e_Paper, Friday, August 25, 2017

SECOND EDITION 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2017 | Bhadra 10, 1424, Zil-Hajj 2, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 5, No 109 | 24 pages plus 24-page weekend supplement | Price: Tk10 

The 

second 

rape 

A colonial law and a 

courtroom ordeal doubly 

traumatise rape victims 

› 2 

BIGSTOCK 

Elections: 

BNP throwing 

stalwarts 

under the bus? › 3 

Annan panel: Excessive 

force won’t solve 

Rohingya crisis › 3 

Bangladesh importing 

sacrificial cattle from 

Myanmar › 6 

Floods destroy 

road network 

in northern 

districts › 5

2 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2017 

DT 

News 

The second rape 

A colonial law and a courtroom ordeal doubly traumatise rape victims 

• Afrose Jahan Chaity and 

Shegufta Hasnine Surur 

SPECIAL 

Researcher Fatema Sultana was 

shocked when she walked into a 

rape trial. 

“As a middle class urban woman, 

my idea of a courtroom was one 

that was portrayed in film and TV, 

with separate docks and people involved 

in the case quietly sitting,” 

she wrote. 

“When I went to a court outside 

the capital I got a terrible shock. 

There were countless people in the 

courtroom, all talking at the same 

time, while the court hears the cases 

filed under the Women and Children 

Repression Prevention Act. 

“[The victim] begins recounting 

her rape in front of all these people. 

When she answers questions 

from the defence lawyer, all kinds 

of laughter, jeering and mockery 

erupt around her.” 

In this 2015 study, Fatema, an 

anthropology teacher at Jahangirnagar 

University, found that not 

just the environment of the court 

but also the legal framework for 

rape trials endangered the victim 

and jeopardised the trial process. 

The worst of these is a provision 

in the Evidence Act that allows the 

questioning of her “moral character”. 

A colonial legacy 

On Sunday, the women’s rights 

group Shokhi published a policy 

brief calling on the government to 

urgently repeal Section 155 Sub-Section 

4 of the 1872 Evidence Act. 

The section states: “When a man 

is prosecuted for rape or an attempt 

to ravish, it may be shown that the 

prosecutrix [the victim] was of generally 

immoral character.” 

And such ‘evidence’ can be offered 

to court to undermine the 

validity of the victim’s allegations. 

This provision, the brief said, 

allowed the defence to question a 

rape victim’s character and sexual 

history and shift the focus away 

from the accused. 

The brief draws on a report by 

the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services 

Trust (BLAST) that reviewed 

judgments reported over a 10-year 

period from 2000-2010, published 

in the Dhaka Law Report and the 

Bangladesh Legal Decisions. 

The BLAST report finds that 

this “character evidence” has been 

taken into serious consideration in 

many of the judgments. But since 

the definition of “immoral character” 

was absent in the law, it was 

left to the court to decide what to 

admit as evidence. 

In one case in 2010, where the 

victim was the sole witness, court 

appears to have considered the 

complainant’s climbing of a tree as 

evidence of her “bad character.” 

The complainant was a domestic 

worker and was allegedly raped 

by her employer. In the judgment, 

the court stated: “…the victim entered 

into the house of the accused 

by climbing a Papua tree as the gate 

of the house was closed which also 

proves that the victim is a woman 

of easy virtue, so her evidence cannot 

be believed without the corroboration 

of reliable evidence…” 

In another case from 2005, the 

victim, “an unmarried college girl 

who comes of a respectable educated 

family” was deemed to have 

good character and therefore a reasonable 

claim. 

In her study, Fatema Sultana 

concludes that the definition of 

character is determined by prevailing 

social notions. 

The Evidence Act of 1872 has 

remained unchanged since British 

colonial rulers introduced it here. 

There have been many calls to 

bring necessary changes. 

Shokhi’s policy brief showed 

that in most countries, the colonial 

legal provision had been removed 

from the law and replaced with 

“rape shield” laws that protected 

victims from humiliation and further 

mental trauma during the trial. 

It had been changed in the UK, 

First, the legal provisions for questioning 

a victim’s character should be removed. 

Second, there should be provisions for camera 

[chamber] trials with as few people present as 

reasonable. Third, the outdated medical test 

called two-finger test should be removed 

in India, Australia and Singapore. 

The only country where the law 

still remains is Pakistan. 

Experts say the provision is a 

further impediment to the various 

stigma and risks that rape victims 

already face in getting justice. 

About half of the reported rape cases 

in Bangladesh make it to trial. By 

an estimate of Bangladesh National 

Women Lawyers Association from 

2014, 75% of rape cases fail to convict 

perpetrators. 

According to the Violence 

Against Women (VAW) chart of 

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, from 

January to July this year 526 women 

were raped, 119 were gangraped, 

41 were killed after rape, 

and 113 faced attempt rapes. 

Who is really on trial in rape 

prosecutions? 

Shokhi’s brief said that the focus 

on the victim’s character in rape 

prosecutions raised the question 

of who was in fact on trial in these 

proceedings. 

The entire idea of evidence of 

character was confusing, said President 

of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad 

Ayesha Khanam. 

Findings in researcher Fatema 

Sultana’s study show that the 

courtroom is a terrifying place for 

a rape victim, who is often isolated 

from her family and society, 

abandoned and living in support 

centres. She has more likely than 

not already passed many barriers 

to justice from society and law enforcement. 

But then she faces a trial 

where she has to prove her good 

character and ‘purity’. 

“A woman who is alleging a rights 

violation is compelled to prove her 

good character in order to secure 

her justice,” said Ayesha Khanam. 

Subjecting women to a double 

standard and focusing on the 

victim’s prior sexual conduct and 

character essentially puts the victim 

on trial, she said. 

“A rape survivor first goes 

through physical torture and then 

when she comes to seek justice she 

gets psychologically tortured,” she 

added. 

The five tribunals have 

received 4,436 rape 

cases for trial so far 

between 2003 and 2016 

Of the 2,057 cases 

disposed in the five 

courts of Dhaka that hold 

rape trials, the accused 

were convicted of a 

crime in only 16 

In the Dhaka courts 

over the last 14 years, 

the disposal rate of 

rape cases stands at 

about 46%, while the 

conviction rate is an 

appalling 0.77% 

BIGSTOCK 

BLAST’s Research and Documentation 

Coordinator Barrister 

Nawmi Naz Chowdhury, who was 

part of the research team, said: 

“Women and girls seeking justice 

for rape face humiliating and irrelevant 

questioning about their sexual 

history in court.” 

“The legislation has detrimental, 

prejudicial impact on rape trias 

and diminishes the likelihood of 

conviction for men who have committed 

rape,” Nawmi said. 

Repeal of Section 155 (4) and 

enacting rape shield laws will encourage 

reporting of rape crimes 

and increase convictions through 

dispelling rape myths and stereotypes, 

Nawmi added. 

BNWLA President Salma Ali said 

that in her experience many victims 

faced with such questioning 

run away, change their addresses 

and never return to trial again, 

even if the court issues summons. 

“They were physically raped 

once, and mentally raped a second 

time in court through law,” she 

added. 

Supreme Court Advocate Qazi Zahed 

Iqbal said several reforms were 

necessary to protect victims and reduce 

the possibility of mistrial. 

“First, the legal provisions for 

questioning a victim’s character 

should be removed. 

“Second, there should be provisions 

for camera [chamber] trials 

with as few people present as 

reasonable. Third, the outdated 

medical test called two-finger test 

should be removed,” he said. •

News 

FRIDAY, 

3 

AUGUST 25, 2017 

DT 

BNP’s hunt for election candidates 

throws stalwarts under the bus 

• Manik Miazee 

POLITICS 

With elections little more than a 

year away, Khaleda Zia’s BNP is 

working around the clock to select 

the ideal candidates for the 300 

seats. But what does the Bangladesh 

Nationalist Party look for in 

an “ideal” candidate? 

Khaleda Zia has identified three 

key characteristics she wants in the 

900 potential candidates who will 

vie for the 300 seats: 

A clean image with no prior allegations 

of corruption or criminal 

records 

Young, enterprising businessmen 

Excellent connections with bureaucrats, 

armed forces and foreign 

companies 

Several BNP leaders have confided 

that the search for the ideal 

candidates is simultaneously taking 

place while the internal feuds 

are being mitigated. 

