Workers Party leader dies in hospital after 'Rab torture'
General Secretary of Bangladesh Workers Party Chuadanga unit Shyamal Sarker died at the Jessore General Hospital Saturday night allegedly in torture in Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) custody. Sarker's family members said Rab men arrested him from his village home at Ibrahimpur under Damurhuda upazila of the district on December 9 last year. The family members alleged that the Rab tortured him severely in their custody and then kept Sarker in the district jail untreated. Earlier, the Rab sources had said they nabbed Sarker from the residence of an outlawed outfit member Siddiq along with the outlaw operative, and recovered firearms and ammunition. Sarker's family, however, contradicted on the recovery of arms from his possession at the time of arrest. Lt Col Farhad Ahmed, commanding officer of Rab-6 (Khulna), denying the allegation of torture said, "It is an absurd allegation that Sarker died from torture after four months of his arrest." | "Normally they die while we're recovering their hidden guns" |
Sarker was being taken to Jessore Central Jail on March 31 when his condition deteriorated. He was then admitted to Jessore General Hospital, instead of jail hospital, where he died at 11:30pm on Saturday. Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, General Secretary Bimal Biswas condoled the death of Sarker. The leaders blamed the Rab torture and negligence of the jail authorities for Sarker's death. They also demanded investigation into the matter and punishment of the persons responsible.
Pirates injure 10, 8 missing
Eight people were missing and ten others injured as armed pirates looted a passenger trawler in the Meghna estuary in offshore Kalatola-Telirchar area in Manpura upazila in Bhola district Saturday afternoon. | "Yar! We be dreaded Beangladeshi pirates! Yar!" |
| "Good night, Mahmoud. I'll probably kill you in the morning." |
The injured are being treated at Manpura hospital. Police said the pirates beat the passengers on board Monpura bound trawler ML Seven Star from Ramgati and looted about Tk two lakh in cash and valuables. The eight are missing as they jumped into the rough river from the trawler.
Camp Besieged Protesting Arrest on False Charge
All the 17 policemen of Dhamura outpost in Wazirpur upazila in Barisal district were transferred and two others closed on Saturday following demonstrations by people after arrest of a doctor on a fake allegation of arms recovery on Thursday. Abdur Rob, officer-in-charge of Wazirpur police station, said Subedar Shah Alam, in-charge of the outpost and Nayek Abdul Khaleque have been closed.
| Dayum. Sounds pretty drastic. What in blazes happened? |
Sources said Nayek Abdul Khalek had arrested Chunnu, a rural medical practitioner (RMP) and medicine shop owner from the house of his father-in-law at Baherghat village on the night of March 30. Police at first claimed that a revolver was recovered from his possession. Later they claimed that it was recovered from near his house.
| "It was stashed behind a dumpster in a alley down the street, so it had to be his" |
Arrested Chunnu was sent to jail hajat under Section 54 of CrPC on Thursday. But local people claimed that the allegation against Chunnu was false and the incident of arms recovery was preplanned.
They laid a siege to Dhamura police camp and put up demonstrations in the area on Thursday and Friday demanding his release and punishment of the corrupt cops.
| "[Rhubarb! Rhubarb! Rhubarb!] Throw the bums out! [Rhubarb! Rhubarb! Rhubarb!] Get a rope! [Rhubarb! Rhubarb! Rhubarb!]" |
They claimed that Chunnu was arrested following a family dispute over marriage of his sister-in-law Daisy Akter.
| Ahah! Cherchez la femme! I knew it all along! |
| Who the hell in Pakistan names their daughter "Daisy"? Does she have a sister, "Fannie Mae"? |
| This is Bagladesh, somedays they make the Paks seem sane. |
The whole incident was masterminded by one Gias Sarder, who wanted to marry Daisy.
| "She will be mine. Mine, I tell you! Bwahahaha!" |
"Chunnu! We must save Daisy! She faces a fate worse than death!"
"Where is she, Mahmoud?"
"Down at the old saw mill! Gias Sarder has done made off with her!"
"We must call the police!"
"Too late! Gias Sarder's already called them on you! You been framed!"
"But that can't be! I — duck!"
"Chunnu! Calm down! You not duck!... Ow!" |
Caterer of dead fowl remanded
A Dhaka court yesterday placed Jahanara Begum, operator of a mess who was arrested with 21 dead chickens on Saturday, on one-day remand. Sutrapur police produced Jahanara before the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka seeking remand for three days. The investigation officer of the case told the court the woman was running illegal and unhygienic business as she used to feed her customers dead chickens. She should be interrogated to know from where she had collected the dead birds, he added. | Todays lunch special - Road Kill Chicken |
Police on March 28 arrested a man in Mirpur with 53 dead chickens, which he was going to supply to local restaurants. | Ah, that explains the fuss. They're not just dead chickens, they're chickens who died under mysterious circumstances. |
| Frank Perdue just turned over in his freshly dug grave... |
JCD, Shibir activists clash at Dhaka Alia Madrasa
At least 12 leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) were injured, five of them critically, when student wings of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami clashed at Allama Kashgari Hall of Dhaka Alia Madrasa in the small hours of yesterday. Of the injured, eight were admitted to the emergency wards of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) while the rest to a local clinic at Bakshi Bazar. According to some sources, the clash between JCD and Shibir broke out at about 1am yesterday following previous enmity over establishing supremacy in Allama Kashgari Hall of the madrasa. At least 12 activists of the both the student organisations were injured in the one-and-a-half-hour clash during which iron rods, hockey and bamboo sticks were freely used. | And a fun time was had by all |
Other sources said, the clash centered on alleged theft of a mobile set of a Shibir activist. According to the injured Shibir activist who lost his set, he went to the JCD activists who, he alleged, had stolen it. As soon as he entered the room of the JCD activists than he was assaulted, he said. | "Hey, where's my phone.........(WACK)..Ouch!" |
This led to yesterday's clash, sources said. A JCD activist complained that they were attacked by ICS activists following previous enmity. | "Waaaaa! They're picking on us! Mommie!" |
A large contingent of police was deployed at the hall following the incident. |