United News of Bangladesh

A Dhaka court on Thursday placed four people including former Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) Md Shafiqur Rahman and his wife on remand for different terms in a case filed over torturing a domestic help. Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Zakir Hossain passed the order when police produced them before the court with remand prayer. Among the accused, former Biman MD Shafiqur was put on a five-day remand while his wife Bithi on a seven-day remand. Biman MD, his wife, sent to jail for torturing domestic help Two other domestic help—Rupali Khatun and Sufia Khatun—were put on five-day and six-day remand respectively. On February 2, the court sent former Biman MD and his wife and two more house help to jail in the case. According to the prosecution, Golam Mostafa, a hotel worker in Uttara, filed the case after his daughter was allegedly tortured and seriously injured at a residence in Sector-9 of Uttara. According to the case statement, Mostafa sent his girl to the house of Shafiqur in June last year. On November 2, last year, Mostafa met with his daughter and since then the girl was not allowed to meet with his family. On January 31, this year, Bithi contacted Mostofa and informed him that Mohona was unwell and needed to be taken home. Mostofa then went to bring her. At that time, Mostofa noticed that Mohona had serious injury marks on both hands and various other parts of her body. She was also unable to speak properly. Mostofa immediately admitted Mohona to Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital. During interrogation, Mohona told police that after Mostofa’s visit on November 2, Shafiqul Rahman, Bithi, and several unidentified persons allegedly beat her and inflicted burns on her body using hot metal rods, causing severe injuries. Later, Golam Mostofa, filed a case with Uttara West Police Station. Govt cancels Biman MD Shafiqur’s appointment

The government of Bangladesh has said as a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child it would not tolerate any act of abusing children, noting that Prothom Alo journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams was arrested because of “child abuse and exploitation”. "The government would also not accept any such effort aimed at maligning the Independence Day of the nation," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today (April 01, 2023). The government of Bangladesh is committed to uphold the freedom of expression for all its citizens and the media, the foreign ministry said. Read More: Prothom Alo journalist Shams denied bail, sent to jail However, it said, creating social unrest by undertaking such “fraudulent acts” is contrary to the spirit of honest journalism. The ministry said it has been brought to the notice of the government that some international media and institutions are claiming that a journalist in Bangladesh, named Shamsuzzaman, has been arrested as he wrote about the “cost of living in Bangladesh”. "This information is totally false and fabricated. This journalist was arrested because of ‘child abuse’ and ‘child exploitation," the foreign ministry said. Many media outlets have been continuously reporting on the cost of living in Bangladesh since the beginning of the Ukraine war which has caused inflation around the world. Read More: Prothom Alo journalist Shams taken to court "No one has been arrested due to such reporting. The said journalist was arrested because of child abuse and child exploitation, as he offered ten taka to a 9-year-old boy and then expressed his own views in the name of that child," the ministry said. "That is surely an act of child abuse and exploitation. Secondly, he tried to undermine the independence of Bangladesh on the great Independence Day. These acts are surely tantamount to punishable crimes," the foreign ministry said. Read More: Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman sued under DSA

Police early Saturday arrested a local official of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) office as he allegedly tried to rape an 8-year-old child on the roof of Abhaynagar LGRD office on December 30.