The BNP high command has 

scoured the nation and has listed 

900 such individuals. From them, 

300 will be selected to represent 

BNP in the 2019 General Election. 

But the final round of selection 

has been mired by internal strife 

and BNP’s prioritisation of the new 

criteria over party loyalty and seniority.. 

Some top leaders have claimed 

that the government’s oppression 

has broken the organisational 

structure of the party at the 

grassroots level. In response, 

several local leaders have said that 

many senior leaders have not even 

visited their constituencies over 

the past three years, much less 

communicate with the grassroots. 

Some even alleged that the lack 

of initiative from senior leaders 

prompted thousands of BNP 

followers to jump ship to Awami 

League. 

But one-third of the shortlisted 

candidates will have no chance to 

contest the polls. Even the ones 

who are wholeheartedly dedicated 

to BNP could be rolled over. 

Even if a candidate has no corruption 

allegations and is quite 

popular, businessmen who can 

fund the campaigns will be selected 

ahead of party stalwarts. 

In addition, another 100 may 

also be disqualified on allegations 

of being “reformists,” a label that 

BNP abhors deeply. 

The party also seems to favour 

the families of those who have 

been found dead or disappeared 

over the past decade. 

Narayanganj, an eye opener 

Before the Narayanganj city corporation 

election, Khaleda sat with 

the city leaders to resolve outstanding 

feuds which threatened 

the chances of BNP winning. But 

she could not do enough in time to 

recover the damage wrought by the 

infighting. Many local leaders have 

alleged BNP had enough votes to 

clinch a win that eventually got 

away from it. 

Following the loss, the BNP 

chairperson dispatched senior 

leaders to the districts to sort out 

the problems. The senior leaders 

engaged the local leaders 

to sort out the issues that have arisen 

over the years, all in an effort to 

rebuild their support base from the 

ground up. 

The Khaleda contingency 

The party gets its instructions from 

Khaleda Zia, then Tareque Rahman 

and then the Standing Committee. 

But in absence of the chairperson, 

their strategy formulation is in a 

quagmire. 

BNP is struggling to develop a 

contingency plan in the event of 

Khaleda Zia’s conviction in any of 

the numerous cases she has been 

charged with. 

BNP Standing Committee Member 

Gayeswar Chandra Ray said 

when the party leaders visit the 

districts and other local level unit, 

they observe the conditions and report 

back their findings to Khaleda 

Zia for her opinion on the matter. 

He said: “First we check how 

popular they are, then their acceptability 

among all the communities 

and finally how financially 

solvent they are.” 

Another major BNP leader, who 

declined to be named, said no matter 

what criteria is set, the BNP 

chairperson has the final say in all 

things. • 

Annan panel: Excessive force won’t solve Rohingya crisis 

• Reuters, Yangon 

WORLD 

Myanmar should respond to a crisis 

over its Muslim Rohingya community 

in a “calibrated” way without excessive 

force, a panel led by former UN chief 

Kofi Annan said on Thursday, adding 

that radicalisation was a danger if problems 

were not addressed. 

The treatment of approximately 

1.1m Rohingyas has emerged as majority 

Buddhist Myanmar’s most contentious 

human rights issue as it makes a 

transition from decades of harsh 

military rule. 

Annan’s commission - appointed 

last year by leader Aung San Suu Kyi 

to come up with long-term solutions 

for the violence-riven, ethnically and 

religiously divided Rakhine state - said 

perpetrators of rights abuses should be 

held accountable. 

Security deteriorated sharply in 

the western state on the border with 

Bangladesh last October when Rohingya 

militants killed nine policemen in 

Senior leaders of the BNP take part in party chief Khaleda Zia’s ‘Vision 2030’ announcement ceremony in Dhaka on May 10 

this year 

RAJIB DHAR 

attacks on border posts. 

In response, the Myanmar military 

sent troops fanning out into Rohingya 

villages in an offensive beset by allegations 

of arson, killings and rape by the 

security forces, and which sent 87,000 

Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. 

The situation in the state deteriorated 

again this month when security 

forces began a new “clearance 

operation” with tension shifting to a 

township, Rathetaung, where Buddhist 

Rakhine and Rohingya communities live 

side-by-side. 

“While Myanmar has every right 

to defend its own territory, a highly 

militarised response is unlikely to bring 

peace to the area,” the nine-member 

commission said in its final report. 

Instead, a nuanced, comprehensive 

response was urgently needed to 

“ensure that violence does not escalate 

and inter-communal tensions are kept 

under control”, it said. 

Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, centre, arrives at a press conference 

about his commission’s final report in Yangon on August 24, 2017 

AFP 

The commission warned that if human 

rights were not respected and “the 

population remain politically and economically 

marginalised – northern Rakhine 

State may provide fertile ground 

for radicalisation, as local communities 

may become increasingly vulnerable to 

recruitment by extremists”. 

The Rohingya are denied citizenship 

and classified as illegal immigrants from 

Bangladesh, despite claiming roots 

in the region that go back centuries, 

with communities marginalised and 

occasionally subjected to communal 

violence. 

Annan has visited Myanmar three 

times since his appointment, including 

two trips to Rakhine State. On Thursday, 

he presented his findings to Suu 

Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing and 

was due to give a news conference later 

in the day. 

The United Nations said in a 

report in February security forces had 

instigated a campaign that “very likely” 

amounted to crimes against humanity 

and possibly ethnic cleansing. 

That led to the establishment of a 

UN fact-finding mission a month later. 

But Myanmar’s domestic investigation 

team criticised the UN report 

this month and rejected allegations of 

abuses. 

Myanmar declined to grant visas to 

three experts appointed by the United 

Nations and instead the government 

said Myanmar would comply with recommendations 

by the Annan team. 

But Annan’s panel - which has a 

broad mandate to look into, among 

other things, long-term economic development, 

education and healthcare 

in the state - said it was “not mandated 

to investigate specific cases of alleged 

human rights violations”. 

It said that the government “should 

ensure – based on independent and 

impartial investigation – that perpetrators 

of serious human rights violations 

are held accountable”. 

The commission made a host of other 

recommendations, ranging from a 

faster and more transparent citizenship 

verification process, to lifting restrictions 

on movement and equal access to 

healthcare for all residents. •

4 


DT 

News 

HC asks govt to confiscate 

Niko’s property 

• Tribune Desk 

COURTS 

The High Court yesterday ordered the government 

to confiscate the properties belonging 

to the Canadian oil and gas company, 

Niko Resources Ltd, in Block 9. 

The bench of Justice Naima Haider and 

Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman also 

declared illegal two agreements that Niko 

had signed with Bapex and Petrobangla, reports 

Bangla Tribune. 

Niko signed a joint venture agreement 

with Bapex for developing Chhatak East and 

Feni gas fields in 2003, and another with 

Petrobangla in 2006 to sell the gas extracted 

from Feni gas field. 

On May 9, 2016, the High Court issued a 

ruling, asking the government to explain 

why the two agreements should not be declared 

illegal. 

Following a public interest litigation, the 

court also issued a stay on the contracts. 

Petrobangla and Bapex claimed compensation 

from Niko for the twin blowouts that 

occurred in 2005 at Tengratila gas field. 

State Minister for Power, Energy and 

Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said the 

High Court verdict in the Niko graft case is 

very important for the government since 

the Canadian energy company had been 

awarded a contract by the then BNP-Jamaat 

ruling alliance. 

He said the government would be able to 

recover the huge loss incurred because of 

the twin blowouts at Tengratila gas field. 

“We will place the verdict to the 

international arbitration tribunal – 

International Centre for Settlement of 

Investment Disputes (ICSID) – where another 

case over graft charges is also being tried,” 

Bangladesh co-counsel for ICSID arbitration 

cases barrister Moin Ghani told the Dhaka 

Tribune. 

In a 2010 writ petition filed by Bangladesh 

Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), 

the High Court passed a judgement, directing 

Niko to compensate for the blowouts 

and restraining Petrobangla from making 

any payments to Niko until settlement of the 

compensation claims. 

In 2010, Niko filed two ICSID arbitration 

cases – one for the payment of gas supplied 

to Petrobangla and another seeking a declaration 

of nonliability for the blowouts. 

