Tousif Kaium

A police investigation has revealed that the narcotics charges brought against Mirza Ishtiaq Ahmed Pranto, a law student who died last month in custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of police in Faridpur, were fabricated.

A longstanding turf war between two alleged underworld figures over control of waste collection and “footpath businesses” in the capital’s Kafrul led to the July 23 shooting that killed a Jubo Dal activist and injured two others, police and investigators said.

A wide range of narcotics, from yaba to heroin, are being smuggled into Bangladesh through at least 105 border points across 18 districts

For more than two decades, 51-year-old Sazzad Mia has run a 120-square-foot scrap metal shop in the bustling heart of Karwan Bazar.

Around 5:00pm on June 20, Istiak Ahmed Pranto stepped out of his house in Faridpur’s Madhukhali. Moments later, a team from the Detective Branch (DB) of police detained the Faridpur Law College student. By the next morning, he was dead.

Amid growing public concern over a persistent rise in violent crime, police have moved to strengthen their organisational capacity and internal coordination to improve law enforcement nationwide.

Six months after the arson attacks on the country’s two leading dailies -- The Daily Star and Prothom Alo -- the investigation remains stalled despite a direct ministerial directive for its swift completion.

Missing phone and limited information about the slain “top criminal’s” contacts have stalled the investigation