A Natore court has sentenced six individuals, including a local Awami League leader, to life imprisonment and fined each Tk 50,000 in connection with the 1999 murder of farmer Mesher Ali in Singra upazila. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday afternoon by Judge Saiful Islam of the Additional District and Sessions Judge Court-3, according to Additional Public Prosecutor Advocate Shahed Mahmud Titu.

The convicted individuals are Mahbub Mridha, president of the Hatianandah Union Awami League and former UP chairman, along with Idris Ali, Abu Raihan Mridha, Kartik Mondal, Abul Hossain, and Yunus Ali. The case stemmed from a land dispute between Mesher Ali and his neighbor Soleman Mridha. On February 23, 1999, Mesher Ali was lured out of his home by a neighbor and later found critically injured; he died on the way to the hospital. His son filed a murder case the following day against eight people.

Police arrested the accused and submitted a charge sheet. Over the years, two accused died and two went into hiding. After 26 years of proceedings, the court convicted all six remaining accused, including the absconding ones.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard has reported significant progress in its operations to eliminate piracy from the Sundarbans, the country’s largest mangrove forest. According to the agency, a total of 61 members of several notorious pirate gangs have been arrested over the past one and a half years through continuous operations. The detained individuals include members of the Karim-Sharif, Nana Bhai, Chhoto Suman, Alif, and Asabur groups. The Coast Guard stated that both regular joint operations and special missions based on secret intelligence are being conducted.

Authorities said a large cache of weapons and ammunition was seized during the drives, including 80 firearms, 599 live rounds, 308 blank rounds, and 1,950 airgun pellets. Additionally, 78 fishermen and three tourists were rescued alive from pirate captivity. The Coast Guard has intensified patrols across rivers and canals inside and around the Sundarbans, destroyed several identified hideouts, and continues to maintain communication with local residents and forest-dependent communities to ensure their safety.

The agency affirmed that joint operations will continue until the Sundarbans is completely free of piracy.

RAB-11 arrested a suspected drug dealer named Md. Siam, aged 23, during a special anti-narcotics operation in Bishnupur area under Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station. The operation was conducted early Wednesday based on secret information. Authorities recovered two DB police jackets, one handcuff, 7,900 yaba pills, two bottles of beer, five bottles of foreign liquor, and three bottles of cough syrup from his possession.

According to RAB sources, Siam is a resident of Ranguri village in Cumilla’s Kotwali area and the son of Md. Mojibur Rahman. He had allegedly been collecting yaba and other narcotics from border areas and selling them wholesale and retail across different parts of the country. He also reportedly used the police jackets and handcuffs to impersonate law enforcement officers and commit fraud and other crimes.

RAB-11 Deputy Director and Company Commander Major Sadman Ibne Alam stated that the operation was part of ongoing anti-drug drives, which will continue. Legal action is being processed against the detainee.

Four workers were burned in a fire caused by a short circuit while repairing an air conditioner at the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) academic building in Mirpur. The incident occurred around 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday on the third floor of the building. The injured were identified as Al Mamun, 34, Selim, 30, Russel, 45, and Sujon, 31. They were rescued and taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery for treatment in the afternoon.

According to a colleague, sparks from the short circuit ignited the fire during the repair work. Inspector Md. Faruk of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost confirmed that the injured are currently receiving treatment at the emergency department of the burn institute. Authorities are monitoring their condition.

Relevant authorities have begun investigating the cause of the fire to determine the exact circumstances behind the short circuit and subsequent injuries.

A Dhaka court has ordered the freezing of six bank accounts belonging to Monir Ahmed, Managing Director of Ahmedia Finance and Commerce Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, and his wife, Sakhina Ahmed. The order was issued on Wednesday by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Foyez, confirmed by court bench assistant Md Riaz Hossain.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inspector Billal Hossain had earlier filed a petition seeking to block the accounts. The petition stated that Monir Ahmed allegedly collected funds from around 1,000 to 1,100 members of the cooperative, promising high profits, and misappropriated approximately Tk 58.34 crore. The funds were reportedly used to purchase flats and land, linking him to money laundering and illicit wealth accumulation. The court deemed the account freeze necessary for proper investigation.