On March 25, 2016, Bangladesh Petroleum 

Exploration and Production Company Limited 

(Bapex) and Petrobangla gave ICSID evidence 

that showed Niko had obtained rights 

in the Chattak and Feni gas fields through 

bribery and corruption. 

Furthermore, Bapex lodged a claim for 

$137.4 million and Petrobangla for $1.05 

billion as compensation for the blowouts 

caused by Niko. •

13th death anniversary 

of Ivy Rahman observed 

• Fazlur Rahman Raju 

TRIBUTE 

Awami League and its associate 

organisations paid tribute to Ivy 

Rahman, former president of Bangladesh 

Mahila Awami League and 

wife of late President Zillur Rahman 

on her 13th death anniversary. 

The ruling party, led by General 

Secretary and Road Transport and 

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, 

placed flower wreaths on her 

grave and offered prayers at the 

Banani Graveyard around 8am 

yesterday. 

Abdur Rahman, joint secretary 

of Awami League, Organising 

Secretaries Ahmed Hossain and 

Enamul Haque Shamim, Office Secretary 

Abdus Salam Golap, Relief 

and Social Welfare Secretary Sujit 

Roy Nandi, Health and Population 

Affairs Secretary Rokeya Sultana 

and Deputy Office Secretary Biplab 

Barua also paid their respects at the 

graveyard, among others. 

Dhaka Reporters Unity organised 

a round table discussion to 

mark Ivy Rahman’s death anniversary, 

with Mahbubul Alam Hanif, 

joint-general secretary of Awami 

League as the chief speaker. 

A special doa mahfil was arranged 

at Ivy Concord Tower in Banani, 

Dhaka after Asr prayers. 

Ivy Rahman was gravely injured 

during a grenade blast at an Awami 

League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue 

in Dhaka on August 21, 2004. 

She passed away at the Combined 

Military Hospital three days 

later. • 

News 5 


Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attends special prayers arranged by the family of Ivy Rahman, Awami League leader and wife of 

former president Zillur Rahman, on her 13th death anniversary at the Ivy Tower in Gulshan, Dhaka yesterday FOCUS BANGLA 

Floods destroy road network in northern districts 

DT 


CURRENT AFFAIRS 

Road communications have been 

severely disrupted in a number of 

northern districts as most roads 

and culverts were severely damaged 

during the recent monsoon 

flooding. 

Unable to use the submerged 

roads, people have taken to using 

boats as the main form of transportation 

in some places. 

According to Rangpur Roads and 

Highways Department, 170.11 km 

roads have been damaged while 

the department has already spend 

Tk 30 crore for repairing those. 

Some 629.25 km roads were severely 

ravaged in 10 districts in the 

northern region including eight 

districts under Rangpur division. 

Kurigram and Dinajpur are the 

worst affected districts with countless 

roads and culverts damaged 

heavily. 

Road communications also 

came to a halt in Dinajpur as five 

roads were destroyed, locals said. 

According to a report published 

by the Department of Disaster and 

Management, some 525 kilometres 

of roads in some nine districts have 

been washed away due to the monsoon 

flood. 

45 kilometres of road got damaged 

in Panchagarh while 30 kilometres 

in Bogra, 30 kilometres 

in Sirajganj, 17 kilometres in Jamalpur, 

170 kilometres in Mymensing, 

170 kilometres in Tangail, 27 

kilometres in Dhaka and 36 kilometres 

in Manikganj. 

Besides, 6610 kilometres of 

roads have been partly ravaged in 

31 districts, the report said, adding, 

said some 446 bridges and culverts 

This portion of Barisal-Bhola-Chittagong in Bhola Sadar upazila is left in a dilapidated condition in the recent flood, hampering vehicular movement badly 

FOCUS BANGLA 

have been damaged in 11 districts. 

Of them, 140 bridges and culverts 

are in Nilphamari, 23 in Kurigram, 

13 in Gaibandha, 60 in Bogra, 66 

in Sirajganj, 44 in Jamalpur, 45 in 

Jessore, 29 in Mymensingh, four 

in Rangpur, 25 in Mymensingh and 

three in Joypurhat. 

In Kurigram, some 41.25 kilometres 

of roads have been seriously 

ravaged while 110.50 kilometres 

of roads in Lalmonirhat. 

Tk8 crore has been spent for 

road maintenance in Kurigram, 

while the sum amounted to Tk61 

lakh in Lalmonirhat. 

Some 12.50 kilometres of roads 

got damaged in Bogra, while 

59-kilometre and 2.8-kilometre 

roads in Gaibandha and Joypurhat 

respectively. 

Meanwhile, at least 41, 535 families 

have been affected in the flood 

caused by heavy shower and the 

onrush of the water from the upstream 

in Nilphamari. 

Of them, 31,000 families were 

completely affected in six upzilas 

under the district, said 

Nilphamari’s district relief and disaster 

management office. 

There were also reports of people 

being affected by waterborne 

diseases with many complaining of 

inadequate medical assistance for 

the patients. 

Nilphamari’s Civil Surgeon Dr 

Ranjit Kumar Barman, however, 

said they already formed 68 medical 

teams, which were treating the 

patients. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

LIGHT TO MODERATE 

RAIN LIKELY 


Dhaka 34 27 Chittagong 33 27 Rajshahi 34 27 Rangpur 34 26 Khulna 33 26 Barisal 32 27 Sylhet 31 26 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:23PM 

SUN RISES 5:38AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

35.5ºC 

23.7ºC 

Rangamati 

Rangamati 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Cox’s Bazar 32 26 

Fajr: 5:00am | Jumma: 1:15pm 

Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:41pm 

Esha: 8:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Bangladesh importing sacrificial 

cattle from Myanmar 

• Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar 

NATION 

The number of cattle being brought 

into Bangladesh from Myanmar 

ahead of Eid-ul-Azha has more 

than doubled in the past two 

months compared to the same period 

in 2016. 

Bangladesh imports most of its 

cows, goats and lambs from India 

in the run up to the annual religious 

festival, when the demand – and 

prices – for sacrificial animals soars. 

However, the customs officer 

for Teknaf land port said the number 

of cattle being imported from 

Myanmar in July and August was 

“more than double” that of the 

same period in 2016, when 3,435 

cattle were brought in for a revenue 

of Tk1,963,500. 

“There are possibilities for importing 

more sacrificial animals 

from Myanmar in future,” ASM 

Mosharraf Hossain said. 

One trader, Amir Mandal, 

bought 120 cows and oxen from the 

Shahporir Dwip corridor in Teknaf 

for sale in Rajshahi. 

“Myanmar cows are more popular 

than the Indian ones,” he told 

the Dhaka Tribune. “They look better 

and have more meat.” 

Trawlers filled with cattle from Myanmar are making regular arrivals at Shahporir Dwip in Teknaf via the Naf River 

Trawlers filled with cattle are 

arriving at Shahporir Dwip via the 

Naf River. While traders say the 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

prices of Myanmar cows are lower 

compared to 2016, one jetty lessee 

said the import costs were rising. 

“The district administration 

is charging Tk50 per cow while 

Teknaf customs is earning Tk500 

revenue from each animal,” said 

Rejaul Karim Reju, who is also the 

local Union Parishad member. 

During the July-August period, 

local authorities say at least 8,500 

cattle have been imported through 

the corridor that helped the government 

earn Tk4,255,600 in revenue. 

Local cattle importer Ham Jalal 

said he had bought at least 500 

cows in the last two days. “I take 

them to Chittagong from here. It 

costs about Tk1,800 per animal on 

average,” he said. 

However, cattle trader Siraj Mia 

from Chittagong’s Patia said they 

were harassed by police when 

transporting the cows. 

Teknaf 2 Border Guard Bangladesh 

Commander Lt Col SM Ariful 

Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that 

they were on alert to avert any untoward 

incident. • 

Russia readies for huge 

military exercises as 

tensions with west simmer 


WORLD 

Russia is preparing to mount 

what could be one of its biggest 

military exercises since 

the cold war, a display of power 

that will be watched warily 

by Nato against a backdrop of 

east-west tensions. 

Western officials and analysts 

estimate up to 100,000 

military personnel and logistical 

support could participate 

in the Zapad (West) 17 

exercise, which will take place 

next month in Belarus, Kaliningrad 

and Russia itself. Moscow 

puts the number significantly 

lower. 

