Tuesday, January 16th, 2007Army personnel arrested two Awami League-backed ward commissioners of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) and another BNP-backed union parishad chairman in the district yesterday. The arrestees are Mohammad Hossain Hiron, CCC commissioner of Pahartali ward, Jahar Lal Hazari, commissioner of Anderkilla ward, and Delwar Hossain Delu, chairman of Korerhat union parishad of Mirersarai upazila in Chittagong.Sources said the troops arrested Hiron, who is accused in a number of criminal cases, at his Ambagan home in Pahartali around 12:15pm yesterday. Hazari was arrested around 12:30am yesterday at his Hazarigoli home.During another raid, the army personnel captured Korerhat Union Parishad Chairman Delu, ...
(read more) Saturday, January 13th, 2007Just hours into the declaration of state of emergency, the army raided the residences and offices of several political leaders and businessmen including former influential ministers on Thursday night. The raids were carried out as part of a crackdown on 'corruptionists and godfathers of criminals', according to sources.Troops detained Giasuddin Al Mamun, a close friend and business partner of BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman. They went to Channel 1 office around 2:30am yesterday. Not finding him there, the troops went to his house in DOHS in the capital, said sources. But it could not be confirmed from where ...
(read more) Wednesday, January 10th, 2007Five top leaders of the Awami League (AL)-led grand alliance were injured as police assaulted them while using brute force to disperse alliance activists and leaders from around the Bangabhaban during a siege of it yesterday that triggered violent clashes between the law enforcers and the demonstrators.Policemen in riot gear brutally assaulted the leaders at Noor Hossain Square and fired teargas shells inside the AL central office on Bangabandhu Avenue during the siege that was also marked by police-demonstrators pitched battles in Fakirerpool and Joykali temple area.The leaders -- Tofail Ahmed, Rashed Khan Menon, Nurul Islam, Dilip Barua and Haji ...
(read more) Wednesday, January 10th, 2007The armed forces start election duties today with unprecedented authority to arrest anyone at any place without a warrant until January 29, but legal experts questioned the decision to give them the power without amending election laws.A home ministry circular said the armed forces, which will act as mobile and strike forces, may also be deployed at polling stations if necessary, sources said.The Election Commission (EC) for the first time allowed the army, navy and air force to exercise the power of blanket arrest in addition to the authority they already have--arresting anyone without a warrant within the 400-yard radius ...
(read more) Tuesday, January 9th, 2007The Election Commission (EC) in an unprecedented move yesterday agreed to allow the armed forces to arrest anyone from any place without a warrant during their engagement in election duties. The Armed Forces Division (AFD) in a proposal earlier sought the power for the army, navy and the air force for seven days including the polling day to ensure a peaceful atmosphere and security of voters in light of the existing law and order situation.Responding to the proposal, the EC finally asked the home ministry yesterday to issue a notification to allow the armed forces to have the authority ...
(read more) Monday, January 8th, 2007The armed forces expressed their desire to have the authority to arrest anyone from any place on the polling day without a warrant in addition to the power they already have to arrest any person within a radius of four hundred yards of a polling station.The home ministry meanwhile instructed intelligence agencies to strengthen their surveillance on persons involved with 'ill-attempts' to resist the election, and asked other law enforcing agencies to take preemptive legal actions against those who might create trouble on the polling day set for January 22 amid a boycott by Awami League (AL)-led grand alliance and ...
(read more) Sunday, January 7th, 2007Coordinator of Awami League (AL)-led 14-party alliance Abdul Jalil yesterday urged the law enforcement agencies, including the armed forces, and all officials related to the election not to engage themselves in an "illegal" election.Emerging from a meeting with the grand alliance leaders at his Gulshan residence in the city, Jalil made the call. He said they sat for the meeting to finalise the strategies to refrain people from taking part in the electoral processes. AL Presidium Member Amir Hossain Amu chaired the meeting.Referring to the decision of army deployment, he asked the president not to make the army controversial ...
(read more) Sunday, January 7th, 2007The caretaker government yesterday ordered army, BDR, Rab and police to show zero tolerance in dealing with a three-day blockade programme, according to a police source.The Awami League-led grand alliance will enforce the blockade across the country for three days starting from today to press for a fresh election schedule after preparing a correct voter list and resignation of President Iajuddin Ahmed from the office of chief adviser.The source told the news agency that the law enforcers, including army, would be posted at different strategic points in the capital to ensure smooth movement of traffic and peace and safety to ...
(read more) Friday, January 5th, 2007The army will start recovering illegal arms and assisting the law enforcement agencies on January 10 to maintain law and order ahead of and after the general election set for January 22 amid boycott by the Awami League (AL)-led grand electoral alliance and some other parties. "The army will be engaged in election duties from January 10. They will recover illegal arms and cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to ensure security of voters so that they can cast votes in a peaceful atmosphere," Election Commission (EC) Secretary Abdur Rashid Sarkar told reporters yesterday.Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will also ...
(read more) Friday, December 29th, 2006Fierce clashes between police and activists of Awami League-led grand alliance marked the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the alliance in Rangpur and Lalmonirhat districts yesterday while the hartal in Kurigram, Gaibandha and Nilphamari districts passed off almost peacefully. Half-day hartal was also observed at Sylhet-3 and Habiganj-3 constituencies.At least 100 people including police, activists and leaders of the grand alliance and journalists were injured in a series of clashes at different places in Rangpur town during the hartal hours, reports our Rangpur correspondent.The grand alliance called the hartal yesterday to protest the cancellation of nomination papers of Jatiya ...
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