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The government will start constructing 60 investigation centres from the next month across the country especially in the inaccessible areas to expedite police probe and curb criminal offences more effectively and speedily.
   Official sources told the news agency that the project would be jointly implemented by the Bangladesh Police and the Public Works Department from July, 2009, to June 2013 involving over Tk 97 crore to be allocated from the Annual Development Programme of the government.
   The assistant inspector general of police (recruitment and training), Hasanul Haidar, said the posting process of the nearly 1,500 police personnel for the investigation centres had already completed.
   He said according to the allocation of manpower, 120 sub- inspectors, at least two in each investigation centre, would be stationed.
   The AIG said in fact many of the policemen who had been posted in the investigation centres were working in the remote areas on investigation jobs staying there under makeshift arrangements.
   ‘Most police personnel, who are already conducting criminal investigations are staying away from the police stations, are living in local schools and thatched houses on makeshift arrangements. They cannot move away from these areas because in some places it takes them two to three days to get back to nearest police stations,’ he said.
   Haidar said after the completion of the project the centres would be equipped with computers, cars and other necessary apparatus that would make the policemen
   in charge to work with more efficiently and speedily.
   The project was originally envisaged to begin the infrastructure construction in June but the Executive Committee of National Economic Council in its last meeting given nod to the project and decided to immediately begin the infrastructure construction, spokesperson for the Planning Commission said
   Sunday.
   The sources said the project had been taken in line with the government’s policy matrix good governance under the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers as the objective of the project is to improve the law and order situation through accelerating the investigation process of criminal cases by facilitating infrastructure of police department.
   Haider said with the establishment of the investigation centres the people living in the inaccessible areas would be able to get assistance from law enforcers very quickly.
   At the moment, there are places where the investigation centres will be constructed, it takes people to reach the nearest police stations two to three days. They do not have the facilities to file a diary against any law breakers other than waiting for two to three days.

Two sisters are fighting for life at Rangpur Medical College Hospital as a miscreant hurled acid at them following refusal of marriage proposal.
   The victims are Masuda Begum Shantona and her younger sister Shimu Akter, daughters of Mannan Miah of village Paschim Ranchandi under Kishoreganj upazila in Nilphamari.
   Sources said Akash, 25, a friend of the victims' elder brother, had been disturbing Shimu with a love proposal for long.
   Later, their parents sent Shimu to Shantona's house at Hazipara in Rangpur sadar upazila where she continued her study at a local madrassah.
   A few days back, Shimu along with Shantona came to Paschim Ranchandi where Akash again started disturbing Shimu with a marriage proposal.
   As Shimu refused the proposal, Akash became ferocious and hurled acid at the two sisters Friday night when they were asleep.
   They sustained severe burn injuries in faces and different parts of the bodies.
   Hearing their screams, neighbours came to their rescue and took them to RMCH in critical conditions.
   Now the two sisters are undergoing treatment at No. 8 surgery ward of the hospital.
   RMCH surgery department chief Dr MA Kayum said Shimu had been seriously affected and her two eyes were severely damaged.
   She might lose her eyesight, he added.
   Latifa Begum, victims' mother, alleged that Akash had been teasing her younger daughter Shimu for long and proposed to marry her.
   An arbitration meeting was also held in this regard, she added. She demanded exemplary punishment for the culprit.
   Officer-in-charge of Kishoreganj police station Sohel Afza said a case had been filed in this connection and they would take necessary action against the culprit.

