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Opposition politicians on Monday, at a national dialogue in the capital, urged the government to implement the proposed reforms in the provision for the caretaker government and the Election Commission for holding the upcoming national elections in a free and fair manner.
   The Awami League and nine other opposition parties on Friday unveiled the 31-point charter of demands for the reforms.
   The BNP-led four-party alliance government will not agree to implement the reforms without tougher movements by the opposition, said participants in the dialogue.
   The leaders also said the Awami League-led opposition alliance must apprise the people of the rights that will be ensured for them and the benefits they will get if the opposition alliance wins the election.
   For this they urged the concerned parties to formulate a common programme that will be implemented in the future if they gain power.
   The faction of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal led by Hasanul Huq Inu organised the two-day national dialogue on ‘Minimum National Programme: Guideline and Comment for Changes’ at the conference room of the Institute of Diploma Engineers of Bangladesh.
   The AL general secretary, Abdul Jalil, said the people’s desire was reflected in the proposal for reforms.
   Implementation of the reforms will ensure free and fair elections in the country, he said.
   The people’s rights will be ensured if change of the government takes place, Jalil added.
   He stressed the need for specific short-term programmes to eradicate corruption, terrorism and check the inexplicable price-hike of essential commodities.
   Sheikh Shahidul Islam, secretary general of a faction of the Jatiya Party led by Anwar Hossain Monju, said the Awami League should change its big-brotherly attitude and must consider the opinions of the small parties.
   Referring to the activities of Hawa Bhaban, he called upon the people to control its extra-constitutional power in the future.
   The Ganatantri Party’s presidium member, Mohammad Nurul Islam, said the pro-liberation forces were defeated by the anti-liberation forces, and they have grown in number and acquired great power under the BNP’s wing, and if the BNP wins again they will become uncontrollable.
   Hasanul Haq Inu called upon the progressive forces to be united for the programme of united movement, election and the formation of the government.
   Economist Khalequzzaman called upon the opposition political parties to formulate programmes for the common people.
   The programmes proposed by the opposition parties can be implemented if the politicians work sincerely, he said.
   The dialogue was chaired and conducted by Inu, and Bimal Biswas, Syed Jafar Sajjad, Sharif Nurul Ambia, Moinuddin Khan Badal, Dilip Barua, Shirin Akhter, Mohammad Ibrahim, Nazmul Hasan Kalimullah and Sanjib Drang were among the participants.

Women ward commissioners on Monday demanded implementation of a High Court order, which directed not to discriminate against ward commissioners from the reserved seats — all of whom are women.
   All the ward commissioners elected from general and reserved seats in the city corporations are equal and they neither group may be discriminated against or treated differently in any manner in respect of their powers and functions, said the High Court order.
   ‘The court’s order is only a favour to the women, but it also preserves their rights,’ said Shamima Sultana Shima, a ward commissioner from a reserved seat of the Khulna City Corporation, at press conference at the National Press Club in the Dhaka city.
   The court gave the order in its judgement to a writ filed by 10 ward commissioners elected from reserved seats in the Khulna City Corporation challenging a government circular that discriminated between the commissioners of the regular and reserved seats.
   The National Forum of Women Commissioners of Reserved Seats of City Corporations, with the assistance of Nari Uddug Kendra, organised the briefing as the government has still not taken any initiative to implement the court order.
   They also demanded to form a law before the next city corporation elections for reservation of wards for women instead of seats, due to the presence of basic differences in the system of reserved and general seats.
   Shamima said the High Court bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Mohammad Miftahuddin Chowdhury declared four clauses of the circular illegal and void.
   The circular was issued on September 23, 2002 by the Ministry of LGRD and Cooperatives, which discriminated between the commissioners elected from general seats and those from reserved seats.
   According to the government circular, only four of the 16 functions of the ward commissioners could be exercised by the commissioners elected from reserved seats.
   These included issuing nationality, character, birth and death certificates and assisting the authorities in any census.
   The circular also included a daily allowance of Tk 500 and a maximum of Tk 2,000 per month to be paid to Dhaka City Corporation ward commissioners of both reserved and general seats for attendance in meetings while the commissioners of the other five city corporations would get a daily allowance of Tk 400 and a maximum Tk 1,600 per month.
   But the corporations do not pay the honorarium and other benefits, alleged Shamima.
   The spirit of equality, irrespective of sex, is guaranteed by the constitution and the spirit cannot be violated in any manner, said Sara Hossain from Ain-O-Salish Kendra.

