Police in Chattogram have revealed that a series of arson attacks on minority homes in Raozan and Rangunia were part of a politically motivated conspiracy. According to investigators and confessional statements, the attacks were organized to create unrest and international pressure aimed at facilitating the return of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Before the fires, Tk 1.3 million was allegedly distributed among homeowners as compensation. The incidents occurred in December, destroying five houses belonging to Hindu, Buddhist, and hill communities, though no casualties were reported.

The main accused, Monir Hossain, confessed before a Chattogram court that he was introduced to local Awami League leaders and professional criminals who planned the attacks. Meetings were reportedly held in Khagrachhari to finalize the plan, and banners containing inflammatory messages and phone numbers were found at the sites. Police later arrested seven suspects and seized banners, kerosene containers, and vehicles used in the crimes.

At a press briefing, police officials described the incidents as deliberate and conspiratorial attempts to incite communal tension and mislead the international community. Three cases have been filed in connection with the attacks.

A case has been filed in a Dhaka court against five individuals, including three officials of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL), for allegedly abusing government authority to shut down the websites of the University of Skill Enrichment and Technology (USET) and threatening a university official. The case was lodged by USET adviser Muha. Tajul Islam before Metropolitan Magistrate Md Hasan Shahadat’s court, which directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate and submit a report.

According to the case, the accused include BTCL’s Moghbazar Telephone Exchange Deputy General Manager (Broadband-2) Joyita Sen Rimpi, Deputy General Manager (Domain) Mostafa Al Mahmud, Assistant Manager (Domain) Abir Kalyan Abedin, and two officials from the Ministry of Education. The complaint states that despite USET’s compliance with payment and documentation requirements, BTCL refused to accept them and later deactivated the university’s domains www.uset.ac.bd and www.uset.edu.bd on January 11, 2026.

The plaintiff alleged that the accused verbally abused and threatened him, refused to accept legal documents, and acted with bias. The court’s directive for CID investigation marks the next procedural step in the case.

Serious allegations of systematic extortion have emerged at the Balukhali Customs, Excise and VAT checkpost on the Ukhiya–Teknaf highway in Cox’s Bazar. Victims claim a syndicate collects illegal payments from over a hundred goods-laden vehicles daily, charging between Tk 200 and Tk 500 per truck. The alleged activities are reportedly conducted under cover, with drivers forced to pay to avoid harassment or vehicle detention. Several major companies’ local distributors, including those of Pran, Akij, and RFL, are said to face regular extortion while transporting goods.

Field observations described vehicles being stopped and drivers taken behind covers to pay money. Victims also alleged irregularities in customs auctions, claiming that required public announcements are bypassed and auctions are confined to a select group. Seized vehicles were reportedly left neglected in open spaces. According to the Customs Act 2023 and National Board of Revenue rules, cash collection at checkposts is prohibited, yet the situation at Balukhali appears contrary to regulations.

Balukhali Customs chief Masud Al Helal denied all allegations, asserting that no money is collected at his post and that all procedures, including auctions, follow official rules.

A Muslim laborer from Jharkhand named Diljani Ansari was attacked in Mangaluru, Karnataka, after being falsely accused of being a Bangladeshi national. The incident occurred on Sunday in the Kulur area when four young men stopped him, demanded his identification, and accused him of being an illegal immigrant. Despite Ansari’s insistence that he was Indian, the attackers beat him and struck his head with an object, leaving him seriously injured. A local woman rescued him, but he did not file a police complaint out of fear, instead informing local leaders who later notified the police.

Police investigations confirmed that Ansari is an Indian citizen who has worked in Mangaluru for about six months each year over the past 15 years. The suspects, identified as Sagar, Danush, Lalu Rathish, and Mohan, are reportedly linked to a right-wing organization. Authorities have charged them with attempted murder and criminal intimidation, though all four remain at large.

The report notes that incidents of violence against Muslims suspected of being Bangladeshis have been increasing, particularly in states with strong Hindu nationalist influence.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has found evidence that former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor S M Moniruzzaman received Tk 20 million in bribes from the controversial business conglomerate S Alam Group. The BFIU report states that the payment was made in August 2021 through a pay order from an S Alam-owned company account, shortly after Moniruzzaman opened a new savings account. The funds were later used to open three fixed deposits. The report found no documentation of any legitimate service or contract behind the payment and described the transaction as highly suspicious.

