transferred to Dhaka Speedy
Trial Tribunal-3 for quick disposal on April 9,
2018.
World Ozone Day today
DHAKA : The World Ozone Day will be
observed in the country as elsewhere
across the globe today with the theme
"Montreal Protocol-Keeping us, our
food and vaccines cool".
On the eve of the day, President M
Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina yesterday gave separate
messages on the occasion urging all to
take concerted efforts to help protect
the ozone layer to save the
environment.
In his message, the President laid
emphasis on united efforts of all to
invent environment-friendly
technology ensuring its proper use in
all sectors, in line with the Montreal
Protocol.
"I think the celebration of this day
will play a very positive role in raising
public awareness about the ozone
layer's importance and sustaining the
existence of all living things in the
world and above all protecting human
health as well," he hoped.
The head of the state added that the
Montreal Protocol adopted by the
United Nations in 1987 is a landmark
step in protecting the ozone layer.
Over the past 35 years, the use of
ozone depleting substances has been
significantly reduced through the
implementation of the Montreal
Protocol, he said.
In addition to protecting the ozone
layer, the protocol is making a
significant contribution to tackling
global warming, climate change and
the development of energy-efficient
technologies, he said, adding that the
use of advanced and environmentally
friendly technology, especially in airconditioning
and refrigeration devices
used for storing food and medicine is
on the rise.
"Besides, the importance of modern
technology-based refrigeration devices
in the prevention of corona antidote
amid the pandemic is immense," he
continued.
In her message, Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina called upon the
government as well as the private
sector to come forward to protect the
life-sustaining environment by creating
mass-awareness, doing afforestation,
carrying out existing laws and
regulations, and using environmentfriendly
alternative technologies.
Referring to recent COVID-19
(Coronavirus) pandemic, she said it has
devastated the world economy, but
simultaneously the longtime lock down
helped reduce air pollution to almost
zero turning the Earth into a dark green
planet and rebuild the ozone layer.
In this context, the premier also
mentioned different pragmatic steps of
her government to protect the
environment and protect the ozone
layer.
She said, "After the formation of
three successive governments since
2008, we have taken various effective
steps to restructure the ozone layer. We
have already banned the use of most
ozone depleting substances in the
country, including HCFC (Hydro
Chlorofluorocarbon)."
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest
Bengali of all time, was very sensitive in
maintaining the balance of the
environment and he focused on the
forestry and coastal green belt across
the country, among other
responsibilities, Hasina mentioned.
The prime minister added: "After the
formation of the Awami League-led
government in 1996, we adopted a
comprehensive plan to ensure proper
implementation of the Montreal
Protocol."
Besides, the incumbent government
is working tirelessly to fully implement
the Paris Agreement to stop
greenhouse gas emissions, she said.
Both the president and the premier
wished the overall success of all the
programmes taken on the occasion of
'World Ozone Day-2021'.
Special programmes will be aired on
various electronic media including
Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh
Betar.
The Montreal Protocol was signed in
the Vienna Convention for the
protection of the ozone layer on
September 16, 1987 and it came into
force on January 1, 1989.
Bangladesh has been observing the
day since 1990 following signing of the
protocol in the same year.
The 'Dev Memorial Lecture' was virtually held on Wednesday. Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor
Prof. Md. Akhtaruzzaman was the chief guest at the event.
Photo : Courtesy
Bangladesh
reports 1,901
fresh cases, 51
deaths from
COVID-19
DHAKA : Bangladesh on
Wednesday reported 1,901
COVID-19 cases while the
coronavirus claimed
overnight 51 lives.
"The country reported
6.64 percent COVID-19
positive cases as 28,615
samples were tested in the
past 24 hours," Directorate
General of Health Services
(DGHS) said in its routine
daily statement.
In the past 24 hours,
combined figure of
coronavirus of Dhaka city
and upazilas of Dhaka
district is 1,101 while 14
COVID-19 deaths were
reported during the same
period.
