Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo said that irregularities and corruption in the environmental sector will no longer be tolerated. He made the remarks on Sunday while speaking to journalists at the Feni Circuit House. The minister warned that anyone involved in such misconduct will be held accountable. He also announced that the traditional method of brick production using burnt clay will be phased out, with a gradual shift toward environmentally friendly block bricks.

Mintoo emphasized the government’s firm stance on protecting the environment and improving public living standards. He said a 180-day special action plan has been adopted to combat climate change impacts, including a nationwide tree-planting campaign from May to August. Expressing concern over Dhaka’s severe air pollution, he noted that it ranks among the worst globally and harms both public health and the economy.

The minister stressed that reducing pollution is a collective national responsibility, not just a government task. He urged transparency and accountability in all development activities to ensure genuine progress across the country.

Indian police have arrested Faisal Karim Masud, the prime suspect in the murder of Inqilab Monch spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi, along with his associate Alamgir Hossain. The arrests were made on Sunday by the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police from the Bangaon border area. The Indian news agency ANI confirmed the arrests through a post on X, citing an STF press release.

According to the release, the detainees were identified as Rahul alias Faisal Karim Masud, aged 37, from Patuakhali, and Alamgir Hossain, aged 34, from Dhaka. During initial interrogation, both admitted to killing Bangladeshi political activist Osman Hadi and fleeing to India through the Meghalaya border. They reportedly moved across several Indian regions before settling in Bangaon.

Police stated that the suspects had been planning to re-enter Bangladesh illegally. A specific case has been filed, and a court has ordered them into police custody. The process of returning the accused to Bangladesh is underway.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has confirmed that the process of bringing back Faisal Karim Masud and his associate Alamgir, the main suspects in the murder of Inquilab Mancha convener Shahid Sharif Osman Hadi, is underway. According to earlier reports by news agency ANI, the two suspects were arrested by the Special Task Force of West Bengal Police.

Hadi was shot in Dhaka on December 12 and later taken to Singapore for advanced treatment, where he died on December 18. His death sparked nationwide outrage, prompting the government to declare a state mourning in his memory. Police investigations identified Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain among several others as suspects in the case.

Investigators also found over 127 crore taka in suspicious transactions linked to Faisal Karim Masud and his associates. On December 23, a court ordered the freezing of their bank accounts and imposed a travel ban on Faisal. Based on preliminary findings, CID has launched a separate inquiry into possible money laundering activities connected to the case.

Kolkata Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Faisal Karim Masud, the prime accused in the murder of Osman Hadi, spokesperson of the Inquilab Mancha and face of the July Movement, along with another suspect named Alamgir Hossain. Both were detained from Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, near the Bangladesh border. They were produced before the Bidhannagar court on Sunday, which ordered a 14-day police remand.

Police sources said the two Bangladeshi nationals had illegally crossed the border into India and were hiding in Bongaon. They reportedly attempted to re-enter Bangladesh when apprehended. Masud, aged 37, is from Patuakhali, and Alamgir, aged 34, is from Dhaka. STF officials stated that both suspects confessed to their involvement in Hadi’s killing and had entered India through the Meghalaya border, moving across several locations before settling in Bongaon.

A case has been filed under specific legal provisions, and investigators plan to question the suspects further while they remain in police custody.

The West Bengal Police Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two main suspects in the murder of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inquilab Manch. The arrests took place early Sunday in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas, near the India-Bangladesh border. According to initial interrogation, the suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and his associate Alamgir Hossain, fled Bangladesh after killing Hadi and entered India illegally through the Meghalaya border.

The STF stated that the two Bangladeshi nationals were wanted for serious crimes including extortion and murder in their home country. Acting on confidential information, the STF conducted a late-night raid in Bongaon and detained them. A case has been filed, and both suspects were presented before court on Sunday and placed in police custody.

Hadi was shot on December 12 last year in Dhaka’s Paltan area by helmeted assailants on a motorcycle. Faisal Karim Masud had been identified as one of the attackers, and the interim government had announced a reward of 5 million taka for information leading to his arrest.

The Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police arrested two main suspects in the murder of Bangladeshi political activist Sharif Osman Hadi. The arrests took place early Sunday, March 8, in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas, near the India-Bangladesh border. The detainees, identified as Faisal Karim Masud and his associate Alamgir Hossain, were accused of killing Hadi and fleeing to India through the Meghalaya border. They were reportedly planning to return to Bangladesh when captured.