The BFIU also discovered that Moniruzzaman worked for 27 months after retirement at an S Alam-owned company, earning Tk 650,000 monthly. Investigators suspect he may have provided undue advantages to S Alam-linked banks and institutions during his tenure as deputy governor between 2016 and 2020. The findings have been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for further action.

Moniruzzaman denied all allegations, claiming the Tk 20 million was payment for a property he sold to S Alam Group.

A joint operation led by the Bangladesh Navy seized 80,000 yaba pills in Teknaf’s Hnila Union, Leda area on Wednesday, January 14. The operation was conducted with the participation of the Coast Guard and police, following intelligence information about drug trafficking in the region. During the search of several suspected autorickshaws, one driver abandoned his vehicle and fled into a Rohingya camp, leaving behind the narcotics.

Officials reported that the seized yaba pills have an estimated market value of around 40 million taka. The autorickshaw used to transport the drugs was also confiscated. Both the drugs and the vehicle were later handed over to Teknaf Police Station for legal action.

Authorities stated that the Bangladesh Navy regularly conducts such operations to safeguard national maritime sovereignty and maintain internal security by preventing drug trafficking, terrorism, and other criminal activities in its designated areas.

Seven people have died in Rangpur over the past three days after consuming rectified spirit alcohol reportedly collected from local homeopathic pharmacies. Police confirmed that two more people, Abdul Malek of Gopalpur Union and Rashedul Islam of Shyampur, died recently, bringing the total death toll to seven. Several others remain critically ill, and the bodies of the latest victims were sent to Rangpur Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

Among the deceased is Zainul Abedin, a known drug dealer who was in Rangpur Central Jail facing drug and murder charges. He died while under treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital. Police have recovered ten bottles of rectified spirit and filed two separate cases in Badarganj and Hajirhat police stations. Law enforcement agencies, including the Detective Branch and the Department of Narcotics Control, have conducted raids at a homeopathic chamber in the city.

Rangpur Superintendent of Police Marufat Hossain stated that drug dealers had been collecting the spirit from certain homeopathic chambers. Investigations and operations are continuing to trace the source and prevent further incidents.

A joint operation led by the army in Shibpur upazila of Narsingdi recovered a large quantity of weapons and drugs and arrested seven individuals early Wednesday morning. The raid took place in the Kararchar and Jangaila areas under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Shamim Rahman, PSC Sigs of the 9 Signal Battalion. The seized items and detainees were handed over to Shibpur Model Police Station.

According to the report, the recovered materials included one firearm with two cartridges, three pistol magazines, 1,600 yaba tablets, cash amounting to Tk 1,540,100, 17 mobile phones, two samurai swords, six bottles of phensedyl, nine bottles of foreign liquor, two fake pistols, two machetes, and one laptop. The arrested persons were identified as residents of Kararchar, Shahapur, and Jangaila areas. Shibpur Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Kohinur Mia confirmed the incident.

The operation highlights ongoing law enforcement efforts in Narsingdi to curb illegal arms and narcotics activities, with the seized items now under police custody for further investigation.

Armed assailants opened fire at an under-construction building in Dhaka’s Badda area on Tuesday night, allegedly over extortion demands. Police confirmed that the incident occurred at a site owned by a developer company named Royal Mission. The Badda Police Station’s officer-in-charge, Md Nasirul Amin, stated that reports of gunfire at the National Citizen Party (NCP) office were false.

According to police, the attackers identified themselves as associates of a man named Mehedi before firing shots in front of the building. Mehedi is reportedly abroad, and a police team is investigating those linked to his group. The developer’s owners had recently received phone threats demanding money from extortionists.

Mahbub Alam, head of the NCP’s election media subcommittee, said the shooting took place near the party’s organizational office in Ward 38 but was unrelated to any political office or figure. He added that the incident did not appear to have political connections.

A Dhaka Cyber Tribunal has dismissed a case filed under the Digital Security Act against former Bangladesh Pratidin editor Naeem Nizam and two others. The order, issued on Wednesday by Judge Mohammad Saidur Rahman, also acquitted publisher Moynal Hossain Chowdhury and Bangla Insider editor Syed Borhan Kabir. The court ruled that the charges were not covered under the Cyber Security Ordinance, leading to the case’s cancellation.