The exercise, to be held 

from 14-20 September, comes 

against a backdrop of strained 

relations between Russia and 

the US Congress recently imposed 

a fresh round of sanctions 

on Moscow in response 

to allegations of interference 

in the 2016 US election. 

The first of the Russian 

troops are scheduled to arrive 

in Belarus in mid-August. 

Moscow has portrayed Zapad 

17 as a regular exercise, 

held every four years, planned 

long ago and not a reaction to 

the latest round of sanctions. 

Nato said it had no plans to 

respond to the manoeuvres by 

deploying more troops along 

the Russian border. 

Moscow blames growing 

west-east tensions on the expansion 

of Nato eastwards and 

in recent years the deployment 

of more Nato forces in countries 

bordering Russia. Nato says the 

increased deployments are in 

response to the Russian annexation 

of Crimea in 2013. 

During the cold war, Zapad 

was the biggest training 

exercise of the Soviet Union 

and involved an estimated 

100,000 to 150,000 personnel. 

After the collapse of the Soviet 

Union, it was resurrected in 

1999 and has been held every 

four years since. 

Meanwhile, Russian nuclear-capable 

strategic bombers 

have flown over the Pacific 

Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the 

Yellow Sea and the East China 

Sea, prompting Japan and 

South Korea to scramble jets 

to escort them. •

‘Don’t misquote 

me please’ 


CURRENT AFFAIRS 

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar 

Sinha has called upon the 

news media not to “misquote” 

him while reporting his remarks 

made in courtroom. 

“I am requesting you (journalists), 

not to misquote me. 

Confusions have been created 

regarding my speech. Whatever 

I say in court, it is being 

He said the ethical guidelines 

of the Supreme Court 

bars him from holding a press 

conference to explain his 

stance on any issue. 

“However, I can ask the 

lawyers concerned any question 

during a case hearing as 

the judge. That is my prerogative. 

“And mentioning that question 

without understanding 

why it was asked or what its 

aim was can lead to misunderstandings. 

Please see to that,” 

the chief justice added. 

News 

FRIDAY, 

7 

AUGUST 25, 2017 

DT 

Surendra Kumar Sinha 

distorted. I have to face embarrassing 

situation for this. I 

don’t want that,” BSS quoted 

him as saying on Thursday. 

His urge came while addressing 

a book launching programme 

at the Supreme Court 

Bar Council Bhaban in Dhaka, 

in the backdrop of an ongoing 

tussle between the judiciary 

and the executive over some 

observations made by the 

chief justice in a full verdict 

that scrapped the 16th constitutional 

amendment. 

Pro-AL lawyers to boycott 

chief justice’s events 

A pro-Awami League lawyers’ 

organisation on Thursday also 

announced that they would 

boycott all events either organised 

or attended by Chief 

Justice Sinha. 

Bangabandhu Awami Ainjibi 

Parishad Member Secretary 

Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh 

made the announcement at 

a protest programme in the 

South Hall of the Supreme 

Court Bar Association. 

Barrister Taposh, also a ruling 

party lawmaker, two days 

ago had claimed that the chief 

justice should resign as he had 

violated his oath by referring 

to a Pakistan court order that 

disqualified Nawaz Sharif as 

prime minister. • 

Second part of this story was 

first published on banglatribune.com 

A group of young ‘volunteers’, seen collecting money for the flood-affected people from a truck driver, was stopping the traffic on 

Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Tarabo area and collecting the money. Seeing this photographer pointing his camera at them, they refused to 

be photographed. When asked which organisation they worked for, the group promptly left the scene 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

Biman offers Eid discounts 

for domestic flights 


METRO 

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is 

offering discount for domestic 

flight tickets ahead of Eid-ul- 

Azha. 

The lowest price for tickets 

of the Dhaka-Rajshahi, Dhaka-Saidpur, 

Dhaka-Jessore 

and Dhaka-Barisal routes has 

been fixed at Tk2,000 while 

that of the Dhaka-Chittagong 

and Dhaka-Sylhet routes at 

Tk2,500 and Tk2,300 respectively. 

The fare will remain the 

same for the return flights. 

The special offer will be 

effective for the flights operating 

from August 26 to September 

2. • 

DHAKA TRIBUNE

8 


DT 

News 

India top court rules 

on right to privacy in 

battle over biometric 

ID programme 

This file photo taken on January 18, 2017 shows an Indian visitor giving 

a thumb impression to withdraw money from his bank account with his 

Aadhaar or Unique Identification (UID) card in Hyderabad 

AFP 

• Reuters, New Delhi 

WORLD 

India’s top court unanimously 

ruled on Thursday that individual 

privacy is a fundamental 

right, a verdict that will 

impact everything from the 

way companies handle personal 

data to the roll-out of 

the world’s largest biometric 

ID card programme. 

A nine-member bench of 

India’s Supreme Court announced 

the ruling in a major 

setback for the Narendra 

Modi-led government, which 

argued that privacy was not a 

fundamental right protected 

by the constitution. 

The court ordered that two 

earlier rulings by large benches 

that said privacy was not fundamental 

in 1954 and 1962 now 

stood overruled, and it declared 

privacy was “an intrinsic part of 

the right to life and liberty” and 

“part of the freedoms guaranteed” 

by the constitution. 

“This is a blow to the government 

because the government 

had argued that people 

don’t have a right to privacy,” 

said Prashant Bhushan, a senior 

lawyer involved in the case. 

India’s law ministry was not 

reachable for comment, but 

the Law Minister Ravi Shankar 

Prasad is expected to weigh in 

on the ruling at a news conference 

late on Thursday. 

The judgment also has 

a bearing on broader civil 

rights, as well as a law criminalising 

homosexuality. Lawyers 

said it also impacts a ban 

imposed on the consumption 

of beef in many states and on 

alcohol in some states. 

In his personal conclusion, 

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul 

wrote privacy is a fundamental 

right and it protects the 

inner sphere of an individual 

from interference from both 

state and non-state actors and 

lets individuals make autonomous 

life choices. 

The ruling is the second 

landmark decision to come 

from the Supreme Court this 

week. 

Aadhaar setback 

The privacy judgment was 

delivered at the end of the 

tenure of the chief justice of 

India, Jagdeep Singh Khehar, 

who retires in a few days. 

The ruling comes against 

the backdrop of a large multi-party 

case against the mandatory 

use of national identity 

cards, known as Aadhaar, as 

an infringement of privacy. 

There have also been concerns 

over data breaches. 

Critics say the ID card links 

enough data to create a full 

profile of a person’s spending 

habits, their friends, property 

they own and a trove of other 

information. 

Aadhaar, which over one 

billion Indians have already 

signed up for, was set up to be 

a secure form of digital identification 

for citizens, one that 

they could use for government 

services. 

But as it was rolled out, 

concerns arose about privacy, 

data security and recourse 

for citizens in the face of data 

leaks and other issues. 

Over time, Aadhaar has 

been made mandatory for the 

filing of tax returns and operating 

bank accounts. Companies 

have also pushed to gain 

access to Aadhaar details of 

customers. 

Those opposed to the 

growing demand for Aadhaar 

data cheered the ruling. •

Advertisement 

9 


DT

10 


DT 

News 

Qatar restores diplomatic ties 

to Iran amid Gulf crisis 

• AFP, Doha 

WORLD 

Qatar is to restore full diplomatic relations 

with regional power Iran, its foreign ministry 

announced Thursday, in a significant move at 

a time of diplomatic friction within the Gulf. 

A statement from the ministry said Qatar 

aimed to bolster relations between the two 

countries, which share the world’s largest 

natural gas field. 

“The State of Qatar announced today that 

its ambassador to Tehran will return to exercise 

its diplomatic duties,” read the statement. 

Qatar was also seeking to “strengthen bilateral 

relations with the Islamic Republic of 

Iran in all fields”, it added. 

In Tehran, the foreign ministry said Qatar’s 

decision followed a telephone conversation 

on Wednesday night between Foreign 

Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and 

his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman 

Al-Thani. 

“During the conversation... the Qatari 

side expressed their desire to send their ambassador 

back to Tehran and we welcomed 

this decision,” said ministry spokesman 

Bahram Ghassemi. 

