Shariful Islam

When construction of the metro rail from Uttara to Agargaon began in the capital five years ago, the word ‘hardship’ became synonymous with the residents of Mirpur and the surrounding areas.

Suspended Gazipur mayor Jahangir Alam embezzled Tk 2.6 crore of city corporation money using a fake city corporation bank account.

It was a fateful night for Fazilatunnesa’s family. Ruling party men stormed her house in Wari at midnight, just two nights before the BNP's December 10 grand rally -- killing one of her sons and whisking away another son. All these happened because of her grandson's involvement with BNP's politics, she said.

Many hoteliers and owners of shared living facilities in the capital are facing losses due to a sharp decline in guests since the ongoing police drives started on December 1.

Ishaq Islam, president of a union unit of pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, and 300 others blocked Narayanganj Ring Road on November 20, blasted crude bombs, and vandalised vehicles, according to a case filed against them.

Failing to get any evidence of murder during the month-long investigation, Detective Brach of police is now also looking into whether Buet student Fardin Noor Parash was killed in an accident, or whether he committed suicide.

A new militant outfit has received funds from donors in the country and at least six Bangladeshi expatriates, said Rab and counterterrorism officers.

Suspended Gazipur City Corporation Mayor Mohammad Jahangir Alam may have pocketed at least Tk 1.57 crore from the city corporation fund in the pretext of celebrating Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary in 2020, according to an internal investigation by the city authorities.

Seventy-three percent victims of various crimes committed in 2018 never reported those to cops, reveals a survey commissioned by Bangladesh Police.

Complaints about police’s involvement in various crimes continue to pile up thanks to lenient disciplinary measures that embolden errant cops, say criminologists and legal experts. 

The Gazipur City Corporation has resumed widening streets and construction of drains and footpaths without compensating those who lost land for the development work.

Several Bangladeshi mob bosses holed up abroad have been pulling the strings behind criminal activities here with the authorities unable to bring them back for trial.

As members of a powerful syndicate, they allegedly manipulated tenders left and right and took cuts from numerous contracts across government offices in Faridpur.

Desperate to lift her family out of poverty, Roksana (real name withheld) flew to Mauritius three years ago to work as a sewing machine operator. 

Sanwar Hossain joined Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in 2000, influenced by none other than the banned outfit’s then supremo Shaikh Abdur Rahman.

When the Department of Youth Development (DYD) last year prepared a list of 1,175 officers to be promoted to a higher position, Rafiqul Islam Sheikh’s position was 497.

Accidents at unprotected level crossings continue to claim lives as decisions taken at an inter-ministerial meeting around one and a half years back to curb such fatalities remained largely unimplemented.

Mirpur-10 roundabout has become a nightmare for commuters, as parked vehicles, hawkers and garbage have made gridlocks a constant presence there.

People going to their hometowns from Dhaka to spend Eid suffered immensely due to shortage of buses, long tailbacks on the highways and delayed trains.

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit is going to start a long-overdue process of deradicalising militants inside prisons from this month.