Tarique among 12 faces 2nd arrest warrant

A Dhaka court Thursday issued the second arrest warrant against BNP chief and opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia's elder son Tarique Rahman along with 11 others on a different charge related to the 2004 grenade attack that saw 24 deaths, reports BSS.

Court officials said Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad Zahurul Huq ordered Tarique Rahman, also BNP's senior vice-chairman, and 11 others be arrested under the Explosives Act.

The 11 others included former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, former premier Khaleda Zia's political secretary Harris Chowdhury and BNP lawmaker Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad.

Former intelligence and police officials who were served with the arrest warrant are former director of Forces Intelligence retired major general ATM Amin and former DGFI official sacked lieutenant colonel Saiful Islam Joarder, DMP's former deputy commissioners Obaidur Rahman, Khan Sayeed Hassan and transport business man Mohammad Hanif.

The rest were leaders and operatives of militant Harkat-ul- Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) Omar Abu Humayra alias Mir Sahed Baba and Hafez Moulana Yahiya, Babu alias Ratul Babu and Mufti Abdul Hai.

The development came two weeks after Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Enamul Haque issued warrants ordering arrest of Tarique Rahman and 17 others on charges linked to murders in August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally targeting the then opposition leader and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Judge Huq issued the second warrant after scrutinising the case docket and other relevant documents and took the charges into cognisance against Tarique and other suspects.

Earlier CID formally accused Tarique Rahman and 29 others of carrying out the grenade attack after an "extended investigation" into the case while their re- investigations suggested that operatives of militant Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) carried out the attack which was backed by several stalwarts of the past BNP-led four-party coalition government and security as well as police officials.

Tarique, who is now in London on a government parole for treatment since 2008, is also an accused in several other criminal and graft cases pending for trial.

Officials said of the 30 suspects, 12 including Babar, Mujahid, Abdus Salam Pintu and the two ex-army generals were now in custody to stand the trial in person.

But several of the suspects including Haris Chowdhury, Kaikobad, Amin and three ex- police chiefs were shown "fugitives" along with several others while the CID filed a petition seeking to confiscate the property of the fugitives.

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11 scribes among 83 hurt in Tripura police action

Agartala, July 11 (bdnews24.com)?At least 83 people, including 11 photojournalists, have been injured in baton charge on the Congress supporters by Tripura police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR).

The Congress supporters were on Sunday opposing the common entrance test (CET) of Tripura Medical College (TMC) demanding that 85 of the 100 seats should be filled up by students qualifying in the state joint entrance examination.

Police said the forces resorted to lathi charge as Congress workers tried to stop the examinees.

Forty-four of the injured, including three journalists, were treated at Agartala Government Medical College while 39 released after first aid.

Senior Congress leader and MLA Gopal Roy said police had resorted to baton charge on the Congress workers without any provocation.

The police, he alleged, had attacked the Congress protestors under pressure from the ruling Left Front chief minister Manik Sarkar.

The state police chief K Sail Ali had announced on Saturday that he was instructed to ensure that the examination was held peacefully.

Roy said 85 seats should be filled by students of Tripura, who are qualifying in JEE, as TMC is a government medical college and the rest 15 seats could be kept reserved for central pool.

Roy alleged that the state government, taking huge capitation money in the back door wanted to fill up 55 seats from JEE and 30 by those who qualify in the CET.

The director of health service in an affidavit said, "TMC is a government college to get the approval of Medical Council of India (MCI)."

Meantime, the media fraternity had protested against the attack on the photo and TV journalist.

Scribes sat in front of the police headquarters to protest against the police atrocity and demanded strict action against those police personnel who were involved in the attack on media people.

Jayanta Bhattacharjee, President of Agartala Press Club, condemning the incident said the media fraternity was united against the police atrocity and demanded judicial enquiry.

Later DGP Tripura Police K Salim Ali came out to express his sadness on the incident and gave assurance that he would do enquiry on the incident and take action against those found guilty.

bdnews24.com/corr/sht/1210h

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3 children among 15 dead in new raid on Libya

A picture taken on a government-guided tour Sunday shows the rubble of buildings. TRIPOLI, June 20 (agencies) : Three children were among 15 people killed in a new NATO-led air strike Monday, government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told reporters as they were given a tour of damaged buildings in Sorman, 70 kilometres (45 miles) west of Tripoli.

Meanwhile: NATO acknowledged late Sunday that it was responsible for civilian deaths in Tripoli after Libyan officials showed reporters five bodies, two of them of toddlers, they said were among nine people killed in a "barbaric" air strike.

Rebels fighting the four-decade rule of Moamer Kadhafi meanwhile warned that they were running out of money as their struggle enters a fifth month and called on governments in the NATO-led coalition to make good their promises of funds.

An alliance statement released in Brussels said "NATO acknowledges civilian casualties in Tripoli strike" during action targeting a missile site.

"It appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target and that there may have been a weapons system failure which may have caused a number of civilian casualties," the statement added.

The admission that the civilian deaths were caused by NATO was an embarrassment for the alliance which has led the bombing campaign under a UN mandate to protect civilians.

Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim accused the Western alliance of "deliberately targeting civilians," insisting there were no military targets anywhere near the residential area of Tripoli that was hit early on Sunday.

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4 cops among 5 killed in accident

Bogra, June 17 (bdnews24.com) ? At least five people, including four policemen, have been killed and six policemen injured in a road accident on Bogra-Natore highway at Shjahanpur upazila.

Police said constables Abdur Rauf, 'Aslam', and 'Utpal', and the driver of the police van carrying the 10 police personnel were killed on the spot when the vehicle collided head-on with a Khan Enterprise bus in Jamadar Pukur area around 2:30pm on Friday.

Of the injured, constable Abdur Razzak died at the Bogra Shahid Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, Bogra Sadar Police Station officer in-charge Khalequzzaman told bdnews24.com.

All of the police officials aged 25-30.

Policemen at the hospital burst into tears when the bodies were taken there.

The bus has been seized, though the bus driver and his helper managed to flee, Khalequzzaman said.

bdnews24.com/corr/ost/nir/1919h

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