Doha pulled its ambassador from Tehran 

in January 2016 following attacks on the Saudi 

Arabian embassy, spurred by Riyadh’s decision 

to execute a Shia cleric in the kingdom. 

The decision to restore ties comes as Qatar 

is locked in a diplomatic impasse with Iran’s 

great regional rival, Saudi Arabia, which has 

accused Doha of ties to Shiite Iran and support 

for Sunni Islamist extremist groups. • 

A screenshot from Bengal Meat’s website offering sacrificial animals ahead of Eid-ul-Azha 

Qurbani just a click away 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

FEATURE 

There is hardly any space in 

Dhaka to keep sacrificial animals 

for a few days. It is just 

as difficult to arrange feeds 

and a caretaker to look after 

the animals. 

Mohammad Ali, a retired 

service-holder living in Mirpur, 

Dhaka, is unable to visit 

the cattle market due to his 

old-age complications and 

had to resort to buying a cow 

online for the upcoming Eidul-Azha. 

“After getting to know 

about e-commerce, I bought 

a cow and have been relieved 

of the tension of rearing the 

cattle as the service provider 

will send it to my house before 

Eid day,” said Ali. 

Some young tech-savvy 

entrepreneurs have made Eid 

easy for city dwellers like Ali. 

Now one can buy an animal 

sitting at home, without 

having to physically go to the 

cattle market. And the animal 

will be delivered to one’s 

home from the farm. 

At present, a number of 

e-commerce sites and meat 

processing companies are 

selling sacrificial cattle online 

and offering home delivery, 

in Dhaka. The cows are 

reared through animal husbandry 

and no fattening drug 

is used on them. 

An expatriate Bangladeshi 

can now buy a sacrificial animal 

online for his family back 

home. For such purchases, he 

will have to pay through a recognised 

payment method and 

provide his home address. 

“In today’s busy life, people 

want things delivered to 

their doorstep. Considering 

these aspects, a few years 

back, we started an online 

service to sell sacrificial animals. 

Within a short period, 

the service has gained popularity,” 

Ataur Rahman, CEO 

of www.amardeshamargram. 

com, said. 

He continued: “We have 

networks in different districts 

from where we collect 

products, as well as cattle 

for Eid-ul-Azha. This year we 

have collected animals from 

Narsingdi and Kishoreganj.” 

He said the supply of cow 

is lower than that of last year 

owing to the floods in the 

northern districts. 

Ataur said they try to create 

a direct link with farmers 

in different districts online, 

which helps them get better 

prices for cattle. 

Some of the online shops 

offer unique facilities such 

as slaughter service and distribution 

to addresses mentioned 

by the customers. 

Bengal Meat Processing 

Industries CEO AFM Asif said 

that although Bengal Meat 

usually provides processed 

meat, it has now introduced 

online cattle shopping, considering 

its popularity in the city. 

This year Bengal Meat has 

put up 300 cows on its website 

and already over 100 of 

them have been sold. Last 

year, Bengal Meat had sold 

150 cows. 

Asif said their cattle are 

reared under the supervision 

of registered veterinarians. 

“The cattle are given 

natural feeds and health 

checks on regular basis to 

ensure supply of disease-free 

healthy cattle for Eid-ul- 

Azha,” he said. 

“For consumers, it is 

tough to visit farms. But by 

visiting our website one can 

choose and buy his/her cow 

for Qurbani,” he said. 

Bengal Meat also offers 

slaughter and meat processing 

services. The site www. 

upohar2me.com is another 

online portal which offers 

cows for sale and delivery. 

“The rise in sales and involvement 

of new entrepreneurs 

in the online cattle marketplace 

is a positive sign for 

the emerging e-commerce sector,” 

said Rajib Ahmed, president 

of E-Commerce Association 

of Bangladesh (ECAB). 

“To bring more business 

through the e-commerce 

platform, the government 

must provide policy support,” 

he said, pointing out 

it would also help in the progress 

of Digital Bangladesh. 

Meanwhile, some online 

shops are providing farmers 

with a chance to display their 

cows from where a consumer 

can choose and directly contact 

the farmers. 

“We have displayed cows 

on bikroy.com and other online 

marketplaces. We are 

getting response from the 

buyers. It is a good place 

to sell,” Mohammad Jalilur 

Rahman, a farmer in Ashulia, 

told the Dhaka Tribune. 

Salek Shahriyar, head of 

Marketing and Communication 

office of Crown Cement, 

said, as a service holder, it is 

difficult to manage time to go 

to the cattle market. 

On other hand, involving 

an outsider in the buying 

process of animal is also troublesome, 

he said. 

“But after being informed 

about the online marketplace, 

I decided to buy a cow 

for Eid-ul-Azha from online 

shops.” •

Family claims Bogra BNP 

leader tortured to death in 

police custody 

• Nazmul Huda Nasim, 

Bogra 

NATION 

A union parishad-level BNP 

leader was allegedly tortured 

to death by police in 

Bogra on Tuesday following 

a family feud over who had 

the right to fish in a local 

pond, the deceased’s family 

has claimed. 

Masudul Haque Pintu, 50, 

was the president of BNP’s 

Ashekpur UP unit in Shahjahanpur 

upazila of Bogra. 

Family members alleged 

that Kaigari police outpost incharge, 

Inspector Anisur Rahman, 

and three other officers 

picked up Pintu from his 

home without any arrest warrant 

on Tuesday afternoon. 

“The police pulled out 

my father from the bathroom 

and hit him with their 

rifle butt on his head, chest, 

neck and other places before 

taking him away on a CNGrun 

auto rickshaw,” Pintu’s 

daughter, Meherunnesa, 

told the Dhaka Tribune. 

“We [family members] all 

rushed to the police station, 

but my father was not there. 

Police informed us that he 

had died at the hospital.” 

Pintu had been the prime 

accused in a case filed by his 

uncle, Ihsan Haji, and cousins 

over a brawl which started 

over who had the right to 

net fish in a local pond. 

“Our rivals - Ihsa, Razzak, 

Sagar, Tayeb Ali, Wahed, 

Jani and Shahidul [Pintu’s 

cousin] bribed police to 

beat my brother to death,” 

claimed Jhintu. 

According to the family, 

Pintu was severely tortured 

with rifle butts while in custody 

and later succumbed to his 

injuries at Shahid Ziaur Rahman 

Medical College Hospital. 

Abdul Hannan, a doctor 

at the hospital, said four policemen 

from Kaigari camp 

admitted Pintu at around 

3:50pm on Tuesday. 

“There was no injury 

marks in Pintu’s body when 

he was brought to the hospital,” 

Dr Hannan said. “Later, 

he was transferred to the CCU 

of cardiology department.” 

CCU doctor Ashikur Rahman 

told the Dhaka Tribune 

that Pintu died of cardiac 

arrest around 5:30pm. “No 

police member was present 

at that time,” he said. 

Inspector Anisur Rahman 

maintained that Pintu had 

died of heart failure. 

“He had a cardiac arrest 

in Ranirhat area on our way 

to police station after the detention 

and he died in hospital,” 

he said. 

Bogra Circle’s Additional 

Police Superintendent Sonaton 

Chakraborty and Shahjahanpur 

police station officerin-charge 

Zia Latiful Islam 

both supported Inspector Anisur’s 

description of events. 

In a press release issued 

on Thursday, Ain o Salish 

Kendra’s Executive Director 

Sheepa Hafiza expressed 

“grave concern” over Pintu’s 

death and demanded a full 

investigation into the incident. 

• 

News 11 


Arrested Juba Dal leader killed in ‘gunfight’ 

• Ranajit Chandra Kuri, Noakhali 

NATION 

A local leader of Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal, the 

youth front of the BNP was killed in a reported 

gunfight with police in Krishnarampur 

area of Begumganj upazila of Noakhali on 

Wednesday night. 

The deceased is M Alam, 32, son of Abul 

Bashar of Bhippur village of the upazila. He 

DT 

was the senior convener of Alaiyarpur union 

unit Jubo Dal in Begumganj upazila, and 

sued in 10 cases. 

Sajedur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Begumganj 

police station, said they arrested Alam 

from his home on Tuesday and took him on the 

weapons raid in East Jainarayanpur village. 