The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution realised Tk 4,35,000 in fine from trading groups for illegal trading of commodities in the capital in the past 15 days.
   In its drive to curb illegal trading, since July 6, the institution assigned several mobile courts at a number of points and identified 23 business institutes, for manufacturing, importing or selling sub-standard products.
   It also fined them for not printing manufacturing and expiry dates on the products and for selling them without the institution’s approval.
   The trading companies, restaurants and the general stores, which were fined, are Fu Wang Foods in Tejgaon, Dhansiri Restaurant in Gulshan, Dhali Super Store in Gulshan and Turja Plaza, Almas Super Store on Gulshan Avenue, Sweetmax on Kamal Ataturk Avenue, Hotel Purbani International in Dilkusha, Abir Enterprise in Gulshan, Rapha Enterprise in Gulshan, Joy Trade International in Gulshan, Parvej Enterprise in Gulshan, Ahmed and Sons in Gulshan, Al Musafa Enterprise in Gulshan, Red Rose Enterprise in Gulshan, Syed Enterprise in Gulshan, MV Trading in Gulshan, Subarna in Gulshan, Zakir Traders in Gulshan, Mirza Traders in Gulshan, Taj General Store in Gulshan, Selim Enterprise in Gulshan and Raihan Enterprise in Gulshan.
   Fu Wang Foods and Hotel Purbani were fined Tk 1,00,000 each — the highest amount.
   Fu Wang did not paste manufacturing and expiry dates on the packets of its bread and biscuits while Purbani kept imported bread, sauce, and jam, that did not carry have the BSTI approval mark, on sale.
   Most of the general stores were found selling imported powdered milk, toothpaste, shampoo, chocolate, sauce, toilet soap, coconut oil, noodles and lozenges without BSTI approval mark.

The chief metropolitan magistrates court in Dhaka on Monday directed the Shyampur police officer-in-charge to exhume the body of Shahinur Akhtar Camellia from the Jurain graveyard and to conduct a post-mortem examination to find out the reason for her death. She died two weeks ago.
   The judge, Jalal Ahmed, issued the order on a petition filed by the victim’s mother, Halima Begum, on Sunday.
   The court asked the metropolitan magistrate, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, to be present during the exhumation.
   The Mirpur police officerincharge has been asked to take necessary steps for the post-mortem examination.
   The forensic medicine department head at Dhaka Medical College Hospital was asked to form a board for the examination.
   On Sunday, Halima submitted another petition to the court accusing 10 people, including the victim’s husband, the Mirpur police officer-in-charge, Abdur Rob, and Rafiqul Bari of the forensic department of the DMCH of killing Camellia.
   The court asked the Mirpur police officer-in-charge to investigate the incident and to take legal action in this connection.
   Camellia was found dead in her husband’s residence at Mirpur on July 5; the police sent the body to the hospital morgue for post-mortem examination.
   After the examination, the body was handed over to Anjuman-eMafidul Islam which buried it in the Jurain graveyard on July 11 as unclaimed.
   The victim’s mother alleged that Camellia had been killed by her husband Monir Hossain and his family members for dowry.

The Centre for Policy Dialogue has decided to launch a series of activities for promoting an informed polity debate in the context of the upcoming national elections, said a press release on Monday.
   The centre, a research organisation, at a meeting of its trustee board took the decision on Sunday to stimulate a debate over critical national issues during the run-up to the elections.
   The proposed programme has nine clusters of activities including preparation of a vision paper by an eminent citizens’ group, which will articulate strategic national goals for the next decade.
   A number of task forces will be constituted on priority areas identified through stakeholder consultations.
   Extensive country-wide consultations will be held through open public dialogues on the vision paper and task force reports.
   The high point of the programme will be organisation of a national policy forum with wide participation of major political actors and civil society activists.

Owners of pharmacies in the Dhaka city’s Mirpur, Pallabi, Kafrul and Shah Ali police station areas observed a daylong strike on Monday, demanding stoppage of ‘harassment’ by the police.
   Keeping shutters of their shops down, the owners also organised a rally at Section 10 square at about 5:00pm, where leaders of the Bangladesh Chemists and Druggists’ Samity spoke.
   The speakers demanded immediate stoppage of police harassment in their shops. They threatened with launching an indefinite strike in all the pharmacies if their demand was not met.
   The speakers also demanded withdrawal of Ziaul Haque Zia, assistant commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Mirpur zone), holding him responsible for harassment and extortion by the police.
   Denying the allegation, the police claimed that they recovered huge medicines, stolen from government hospitals, from some shops a few days ago for which the pharmacy owners called the strike.

The police took Shibir cadre Shahabuddin Dhira, a mastermind and main accused in journalist Belal Uddin murder case, on a two-day remand on Sunday for interrogation in the Tariqul Islam Shiplu murder case.
   The Khanjahan Ali thana police submitted a petition seeking seven-day remand but magistrate Shefina Begum granted a two-day remand.
   The police arrested Dhira from the Malibagh CID office on July 5 and he was shifted from Dhaka to the Khulna on July 14.