The order aims to facilitate the ongoing investigation into alleged financial fraud and money laundering involving the cooperative’s leadership.

At the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Wednesday, Muni Akter, wife of slain Nazrul Islam, testified as the third witness against dismissed army officer Major General Ziaul Ahsan. She stated that on March 15, 2010, five to six men in plain clothes abducted her husband from Bamta Mor in Kotalipara, Gopalganj, and he was never seen again. Later, police recovered his body from the Baleshwar River in Sharankhola, Bagerhat. She said she later learned that then RAB intelligence chief Ziaul Ahsan was responsible for her husband’s disappearance and killing.

Muni Akter told the tribunal that her husband had worked as a medical assistant at the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana and fled after witnessing the 2009 BDR mutiny killings. He later took a job at Madhumati Clinic in Kotalipara under a false name. After his disappearance, she filed a case with Kotalipara Police Station. Authorities later informed the family that his body had been buried as unclaimed, and it was reburied after DNA confirmation.

She appealed for justice for her husband’s abduction and murder, asserting that he was targeted for witnessing the BDR killings.

A rural businessman named Ziaul Haque from Cox’s Bazar has allegedly been targeted with a series of false cases aimed at seizing his shrimp farms. According to his wife, Nishat Tajnim Reshmi, a group led by Awami League leader Waz Karim Babul has filed more than 30 fabricated cases against her husband over the past three years. She claims the group, consisting of local criminals and political beneficiaries, is attempting to take control of their legally leased shrimp and salt fields in the Choufaldandi area.

Reshmi stated that the family’s livelihood and that of many workers depend on the business, which was established through a valid lease from local landowner Mostak Ahmed Chowdhury. She alleged that the police recently accepted a case against her husband instead of charging an armed suspect caught by locals. Ziaul Haque’s mother, Matiunnesa, also said the lease was legitimate and accused the group of trying to occupy the land while the owner was abroad.

Cox’s Bazar Sadar Model Police Station’s officer-in-charge Mohammad Sami Uddin said two cases have been filed and that the investigation will determine the actual offenders.

Two separate hearings were held in Chattogram on Tuesday concerning expelled ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is currently in jail in a sedition case. The hearings took place at the Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Court-2, where a petition was filed to show his arrest in a land-grabbing, vandalism, and looting case filed by former minister Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin. The case, lodged in 2023, accuses Chinmoy Krishna Das and six others of damaging property and looting fish from a pond on land owned by the plaintiff in Hathazari’s Mekhal Union.

Although the hearing date was set for April 7, the accused was not produced before the court. The court stated that an order would be issued later, but none had been given at the time of reporting. In a separate case, the Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal continued cross-examinations in the murder case of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, but Chinmoy Krishna Das was again not presented before the court.

The report notes that 24 of the 39 accused in the murder case were produced, while 14 remain absconding.

A CNG-run autorickshaw driver named Md. Mamun Farazi, aged 33, was killed after being hit by a speeding passenger bus in Dhaka’s Farmgate area on Wednesday afternoon. The accident occurred around 12:30 p.m. in front of the Daily Star building. Witnesses said a Labbaik Paribahan bus struck the autorickshaw with force, causing the driver to be thrown onto the road. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead at 1:09 p.m.

Local residents reportedly detained the bus immediately after the incident. Police confirmed that the body was kept in the hospital morgue and that Tejgaon Police Station had been informed. The victim’s identity was confirmed through his driving license, which showed he was from Hirajhil area of Siddhirganj in Narayanganj and the son of Md. Sikandar Farazi.

Authorities have not yet provided further details about the detained bus driver or any ongoing investigation into the fatal collision.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Traffic Division conducted a daylong operation on Tuesday in the Gulshan-2, Kakoli, Banani, Chairman Bari, and Amtoli Road areas of the capital. During the drive, 11 traders were fined a total of Tk 78,000 for occupying sidewalks and roads. No arrests were made during the operation, but legal action was taken against those who violated regulations.

According to the DMP’s Media and Public Relations Division, the operation was part of an ongoing effort to ensure smooth pedestrian movement and maintain order on city streets. The department stated that eviction drives will continue to uphold traffic discipline and public convenience.