Alam’s aides opened fire on the police team 

in a bid to snatch him, forcing the police to retaliate 

with gunshots, leaving him dead. • 

Eastern Bank Ltd Chairman M Ghaziul Haque hands over a cheque for Tk3 crore to Prime Minster Sheikh 

Hasina as contribution to her relief fund for rehabilitation of flood victims 

COURTESY

DT 

12 

Editorial 


TODAY 

Talaq, talaq, talaq 

Muslims of the Indian Union are 

children of Pakistan by definition 

PAGE 13 

BIGSTOCK 

Take Asia by the horns 

Can you legally film a 

police investigation 

in Bangladesh? 

Video recordings by citizens have 

proven to be indispensable in bringing 

to light instances where the police 

unfortunately misused their powers 

PAGE 14 

There is no denying that over the last few years, 

Bangladesh has made tremendous strides in 

the exporting sector, and this dynamism is 

largely attributable to our RMG sector. 

But unfortunately, our export growth has been 

overly reliant on the developed countries of North 

America and Europe, while missing out on the 

immense potential of the economies closer to home -- 

the Asian market. 

It is time for Bangladesh to up its game when it 

comes to this continent of nearly 60% of the world’s 

population-- and that is a goal that must be achieved 

not only through signing the necessary preferential 

trade agreements, but also by offering quality products. 

This means boosting trade relations through 

removing non-tariff barriers to trade, signing tradefriendly 

bilateral agreements, and the proper usage of 

preferential trade. 

There is no reason Bangladesh should not be able 

to take advantage of Asia, since we share similar tastes 

and values -- it is time to take Asia by the horns. 

Our export growth has 

been overly reliant on 

North America and 

Europe, while missing 

out on the immense 

potential closer to home 

Going under water 

The main objective of FAP is to save 

lives and livelihood of the flood affected 

people, improve agro-ecological 

conditions, enhance public facilities, 

and minimise potential flood damage 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

opinion.trib@gmail.com 

www.dhakatribune.com 

Join our Facebook community: 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

DhakaTribune. 

The views expressed in opinion 

articles are those of the authors 

alone and they are not the 

official view of Dhaka Tribune 

or its publisher. 

PAGE 15 

A true public servant 

The King Incognito tale has been told in various 

myths and folklore around the world, in which a 

king disguises himself as a commoner or a beggar 

to expose corrupt nobles and to learn about the 

true condition of his people. 

Chuadanga Mayor Obaidul Rahman Chowdhury Jipu did 

just that in real life when he recently disguised himself as a 

construction worker and again as a rickshaw puller to spot 

instances of corruption at various construction sites. 

Public projects in Bangladesh are notorious for their 

pervasive corruption, with big chunks of the funds getting 

siphoned off to a select few, resulting in shoddy structures 

and, not to mention, a betrayal of public trust. 

But this mayor actually took the problem seriously and 

is doing something rather heroic about it. 

He isn’t just making false promises to stamp out 

corruption; instead, he is doing the hard work that comes 

with such a promise, and thus shining as a brilliant example 

of a true servant of the people – a beacon of benevolence. 

We hope to see more government officials with this level 

of commitment to the public and to the nation. 

This mayor actually took 

the problem seriously 

and is doing something 

rather heroic about it

Talaq, talaq, talaq 

Marriage is a serious matter 

Opinion 13 

DT 


• Garga Chatterjee 

On August 22, the 

Supreme Court of India’s 

five judge bench ruled 

that instant triple talaq 

was illegal and unconstitutional. 

This is but a small change in the 

Muslim Personal Law in the Indian 

Union which needs much more 

comprehensive reform. 

In the 1950s, several laws 

were passed by the Parliament of 

India to codify and reform Hindu 

personal law in India. Muslim 

personal law was left untouched. 

The run up to this verdict, and 

its aftermath has been pounced 

on by media agencies as a public 

discussion point. 

In this case, the religious group 

in question was the minority. 

These were the Hanafi law 

following Sunni Muslims of the 

Indian Union who’s practices were 

in question. 

The large swathe of British 

acquired lands of South Asia was 

partitioned in 1947. This resulted 

in two religious communally 

majoritarian states, and as of 2017, 

three communal states. In each 

of these entities, what is common 

among the constitutions is that 

everybody has the freedom to 

practice their religion. 

What is not common is whether 

a particular religion in an official 

sense has some special status in 

the state -- though unofficially 

all the three states are religious 

majoritarian states. This was 

“Hinduism” in the Indian Union 

and “Islam” in Pakistan; and later 

also in Bangladesh. 

In each of these cases, there 

exists in practice a hierarchy in a 

religious sense about who is a first 

class citizen and who is not. This 

has important implications if you 

are a first class citizen, that is, the 

state has been formed tacitly in 

your name to secure your benefits 

in preference to everybody else’s. 

Calculated apathy 

Then the state speaks in the voice 

of that first class. That voice is not 

neutral. It can never be neutral 

but it is dangerous and sociopathic 

when it actively marginalises 

minorities who have no power 

to defend or to lean on. This 

marginalisation can take many 

forms. 

The commonest form of this 

is not active destruction but the 

withdrawal of resources and 

attention. 

For this can be called the policy 

of calculated apathy. Here, the 

minority is left as to stew in its 

own soup. 

In this way of looking at things, 

an analogy is helpful. The first 

class citizen is of a particular 

religious identity. That first class 

citizen’s religion and its various 

forms or whatever goes under the 

name religion can be reformed 

by parliamentary will. It will be 

considered as if they are the state’s 

own children. 

When you have your own 

children you are concerned about 

their future. You have empathy 

and concern. 

The practical meanings of 

such empathy and concern are 

resources and attention from the 

political class, the media class, 

the judicial class as well as civil 

society, considering it a priority 

question. 

Minorities face harshness on 

most matters except those about 

their internal religious matters. 

This lack of harshness is a lack of 

considering the minority as own. 

This non-interference is neglect. It 

is the opposite of freedom. 

The religious majority is like 

the own child. It’s concerns are 

everybody’s concerns and it 

can be reformed on a priority 

basis. However, for the religious 

minority in any such entity who 

are left to stew in their own soup, 

such privileges are not available. 

They have to shout much 

shriller than others to make their 

voices heard, or hope to become 

a pawn in a political game like the 

Triple Talaq issue became one in 

the hands of the BJP. 

When that happens, a sordid 

display of opportunism and 

cunning is seen. The party of anti- 

Muslim mass killings of Gujarat 

also doubles up as the friend of 

Muslim women. 

Once a minority, always a minority 

The religious minority is 

considered somebody else’s 

child in this post-partition subcontinental 

religious national 

imaginary. Thus, Muslims of 

the Indian Union are children 

of Pakistan by definition. In 

certain areas of the Indian Union, 

Muslims also tend to be children of 

Bangladesh. 

The Indian Union is only 

A win for women 

The religious minority is considered somebody else’s child in this postpartition 

sub-continental religious national imaginary. Thus, Muslims of 

the Indian Union are children of Pakistan by definition 

holding other people’s children 

indefinitely and as infants -- a 

crèche of sorts. One does not care 

for and hence think of reforming 

the children of other’s as one does 

for one’s own progeny . 

Some significant sections of the 

political class within the Indian 

Union consider the continued 

presence of these other’s children 

as the unfinished project of 

partition. 

This is true for Hindus in 

Pakistan and particularly true to 

this day for Hindus of Bangladesh. 

Pakistan became almost minority 

free in all practical purposes quite 

soon after its formation. 

The anti-Hindu narrative, 

though used to inculcate religious 

hate ideology within the Muslim 

population, has relatively less 

practical implications when 

compared to the Bangladesh 

situation, where Bangladeshi 

Hindus are still a non-negligible 

proportion of its population. 

Hindus of Bangladesh and 

Pakistan belong to India by the 

same logic and this is a charge they 

often hear -- of dual loyalty. As far 

as this discussion goes, they are 

considered not even the step-child 

but the child of someone else, 

whose long-term well-being is not 

your concern. 

Hence, if there are serious 

situations within it, if there is 

no particular political mileage 

to be gained, it can be left to 

fester because you do not beat up 

another person’s child. 

This is dangerous logic because 

the practical meaning of “not 

beating up” course means lack 

of state support and attention 

to problems. Those problems 

have real consequences and real 

victims. 

