The body of a man was exhumed at Chowdagram upazila in Comilla on Friday after 15 months of his missing from Dhaka.
   The body was exhumed after the Rapid Action Battalion on Thursday had unearthed the clues to the killing of Khairul Bashar Rocky and concealment of his body. The battalion also arrested three persons in connection with the killing.
   The RAB sources said Mosharraf Hossain, father of the victim, had submitted a written complaint to the RAB-3 explaining that his son Khairul, 28, of Damurhuda in Chuadanga, had remained missing for the last 15 months.
   During the primary investigation, the battalion came to know that Rocky had been married to one Shahida Majumdar Munni, of B/3, Shajahanpur Railway Colony in Motijheel. The battalion picked up Hasina Begum Daisy, elder sister of Munni, and her husband Abdul Kayum from their Railway Colony residence in Dhaka to collect Munni’s present address. But they failed to give it.
   Later, the battalion managed to trace Srabonti alias Shawpna, one of the close acquaintances of Munni on Wednesday.
   On the basis of her information, the RAB arrested Munni from Fakirapul intersection in Dhaka on Wednesday.
   During the quizzing, Munni admitted that she had been involved in various anti-social activities including prostitution for long without Rocky’s knowledge. When Rocky came to know about her dissolute life he sent Munni to her village at Chowdagram upazila in Comilla.
   Learning that Munni still continued to lead immoral life, Rocky went to her village in June, 2007 and had an altercation with Munni.
   At one stage, Munni strangled Rocky with the help of her brother Dipu and his wife Sakina Begum at around 5:15am and concealed the body under the ground at a nearby jungle. The RAB located the site on Thursday as per the specification of Munni and exhumed the body on Friday in presence of a magistrate.

A Jhenaidah court on Thursday sentenced a man to death for killing his wife for dowry in 2005.
   The judge of the women and children repression prevention tribunal, Mofizul Islam, handed down the verdict against Waliur Rahman of vilage Armuk under district sadar upazila.
   The court also acquitted six others of the charge.
   According to the prosecution, Waliur severely beat up his wife Tulsi Khatun, 30, on August 24, 2005 as she refused to bring Tk 30,000 as dowry money from her parents.
   Tulsi was admitted to Jhenaidah General Hospital where she died the following day.
   After examining the records and witnesses, the court pronounced the verdict.
   Another report from Sylhet adds: A man was sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment on Thursday in an arms case.
   The convict is Ansar Ahmed, 30, of Bhatipara in Dirai upazila of Sunamganj district
   The judge of arms and explosives tribunal, Ferdous Ahmed, handed down the verdict and also fined the convict Tk 2,000, in default, to suffer six months more RI.
   According to the prosecution, Rapid Action Battalion members arrested Ansar along with a single-barrel gun from the city on February 22, 2007.

A seminar on gender issues and development was held on the premises of Putimara union parishad office at Nobabganj upazila in Dinajpur on Thursday.
   The Palli Shree of Dinajpur in cooperation with the Manusher Jonne Foundation organised the programme.
   The objective of the seminar was to create social awareness of equal rights of women and eradication of all sorts of social discriminations.
   A total of 150 participants including UP chairmen and members, teachers, imams, professionals, women community leaders, journalists, elite and community leaders took part.
   Chaired by Palli Shree programme officer Mostafizur Rahman, the seminar was attended by Putimara UP chairman Mamtaz Uddin Mandal as the chief guest while headmaster Rostam Ali and journalist Motiar Rahman were present as special guests.
   Palli Shree activists Mahfuzul Haque and Morsheda Munni presented keynote papers on the subject and specialists, NGO executives, elite and professionals, among others, spoke on the occasion.

The police seized 63 bottles of Phensidyl and arrested four women in this connection at Kolahat under Badalgachhi upazila in Naogaon on Thursday.
   On tip-off, a police team challenged a van at Kolahat and seized Phensidyl and picked up the four identified as Anowara Begum, 45, Maleka Begum, 48, Jahanara Begum, 50, and Monwara begum, 47, of Malgram area in Bogra.

A reception was on Tuesday accorded to the students who obtained GPA-5 in the SSC examinations this year and admitted at Narsingdi Government College.
   The deputy commissioner of Narsingdi, Zillar Rahman, attended as chief guest the function presided over by Monzur Elahi, managing director of Abed Textile Mills.
   Professor Sirajul Islam Mallik, principal of Narsingdi Government College, conducted the programme.
   Lokman Hossain, mayor of Narsingdi pourashava, Professor Mohammad Ali, former principal of Narsingdi Government college, Professor Abu Bakar Siddique, vice-Principal of the college, Aminur Rahman N.D.C. Narsingdi and Moshiur Rahman Mirdha, principal of Abdul Kader Mallah City College, among others, spoke at the programme.

Pirates looted 52 fishing trawlers and also abducted 48 fishermen from the coastal areas of Bagerhat and Barguna in the last one week till Thursday.
   The pirates looted fishing nets and fish worth Tk 10 lakh from the trawlers when the fishermen were fishing in Narikelbaria, Kochikhal and Katka area of Bagerhat and Darazalia and other places under Patharghata upazila in Barguna.
   They also abducted the 48 fishermen from the trawlers for Tk 10 lakh ransom.
   After returning from the Bay, the fellow fishermen said that the pirates also beat up the fishermen during the robbery leaving at least 30 injured.
   Later, the kidnapped fishermen returned home after paying ransom to the the pirates, they said.