The DMP emphasized that such enforcement actions are aimed at keeping public spaces free from illegal encroachments and ensuring safer, more organized urban mobility.

Authorities in Gauripur, Mymensingh, have uncovered alleged fuel manipulation at Messrs. Soad Filling Station, owned by Hafiz Azizul Haque, the member secretary of the local BNP unit. On Tuesday, April 7, a mobile court led by Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate Nurul Huda Monir arrested station manager Jalil Hossain Rifat for allegedly misappropriating about 50,000 liters of petrol. A case has been filed at Gauripur Police Station, and the process of sending the arrested manager to court is underway.

According to case details, the station was allocated a total of 58,500 liters of petrol between April 1 and 7 from the Bhairab Bazar depot in Kishoreganj. However, during a fuel inspection drive amid a supply crisis, the manager admitted receiving only 9,000 liters on April 3. The mobile court concluded that the station was involved in dishonest fuel trading or illegal hoarding. Locals reported that the station distributed petrol only once this month.

The station owner could not be reached for comment despite multiple phone calls.

A member of the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF-Prasit) named Newton Chakma was shot dead in a rival attack in Khagrachhari on Wednesday morning. The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. in the Akbari area along the Khagrachhari–Rangamati road. Police said the victim, aged 47, was from Rangamati’s Mogban Union and lived in the Mahalachhari area of Khagrachhari, where he served as a collector. The shooting has triggered tension and fear in the locality.

According to the UPDF (Prasit), an eight-member armed group opened fire on Newton Chakma and another person while they were engaged in organizational work, killing Newton on the spot. The group accused rival faction UPDF (Democratic) of carrying out a planned attack. However, UPDF (Democratic) denied involvement, claiming it might be an internal conflict within the other faction. Police have recovered the body and sent it for autopsy while continuing the investigation.

Local residents believe the killing stems from long-standing disputes over territorial dominance among regional groups in the hill tracts, which have heightened local anxiety.

An Awami League leader in Melandah upazila of Jamalpur has been accused of theft. The accused, Md Zakir Hossain JK, serves as joint general secretary of ward 6 in Charbanipakuria Union. According to a written complaint filed on April 5 by victim Pipasa, a sari was stolen from the home of Abdul Kuddus in Bhanguni Danga village on March 30. Witnesses reportedly saw Zakir near the house that night, and the stolen sari was later sold to a local woman named Nasima.

A local arbitration was held to resolve the matter, during which Nasima admitted to buying the stolen item. Zakir did not attend the arbitration despite being summoned. The victim’s family was advised to file a police complaint. Police confirmed that a partial truth to the theft allegation was found during inspection, and an investigation is ongoing. Zakir has been missing since the incident, and his phone remains switched off.

Previously, Zakir drew public criticism for announcing a divorce over a mosque loudspeaker in the same upazila.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 is set to deliver its verdict on Thursday in the murder case of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed, who was killed during the July Revolution. The three-member judicial panel, led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, will announce the judgment. Prosecutor Moinul Karim stated that 25 witnesses, including a sitting Member of Parliament and the victim’s father, testified, and the prosecution believes it has proven the charges beyond doubt.

According to the case details, Abu Sayeed was attacked by police officers during a student protest in Rangpur on July 16, 2024. He was beaten and later shot multiple times, leading to his death on the way to the hospital. The tribunal completed hearing arguments in January 2026 after formal charges were framed against 30 accused, including former university officials and police officers.

Six of the accused are currently in custody, while 24 remain absconding. The tribunal’s decision is expected to conclude a lengthy judicial process that began with the filing of the investigation report in June 2025.

A Dhaka court has sentenced Nasir Shikdar to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of raping a 12-year-old child. The verdict was delivered on Tuesday by Judge Masrur Salehin of the Dhaka Tribunal for the Suppression of Child Rape Crimes. In addition to the life sentence, the convict was fined 200,000 taka, with a six-month prison term to be served in default of payment.

Under Section 328 of the Penal Code, the court also imposed an additional two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 1,000 taka. The judgment directed that the fine amount be paid to the victim as compensation. The ruling marks a significant legal outcome in a case of child sexual assault in the capital.

The court’s decision underscores the application of strict penalties under existing laws for crimes involving sexual violence against minors.