Defense lawyer Enamul Haque argued that the charges under sections 25, 29, and 35 of the 2018 Digital Security Act had been annulled by the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025, as published in an official gazette on October 22, 2025. The ordinance states that cases under those sections cannot continue in court, prompting the tribunal to issue the acquittal order.

The case was originally filed on February 15, 2022, by Barrister M Sarwar Hossain, who alleged defamatory reporting in Bangladesh Pratidin and Bangla Insider. The CID later submitted a report in November 2024 accusing three individuals, but the tribunal’s latest ruling effectively ends the proceedings.

Police in Mymensingh have arrested seven people, including the father of a suspect, for attacking officers and snatching a detainee while he was being taken to the police station. The incident occurred in the Digharkanda area when a police team arrested Ariful Islam, an accused in an earlier assault case, and was transporting him to the station. The attackers, reportedly led by Ariful’s father Sagar Ali, used sticks and local weapons to assault five police members and freed Ariful, who was handcuffed at the time.

According to Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Najmus Sakib, the earlier case involved the severe injury of a man named Russell on January 10. Following that assault, Russell’s family filed a case naming eight individuals and several unidentified others. After the police attack, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ariful Islam filed another case naming 29 people and 140 unidentified attackers.

Police launched an immediate operation and arrested seven suspects from Digharkanda. They were presented before the court on Wednesday after legal procedures were completed.

Police in Sherpur upazila of Bogura district conducted a special operation late Tuesday night, January 13, 2026, and seized 600 bottles of Phensedyl from a mini covered van. The raid took place around 11:30 p.m. in the Dhunat Mor area, where two individuals were arrested on the spot. The detainees were identified as driver Sharif Khan, 33, from Gazipur, and helper Amir Hossain, 25, from Chandpur.

According to police sources, the operation was carried out based on secret information under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police Sajib Shahrin and led by Sherpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Ibrahim Ali. During the search, officers found the bottles hidden inside the vehicle. Police seized the van and filed a case under the Narcotics Control Act, with Sub-Inspector Bikash Chandra as the complainant.

OC Ibrahim Ali stated that legal proceedings against the accused are underway and that police surveillance continues to maintain law and order and combat drug trafficking in the area.

An elderly man named Abul Kashem was killed after being hit by a truck on the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road on Wednesday around 12:30 p.m. The accident occurred in front of the District Commissioner’s office. Kashem, a resident of Araihazar upazila, had come to Narayanganj for a court-related matter when the incident took place.

According to reports, the victim was crossing the road when a speeding oil drum-laden truck (Dhaka Metro D-14-2722) traveling from Dhaka to Narayanganj ran him over, killing him instantly. Fire service personnel and police recovered the body shortly after the accident.

Fatullah Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abdul Mannan confirmed that the body had been recovered and the truck involved in the accident was seized. Legal proceedings regarding the incident are currently underway.

A rickshaw puller named Babul Hawlader Sagar, aged 45, was killed after being hit by a covered van in Dhaka’s Jatrabari area early Wednesday morning. The incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. near the Kajla area. According to witnesses and police, Sagar was repairing a battery-run autorickshaw near the Kajla toll plaza when a covered van struck him from behind and fled the scene. He was rescued in critical condition and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead around 6:15 a.m.

Sub-inspector Shahnewaz of Jatrabari Police Station confirmed the incident. The victim, originally from Madanpur in Narayanganj, lived in the Shonir Akhra area with his wife and two children. His body has been kept at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Police have not yet identified the vehicle or driver responsible for the accident, and no further details on the investigation were provided in the report.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conducted a raid at the University of Chittagong on Wednesday following allegations of irregularities in more than 150 appointments approved by a university syndicate. The operation began at 11:30 a.m. under the leadership of ACC Chittagong Assistant Director Sayed Alam, and the matter was confirmed to the media by ACC Chittagong Deputy Director Subel Ahmed.

According to university authorities, the 565th syndicate meeting held on January 9 approved the appointment of 113 individuals, including teachers, officers, and employees. Among them, 21 were appointed as teachers, 8 as officers, and 84 as third- and fourth-class employees. The list also included Mahira Khan, daughter of the university’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor Shamim Uddin Khan, who was appointed as a lecturer.

The ACC raid followed public allegations that the recruitment process involved irregularities, prompting the commission to investigate the matter further.