Agriculture experts at a function Thursday stressed the need for cultivating spices on a larger scale to meet its growing demand and for economic benefit of the farmers.
   The cultivation of spices is very profitable, the experts said and added any farmer can change his socio-economic condition easily by growing spices on high and medium high land, and even around their homesteads.
   They were speaking at the concluding ceremony of a two-day ‘Farmers Training on Spices Cultivation’ at the conference room of department of agriculture extension.
   The Gaibandha DAE arranged the programme under its ‘Spices Production Integrated Project’.
   DAE deputy director Kamal Shariful Alam attended the function as the chief guest. Plant protection specialist Alauddin Sarkar, Palashbari upazila agriculture officer M Haider Ali, Sundarganj upazila agriculture officer M Safaet Hossain Sarker and Fulchhari upazila agriculture officer M Shawkat Ali Sarker, among others, addressed the function.
   Kamal Shariful Alam urged the farmers to come forward with great zeal to cultivate various spices, including onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric and chilli on their lands to meet their own demands and to gain economic benefit as well.

At least eight people were injured in a clash between two groups of villagers in Koyra upazila of Khulna on Wednesday over taking fodder of a cow.
   Quoting locals, the police said a cow of one Shafi Mollah of village Choukunia had entered the house of one Poresh at village Malikhali and ate straws from the courtyard.
    Poresh beat the cow and tied it.
   Hearing this, Shafi, accompanied by about 25 to 30 people with lethal weapons came to Poresh and charged him for tying the cow.
   Later, supporters of them, after an altercation, locked in a clash that lasted for more than one hour leaving eight persons injured from both sides.
   The police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.
   Of the injured, oresh was admitted to Koyra Upazila Health Complex in critical condition.

One person was hacked to death at Uttar Chandipur in Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj Tuesday morning.
   The deceased is Mofizuddin, 55, of Rasulpur under Shibganj municipality. The police said unidentified assailants numbering 10 attacked him with sharp weapons at about 9:00am near a mango orchard at Chandipur leaving him critically injured.
   Later, he died after being taken to Chapainawabganj General Hospital.
   Shibganj thana officer-in-charge Fazlul Haque said he might have been killed over previous enmity with his nephew.

A trader was killed in a firing by some muggers at Phultala upazila in Khulna on Thursday.
   The deceased is Zahangir Fakir, 26, of village Alka under the upazila.
   Phultala thana police said a gang of muggers numbering eight opened fire when night guards challenged them in which Jahangir, who came out from his shop hearing the firing, received bullets injury.
   Jahangir was at first taken to Phultala Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to Khulna Medical College Hospital where he died from the injury.

The police Friday night arrested Khaleda Begum, mother of Jubo League activists, Ruhul Talukdar and Mehdi Talukdar, on charges of assaulting resident medical officer at Nalchity Upazila Health Complex in Jhalakati.
   Sources in health complex said Khaleda along with her two sons had assaulted the RMO, Mahbubur Rahman, over treatment of a baby who was admitted to the health complex on Thursday.
   Later, Mahbubur filed a case with the Nalchity police station on charge of assaulting him, looting and vandalising his chamber.
   SM Azizul Huq, officer-in-charge of Nalchity police station, confirmed that Khaleda, among three accused of the case, was arrested from her house.
   Khaleda said she had only refused to pay higher charges for treatment of the baby and protested at illegal private practice of the RMO.

A four-day-long orientation programme for journalists began at the conference room of Sheikh Kamal Stadium in Gopalganj town on Saturday.
   Bangladesh Press Institute arranged the training sessions for local journalists.
   A total of 35 journalists participated in the session.
   The deputy commissioner of Gopalganj Sheikh Yusuf Harun was present as chief guest.

Local people caught four alleged members of a money forgers’ gang along with some fake currency notes at Chargarobdi ferry ghat in Baufal upazila of Patuakhali Saturday noon.
   They were identified as Liton, 26, Mohsin, 22, Badal, 28, and Asim Chandra Shil, 26.
   The police and witnesses said the four after reaching the ferry ghat made an attempt to pay tempo fare with some forged notes.
   As the local people started interrogating them, they threw some bundles of forged notes into the river. The local people after recovering the bundles found there fake notes of Tk 30,000 in denomination of Tk 500 and Tk100.
   They were later handed over to the Baufal police.