The lack of attention means the 

state’s indifference to the plight of 

the Muslim victims in India. 

Thus family and inheritance 

laws that are more regressive than 

the ones prevalent in Pakistan and 

Bangladesh govern them. 

Similarly, Hindus of Bangladesh 

are governed by much more 

regressive laws compared to those 

that the Hindus of the Indian 

Union live by. Often, this even 

means no law. 

Till recently, marriages of 

Hindus in Bangladesh were not 

registered and divorce has no 

place in the Hindu personal law of 

Bangladesh. This is also a legacy of 

Partition. 

We often think of Partition as 

an effect of “religion” -- as is turns 

out, religion indeed has shaped 

Partition, but Partition has also 

shaped religion in South Asia. • 

Garga Chatterjee is a political and 

cultural commentator. He can be 

followed on twitter @gargac. 

REUTERS

14 


DT 

Opinion 

Can you legally 

film a police 

investigation in 

Bangladesh? 

It may not be as unlawful as some 

would have you believe 

• Aiman R Khan 

With the advent of 

social media, citizen 

journalism has 

become a common 

modern practice. Smartphones 

being the key players behind it, 

any individual can now broadcast 

an incident happening in their 

part of the world, such as filming a 

police officer on duty. 

In Bangladesh, regular 

Facebook users post photographs 

or videos of their encounters with 

the police on the streets. Many 

people are either greeted with a 

smile or harassed with threats. 

Mostly as a reply to harassment, 

many individuals tend to record 

videos of the event as means of 

restraint. 

Such “stop and search” are 

usually for minor street offenses 

like issuance of a parking ticket. 

But most of these video recordings 

show the misconduct of police 

officers. This brings us to a 

question: Can you legally film the 

police while on investigation? 

A Bangladeshi Facebook group 

called Desperately Seeking Dhaka 

(DSD) allows its members to post 

queries regarding their legal 

rights or anything that happens 

in Dhaka. This group became 

increasingly popular among Dhaka 

dwellers as a platform for their 

wishes and complains living in 

this city. 

Pictures, videos, writings grace 

its wall, making it a stage in front 

of a diverse audience. A lot of 

these become viral in a matter of 

hours. Hence, videos of a police 

officer misbehaving or acting 

beyond their authority becomes a 

common sight. 

Although such posts get a lot 

of shares, very few actions are 

actually taken. Most of the time, 

the person posting becomes the 

offender. She/he gets charged for 

breaching section 57 of the ICT 

ACT 2006. The video posted would 

be considered as “a publication of 

online material which threatens 

law and order.” 

This section, as amended 

in 2013, covers online crimes 

including defamation, blasphemy, 

and other related offenses, and 

was passed through a presidential 

decree, expanding police powers 

and increasing the penalties for 

violations. 

It gives powers to law enforcers 

against online expression. To 

Video recordings by 

citizens have proven 

to be indispensable 

in bringing to light 

instances where the 

police unfortunately 

misused their 

powers 

add more to the restriction, the 

draft Digital Securities Act 2016 

promises to create multiple 

offenses as a supplementary to 

the previous Act. Section 19(2) 

proposes to make an offense out 

of any publication in electronic 

form which is “untrue or obscene, 

or which distorts or pollutes 

the human mind, causes loss of 

standing or social demotion to 

someone.” 

A citizen journalist may be 

considered to be a journalist 

without a professional 

designation. However 

unprofessional they may be, social 

media has empowered them 

to stand up against unfairness. 

But, under the Special Powers 

Act 1974, a journalist may face 

imprisonment of up to 120 days 

without trial -- for stories that are 

critical of government officials or 

policies. 

In the worst possible outcome, 

the publisher may also be 

charged with the offense of 

Do they know that citizen journalism is not the enemy? 

sedition for uploading a video 

of the police. According to 

section 124A of the Penal Code 

1860, whoever by words, either 

spoken or written, or by signs, 

or by visible representation, or 

otherwise, brings or attempts to 

bring into hatred or contempt, 

or excites sentiments against the 

government shall be punished 

(with imprisonment for life or any 

shorter term). 

Also if such a video can 

be established as a purpose 

of terrorism, he may face 

imprisonment of 14 years. 

According to Section 13 of the Anti 

Terrorism Act 2009, instigation of 

terrorist activities by distribution 

of information in electronic 

medium is an offense. 

Rights and duties 

The Constitution of Bangladesh 

is the supreme law of the land. 

It gets primacy over every other 

law in Bangladesh. Article 39 of 

the constitution has recognised a 

citizen’s freedom of thought and 

conscience, ie freedom of speech 

and expression. It has guaranteed 

press freedom which is no longer 

limited to print media but also 

online. 

Under Section 2 of Bangladesh 

Broadcasting Act, 2003, such a 

person may be considered as a 

“community broadcaster.” 

A community broadcaster 

according to this act is any 

broadcaster who operates on 

a non-profit basis, serving a 

particular community by reflecting 

the interests and needs of that 

community. 

Such a person may also be 

protected under Article 19 of the 

International Covenant on Civil 

and Political Rights (ICCPR). The 

Article states: “Everyone shall 

have the right to hold opinions 

without interference.” 

It also states that everyone 

shall have the right to freedom of 

expression; this right shall include 

freedom to seek, receive, and 

impart information and ideas of 

all kinds, regardless of frontiers, 

either orally, in writing or in print, 

in the form of art, or through any 

other media of his choice. 

As a citizen of Bangladesh, 

everyone has the right to protect 

the law to enjoy being protected 

by the law. Therefore, a citizen 

may not interfere with a police 

investigation with the intention to 

obstruct it. 

Section 34 of the Police Act 

empowers police officers to 

impose a fine not exceeding 

Tk50 or eight days imprisonment 

for causing inconvenience, 

obstruction, annoyance, risk, 

danger, or damage on the streets. 

According to Section 18 of 

the Dhaka Metropolitan Police 

Ordinance, 1976, all persons 

shall be bound to conform to the 

reasonable directions of a policeofficer 

given in fulfillment of any 

of his duties under this ordinance. 

Section 186 of the Penal 

Code 1860 states that whoever 

voluntarily obstructs any public 

servant in the discharge of his 

public functions, shall be punished 

with imprisonment of either 

description for a term which may 

extend to three months, or with 

fine which may extend to Tk500, 

or with both. 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

Can you film the police elsewhere 

in the world? 

The practice of filming is 

widespread in the West. 

In the case of Gaymon et al 

v Borough of Collingdale, the 

liability was on the police officer 

for interfering with lawful citizen 

video recording his misconduct. 

This case proved how the US 

courts prioritised the freedom of 

expression mentioned in their Bill 

of Rights. 

Section 33(2) of Kerala 

Police Act allows public to keep 

electronic records. It states that 

no police officer shall prevent 

any member of the public from 

lawfully making any audio or 

video or electronic record of any 

police action or activity carried out 

in a public or private place. 

In the UK, the Metropolitan 

Police Guidelines clearly states: 

“Police have no power to stop 

them filming or photographing 

incidents or police personnel.” 

Video recordings by citizens 

have proven to be indispensable 

in bringing instances where the 

police unfortunately misused their 

powers to light. 

Although there are no express 

provisions prohibiting it, needless 

to say, filming an investigation is 

legal unless done with mischief. 

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police 

itself launched a special initiative 

of making its officers wear body 

cams to ensure accountability. 

This is an appreciative step which 

opens a door for amendments to 

the existing laws of the country. • 

Aiman R Khan is a trainee Lawyer, 

Dhaka Judge Court.

Going under water 

Opinion 15 

Relief-work alone is not enough to tackle Bangladesh’s flood problem 

DT 


Survival of the fittest? 

• Rana Dutta 

Bangladesh is a floodprone 

country. There’s 

no getting around that 

fact. That’s what happens 

when most of a country’s land is 

low-lying delta plains. 

Recently, people living in 

the north and north-east of 

Bangladesh have been hit hard 

as several flood protection 

embankments in those districts 

broke down. What’s worse is 

that rail communications in 

the affected areas have been 

suspended for the time being due 

to flood damage at several points. 

The inadequate government 

relief and general food crisis have 

only compounded their woes. 