According to the STF, both suspects had entered India illegally after committing serious crimes, including extortion and murder, in Bangladesh. Acting on confidential information, police conducted a late-night operation in Bongaon and detained them. A case has been filed, and the suspects were presented before court and placed in police custody.

Hadi, spokesperson for the ‘Inquilab Moncho’ and a key figure in the July Movement, was shot in Dhaka’s Paltan area on December 12 of the previous year. Authorities had earlier frozen the bank accounts of Masud, his company, and family members as part of the investigation.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has initiated an inquiry against the removed Managing Director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), Md. Abdus Salam Bapari, on allegations of laundering money abroad. CID Special Police Superintendent (Media) Jasim Uddin Khan confirmed the development on Sunday, March 8, 2026.

Preliminary findings indicate that Abdus Salam Bapari, who joined Dhaka WASA as an assistant engineer in 1991, allegedly transferred illicitly acquired funds overseas. He is accused of purchasing substantial immovable and movable assets in Canada, the United States, and other countries under his own name, his wife’s name, and those of associates. Investigators found that in 2018, he and his wife, Mahbubunnecha, bought a house in Toronto, Canada, valued at approximately 200 million Bangladeshi taka.

CID stated that the investigation is being conducted under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, and the Money Laundering Prevention Rules, 2019, to determine legal action based on the findings.

A Dhaka court has ordered the publication of a gazette directing British MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and former RAJUK assistant legal adviser Sardar Mosharraf Hossain to appear before the court in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over allegedly obtaining a flat illegally in Gulshan. The order was issued by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz on March 8, with March 29 set for submission of a report on the matter.

Earlier, on February 18, the court accepted the charge sheet against Siddiq and Hossain and issued arrest warrants. On February 26, the court also directed Interpol to issue a red notice for Siddiq’s arrest. The ACC filed the case on April 15 of the previous year, accusing Siddiq and two former RAJUK officials of misusing power to occupy and register a flat in Eastern Housing Limited’s Gulshan-2 project without payment.

The ACC later submitted the charge sheet on December 11 under multiple sections of the Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. Siddiq had previously been sentenced to six years in prison in three separate cases related to plot allocation fraud.

Indian police have arrested two Bangladeshi nationals, including Faisal Karim Masud, the main suspect in the murder of Osman Hadi, spokesperson of the Inquilab Mancha. The arrests took place near the Bongaon border area of West Bengal between March 7 and 8, 2026. According to the West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force (STF), the two men had illegally entered India after committing serious crimes in Bangladesh and were hiding near the border while planning to return.

The arrested individuals were identified as Rahul alias Faisal Karim Masud, aged 37 from Patuakhali, and Alamgir Hossain, aged 34 from Dhaka. Preliminary interrogation revealed that both were directly involved in the killing of political activist Osman Hadi in Dhaka. They reportedly entered India through the Meghalaya border and moved across several locations before being detained. A case has been filed against them under specific legal provisions, and a local court has ordered their police custody.

Osman Hadi was shot in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area on December 12, 2025, and later died in Singapore on December 18 after being transferred for advanced treatment.

Bangladesh Bank has introduced a new guideline to implement the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) model in the country's banking sector, aligning loan risk management and financial reporting with international standards. The central bank announced that the new system, based on the International Financial Reporting Standard IFRS-9, will take effect in 2028. Under this framework, banks must set aside provisions for potential loan losses before loans actually turn bad, replacing the current practice of provisioning after losses occur.

According to the guideline, loans will be classified into three stages depending on risk level, with provisions calculated for 12-month or lifetime expected losses. The new approach will also adjust interest income recognition based on loan risk, providing a more accurate reflection of banks’ income and exposure. Bangladesh Bank has allowed an additional five years for capital adjustment to ease the transition.

The guideline marks the first comprehensive step by Bangladesh Bank to implement IFRS-9, following a 2020 directive from the Financial Reporting Council. Several South Asian countries have already adopted similar standards.