The director general of the Directorate of Education, Professor Dilara Hafiz, faces a contempt of court charge for not paying salaries to a schoolteacher in Dinajpur despite a High Court order.
   The High Court on Monday ordered Professor Dilara to appear before the court in person on August 1 asking her to explain why a contempt charge should not be brought against her for violating the court order.
   After hearing of a contempt petition filed by the headmaster of the Boaldar Bahumukhi High School of Dinajpur, Mohammad Asiruddin, a High Court bench comprising Justice MA Matin and Justice Mamnoon Rahman passed the order.
   Through a letter, payment of salaries and other facilities to the petitioner, Asiruddin, was stopped from February 2004.
   Asiruddin had filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the validity of the government order.
   The High Court, on April 17 this year, ordered the authorities to pay the petitioner’s salaries.
   Professor Dilara received the High Court order on May 5 and the counsel for the petitioner, senior advocate ABM Nurul Islam sent a demand notice to the director general on June 16 asking her to implement the court order.
   Through the demand notice, advocate Nurul Islam requested her to take step for paying the petitioner’s salaries.
   But, the respondents did not take any step to implement the court order.
   Advocate ABM Nurul Islam assisted by advocate Giyasuddin Ahmed and advocate Afifa Begum moved the petition.

The Rapid Action Battalion has formed a four-member committee to investigate the Friday’s incident in which some RAB members, led by an assistant superintendent of police, tortured a business executive.
   The Uttara police, however, are yet to start their investigation although two separate general diaries were filed in connection with the Friday’s incident.
   The police said they sought the court permission to investigate the incident.
   RAB director general Abdul Aziz Sarkar told BDNews, ‘We have formed a high-powered four-member committee Monday evening to probe the Friday’s incident.’
   ‘The committee was asked to submit its report within three days,’ the RAB chief maintained.
   Mokhlesur Rahman, director (arms and administration) of RAB, is heading the probe committee.
   Some RAB members led by ASP Ashraful Islam dragged one Abubakar Sultan, executive director of Harness Level Industries Ltd, into the RAB-1 office and tortured him after an altercation between Ashraful and Sultan in Uttara.
   Soon after the incident the RAB filed a general diary with the Uttara police that Abubakar Sultan was assaulted by angry mob and RAB, in fact, saved him from the people’s wrath.
   ‘RAB filed the case to suppress their crime,’ said family members of the victim.
   Khadija Rahman Maya, sister of Sultan, filed a separate GD Saturday, accusing ASP Ashraful Islam and other RAB members for torturing her brother.
   The media wing of RAB issued a press release over the Friday’s incident, suppressing the real picture of the incident. The press release said Sultan misbehaved with RAB members and was doing what it said ‘Dadagiri’ (heroism).
   Family members of Sultan said they will take legal action against RAB and were considering filing a case with the court.
   Sub-inspector Abu Syed, who has been appointed investigation officer of the two general diaries, said, ‘I cannot start the investigation as it requires court’s permission. As soon as I get the permission I will start my investigation.’
   Hospital sources said the condition of Abubakar Sultan deteriorated Monday. Sultan is undergoing treatment at Central Hospital.

Five thousand workers of the Qoumi Jute Mill demonstrated in the Sirajganj town carrying bamboo sticks Monday morning.
   They chanted anti-government slogans against the decision to shut down the mill and demanding immediate payment of their dues.
   The mill sources said production in the mill has been suspended for seven months and the workers and employees have not been paid for eight months.
   The collective bargaining agents for the workers also have been struggling for two years to save the mill.
   Sixty workers were injured in an attack by the BNP activists while they were picketing during the hartal hours on Saturday.
   Abdul Khalek and Mohammad Suzabat Ali, president and general secretary of the CBA respectively said that they had called a half-day hartal on Sunday in protest of the attack on the workers on Saturday but later withdrew it due to the prime minister’s programme in Bogra on the same day.

The tribal leader, Upendra Lal Chakma, a former lawmaker, died of cardiac arrest at 4:20pm on Monday at a hospital. He was 82.
   He is survived by his wife, three sons, five daughters and a host of friends and admirers to mourn his death.
   A pall of gloom descended on the district town as the report of death of the elderly tribal leader spread.

Golam Kibria Johnny, arrested on July 13 for his suspected involvement in the killing of Sagir Ahmed Sagir, a leader of the Juba Dal, the ruling BNP’s youth front, was again placed on a three-day remand on Monday.
   Upon completion of his three-day remand on Sunday, the detective police produced Johnny before the chief metropolitan magistrates court seeking a five-day remand for further interrogation.
   The police claimed that during the remand Johnny revealed important information about Sagir’s killing and the information needed to be verified.
   The police arrested Johnny from a residence at Dhupkhola in old Dhaka on the basis of the confessional statement made by another suspect, Jewel alias Tepa Jewel, claimed the police.
   On Sunday, Sohel, another suspected criminal shown arrested in Sagir killing, was placed on a five-day remand.
   With Sohel, three people have so far been shown arrested in the case.
   Sagir, general secretary of Juba Dal Dhaka South unit, was shot dead near his Nasiruddin Sarder Lane residence on June 23.