The official tally showed
the virus killed 27,058
people and infected
15,36,341 so far, it added.
The recovery count rose
to 14,90,541 after another
3,873 patients were
discharged from the
hospitals during the past
one day.
The DGHS statistics
showed of the people
infected from the
beginning 97.02 percent
recovered, while 1.76
percent died.
The DGHS said among
the total 27,058 fatalities,
11,767 deaths occurred in
Dhaka division, 5,479 in
Chattogram, 2001 in
Rajshahi, 3,510 in Khulna,
925 in Barishal, 1,223 in
Sylhet, 1,333 in Rangpur
and 820 in Mymensingh
division.
Detectives arrest fugitive
drug dealer in Natore
DHAKA : A fugitive drug dealer wanted in
several drugs-related cases has been arrested
in Natore district, police said on Wednesday.
Mohammad Arif, who went into hiding
last month, was nabbed by the Detective
Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on
Tuesday night from Atua area of Boroigram
police station in the district,
Arif faces several drug-related cases filed
with different police stations in capital
Dhaka, said Additional Deputy
Commissioner of the DMP (media)
Iftakhairul Islam.
Earlier on August 23 police detectives
Man held for
running illegal
telecom setup
in Dhaka
DHAKA : A joint team of Rapid Action
Battalion-2 (RAB) and Bangladesh telecom
regulator arrested a man for allegedly
running an illegal telecom setup in the
capital's Lalmatia area, reports UNB.
The arrestee has been identified as
Shafiqul Islam (40), a resident of
Brahmanbaria.
Shafiqul was nabbed from a house on
Zakir Hossain Road in Lalmatia on Tuesday
evening, following a tip-off that he had been
selling international voice calls bypassing
the legal gateway for the past 18 months.
Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP)
components worth Tk 30 lakh, including
three sim-boxes of 512 ports, two sim-boxes
of 256 ports, seven laptops, five modems,
one switch and 900 Teletalk sim cards,
were seized from his house.
Shafiqul told interrogators that his fourmember
gang had been in the illegal
telecom business for nearly one-and-a-half
years.
The four would sell maximum talktime
worth Tk 2.30 lakh per day, causing losses
to the tune of Tk 7 crore to the state
exchequer, said Bangladesh
Telecommunication Regulatory
Commission officials.
arrested a female drug dealer known as
Parvin along with 220 grams heroin (brown
sugar) from Rayer Bazar area of
Mohammadpur in the city, Iftakahirul said.
He said police investigation found that Arif
was owner of the recovered heroin.
A case was filed with Mohammadpur
Police station in connection with recovery of
heroin in which Arif was also shown as an
accused. Since then Arif was in hiding.
Police claimed that Arif has long been a
wholesale heroin dealer bringing in the drug
from the bordering areas of Rajshahi for sale
in Dhaka city and elsewhere in the country.
MoU signed
between LGED's
CReLIC, four
organizations
DHAKA : A memorandum of understanding
(MoU) was signed between the Climate
Resilient Local Infrastructure Centre
(CReLIC) under Local Government
Engineering Department (LGED) and other
four organizations aiming to exchange data,
knowledge and experience on climate change
and develop and implement joint research,
reports BSS.
The four bodies are: Housing and Building
Research Institute (HBRI), Centre for
Climate Change and Environmental
Research (C3ER), Bangladesh Centre for
Advanced Studies (BCAS) and Asian
Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC).
LGED's CReLIC Director (Additional
Chief Engineer) AKM Lutfar Rahman,
HBRI Principal Research Officer Md
Akhter Hossain Sarkar, C3ER's Emeritus
Professor Ainun Nishat, BCAS Executive
Director Atiq Rahman and ADPC
Executive Director Hans Guttman signed
the agreement on behalf of their respective
sides at a signing ceremony held at the
LGED's office in city's Agargaon area, a
press release said here today.
All parties will work together to develop
climate-tolerant infrastructure and implement
the country's overall delta plan, it added.