The government of Bangladesh has introduced a monthly honorarium program for imams, muezzins, priests, monks, pastors, and other religious service workers across the country. The pilot phase, to begin before Eid-ul-Fitr, will cover 6,438 mosques, temples, Buddhist monasteries, and churches. The announcement was made by the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public Administration, Md. Ismail Jabiuallah, at the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Dhaka.

Under the plan, imams will receive Tk 5,000 per month, muezzins Tk 3,000, and mosque caretakers Tk 2,000. Priests, monks, and pastors will receive similar amounts according to their roles. Additionally, religious workers will get festival bonuses of Tk 1,000 for Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, and Tk 2,000 for Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima, and Christmas. The pilot phase will cost about Tk 27.13 crore, to be disbursed through Sonali Bank by March 15.

The government plans to expand the scheme nationwide over four fiscal years, with an estimated annual cost of Tk 4,400 crore by 2029–30. A six-member committee has been formed to draft policy guidelines and recommend measures for skill development and job security of religious workers.

Bangladesh’s Food, Fisheries and Livestock, and Agriculture Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid announced that the government will take initiatives to export food items to Japan. He made the statement on Sunday after a meeting at the Secretariat with a delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), led by Chief Representative Ichiguchi Tomohide. The meeting discussed the JICA-funded Food Safety Testing Capacity Development Project and the possibility of introducing a unified food business licensing system similar to those in Japan and ASEAN countries.

The project, worth Tk 2,409.70 crore over ten years, aims to strengthen food safety testing capacity in Dhaka, Chattogram, and Khulna through the establishment of a Food Safety Reference Laboratory, two regional testing labs, and a training facility. The minister emphasized that achieving international food safety standards would make food exports easier and called for cooperation from all stakeholders to ensure safe food from production to consumption.

He thanked JICA for its financial support and expressed optimism that the project’s successful implementation would bring discipline to the country’s food management system.

A Dhaka court has sentenced three men to two and a half years in prison each for killing 20 dogs in the Lichu Bagan area of Dhaka’s Dhalpur in 2021. The verdict was delivered on Sunday by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Zakir Hossain. The convicted individuals are Md. Abul Khayer, Md. Apu, and Md. Manik. Manik was present in court and sent to jail after the verdict, while arrest warrants were issued for the two absconding convicts.

According to court officials, each convict received two years of imprisonment and a fine of Tk 1,000 under Section 16(b), with an additional 15 days if unpaid. They were also sentenced to six months under Section 16(a) of the Animal Welfare Act 2019, along with another Tk 1,000 fine and 15 days in default. Both sentences will run concurrently, resulting in two years of imprisonment.

The case was filed on January 25, 2021, by Maruful Haque of Animal Lovers of Bangladesh after the accused were identified from video footage. The investigation concluded in September 2021, and the trial began in May 2024, leading to Sunday’s judgment.

A Dhaka court has rejected the bail petition of journalist Anis Alamgir in a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The decision was delivered on Sunday by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Foyez after a hearing. Defense lawyer Taslima Jahan Popy confirmed the court’s decision.

The ACC filed the case on January 15, accusing Alamgir of acquiring wealth beyond known income sources and money laundering. Investigators alleged that he possessed immovable assets worth Tk 2.5 million and movable assets worth Tk 38.46 million, totaling Tk 40.9 million. His legitimate income was reported as Tk 9.9 million, leaving an unexplained difference of Tk 32.6 million, or about 77 percent of his total assets. Alamgir had earlier been arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act in December and later received bail from the High Court in that case on March 5.

The court’s latest decision means Alamgir will remain in custody as the ACC continues its investigation into the alleged illicit assets.

A man named Ridoy, aged 26, was killed in a mob beating early Sunday morning in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj. According to police and eyewitnesses, Ridoy, originally from Rajshahi and residing in the Sanarpar area, was part of a three-member group attempting a robbery in the Jalakuri Koraitola area around 6 a.m. The group arrived on a motorcycle and tried to rob a pedestrian at knifepoint.

Local residents intervened, managing to capture Ridoy while the other two suspects escaped on foot. The crowd then beat Ridoy, resulting in his death at the scene before police arrived. Enraged locals also set fire to the motorcycle used in the attempted robbery. Police later recovered a knife and a machete from the scene.

Siddhirganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Abdul Barik confirmed that the suspect died before officers reached the location. The two fleeing suspects remain at large, and further investigation is underway.