Bangladesh has bitter 

experience in facing devastating 

floods. With six major floods 

recorded in the 19th century (1842, 

1858, 1871, 1875, 1885, and 1892), 

and 18 major floods in the 20th 

century so far. 

What causes floods? 

Global warming, a lack of 

vegetation, deforestation, heavy 

rain, erratic climate change, poor 

drainage systems, unplanned 

building structure, poor 

urbanisation, outdated canals and 

reservoirs, and unwise industrial 

activities are some of the core 

causes of floods in Bangladesh. 

In addition, snow melting from 

the Himalayas in the late spring 

and summer, building of dams 

in India, and poorly-maintained 

embankments are also significant 

causes of flood disasters in 

Bangladesh. 

According to the International 

Farakka Committee (IFC), the 

unsustainable river management 

system is liable for excessive 

floods, and acute water scarcity 

is faced by Bangladesh during the 

rainy and dry seasons. Therefore, 

they advise keeping the common 

Himalayan rivers alive through 

basin-integrated management on 

the basis of regional cooperation 

so that people in different 

countries living along those river 

banks can benefit from their 

services. 

Other experts emphasise that 

92% of the flood water comes 

from the upper catchments of 

the common rivers while the 

other 8% is from local rainfall 

and streams from hills. The 

unplanned construction of a 

series of dams and barrages at the 

upper catchments of the Ganges, 

Brahmaputra, and Meghna are 

the prime reasons behind many 

small rivers drying up in the subcontinent. 

The role of Flood Action Plan 

The Flood Action Plan was 

established by the government 

based on several studies 

conducted by UNDP, a French 

engineering consortium, USAID, 

and JICA. The FAP included 29 

different components, of which 

11 were regional with some 

pilot projects, and the rest were 

supporting studies on issues like 

flood modelling, flood proofing, 

flood response, environment, 

fisheries, socio-economic studies, 

etc. 

FAP has taken an initiative to 

find out the causes and the nature 

of floods in Bangladesh and to 

also develop strategic guidelines, 

programs, and projects for 

controlling it. 

But the main objective of FAP 

is to save lives and livelihoods of 

the flood affected people, improve 

agro-ecological conditions to 

increase crop production, enhance 

public facilities, and also to 

minimise potential flood damage. 

Therefore, FAP is to set the 

foundation of a long-term program 

for achieving a permanent and 

comprehensive solution to the 

flood problem. 

But can the government be 

successful in providing sufficient 

relief to flood-affected people with 

its limited resources? 

There is still hope 

Authorities can play a realistic 

role so that unscrupulous traders 

do not take advantage of people’s 

miseries. Emergency preparedness 

REUTERS 

The main objective of FAP is to save lives and livelihood of the flood 

affected people, improve agro-ecological conditions, enhance public 

facilities, and minimise potential flood damage 

for the health care system has to 

be given emphasis, especially in 

the rural regions. 

In addition to relief, short-term 

and long-term initiatives need to 

be taken immediately to reduce 

further problems and provide 

them with necessary supplies and 

arrange for post-flood relief. 

T his flood season may possibly 

be the worst we have faced in the 

last four decades, in times like 

this we must understand that 

combating flood is not an easy 

feat to accomplish -- it takes a long 

time and a lot of effort. 

For now, we need to understand 

that we cannot fully prevent or 

redirect it but can only attempt to 

minimise the detrimental effects 

of floods by immediately adopting 

pragmatic preventive measures. • 

Rana Dutta is the Assistant Deputy 

Secretary, BKMEA.

16 


DT 

Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

ACROSS 

1 Rain heavily (4) 

4 Stopper (4) 

8 By way of (3) 

9 Land mass (4) 

10 Principal (4) 

11 Treats with disdain (11) 

12 Capital of Peru (4) 

14 Floor covering (3) 

15 Meadow (3) 

17 Extremity (3) 

19 Precious stone (3) 

21 Egyptian goddess (4) 

23 Of sound waves (5) 

26 Part of a church (4) 

27 Water pitcher (4) 

28 Spanish nobleman (3) 

29 Otherwise (4) 

30 Repose (4) 

DOWN 

1 Place of worship (6) 

2 Wicked (4) 

3 Musical note (5) 

4 Prohibit (3) 

5 Customary (5) 

6 Pen point (3) 

7 Fuel (3) 

11 Satisfies fully (5) 

13 Legerdemain (5) 

16 Passionate (6) 

18 Low sand hills (5) 

20 Person under age (5) 

22 Of sound mind (4) 

23 Observe (3) 

24 Night bird (3) 

25 Anger (3) 

CODE-CRACKER 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 19 represents T so fill T 

every time the figure 19 appears. 

You have two letters in the control 

grid to start you off. Enter them in the 

appropriate squares in the main grid, then 

use your knowledge of words to work out 

which letters go in the missing squares. 

Some letters of the alphabet may not be 

used. 

As you get the letters, fill in the other 

squares with the same number in the 

main grid, and the control grid. Check 

off the list of alphabetical letters as you 

identify them. 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

CALVIN AND HOBBES 

SUDOKU 

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the 

numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must 

contain all nine digits with no number repeating. 

PEANUTS 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS 

CODE-CRACKER 

CROSSWORD 

DILBERT 

SUDOKU

What’s on 

17 


DT 

EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY 

EXHIBITION 

MOVIE 

Northern University 

students to study in China 

STAR CINEPLEX 

(August 25) 

CONCEALED 

When 5-8pm 

Where Kala-Kendra, 1/11, Iqbal Road Mohammadpur, Dhaka 

What Conceptual photography exhibition by Habiba 

Nowrose. 

FAIR 

WEEKEND ORGANIC FARMER’S MARKET 

When 10am-6m 

Where Jatra Biroti, 60 Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Banani, Dhaka 

What Shashya Prabartana, Parmeeda, Kingba and other 

members of Bangladesh Organic Products Manufacturers 

Association (BOPMA) with their fresh produce at Jatra 

Biroti’s rooftop. 

Atomic Blonde (2D): 11:10am, 

1:40pm, 4:20pm, 7:20pm 

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2D): 

11:30am, 2:10pm, 4:40pm, 7:10pm 

Dunkirk (2D): 10:50am, 1:10pm 

Spiderman Homecoming (3D): 

10:50am, 1:45pm, 4:40pm, 7:30pm 

Voyangkor Sundor (2D): 11am, 

1:50pm, 4:10pm, 6:50pm 

Annabelle: Creation (2D): 11:20am, 

2pm, 4pm, 5pm, 7pm, 7:30pm 

BLOCKBUSTER CINEMAS 

(August 25) 

One hundred students of 

Northern University Bangladesh 

who got a 100% scholarship 

from the Government of China 

are going to China to complete 

their undergraduate at their 

Nantong College of Science and 

Technology. 

To celebrate this historic 

moment and to congratulate 

and send them off, a program 

was organised at Northern 

University Bangladesh. 

Professor Dr Abu Yousuf 

Md Abdullah, chairman, 

Northern University Bangladesh 

Trust, was the chief guest 

of the program which was 

presided over by Professor 

Dr Anwar Hossain, vice 

chancellor, Northern University 

Bangladesh. Zha Mingewei, 

cultural attache, Cultural 

section, Embassy of the People’s 

Republic of China graced 

the occasion as the guest of 

honour. Professor Dr Anwarul 

Karim, pro vice-chancellor, Md 

Anwar Hussain, treasurer, Lt 

Col Aqtedar Ahmed Siddiqui 

(retd), director, Development 

and International Affairs, 

and Md Rashidul Islam, 

registrar, Northern University 

Bangladesh, were also present 

as guests. 

Among others, deans of 

different faculties, heads 

of different departments, 

coordinators, teachers, admin 

staffs and students were also 

present in the program. 

Eid at Fantasy Kingdom 

THEATRE 

JADUR LATIM 

When 7-8:30pm 

Where National Theatre, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, 

Segun Bagicha Road, Dhaka 

What The latest production by Kanthashilon, the drama has 

been directed by Golam Sarwar, principal of Kanthashilon. 

SYED MOHIDUL ISLAM MEMORIAL FESTIVAL 2017 

When 7-8:30pm 

Where National Theatre, Shilpakala Academy, Shegun 

Bagicha, Dhaka 

What Batikrom’s Durasha O Pichhudak will be staged today, 

at the three-day festival. 

MUSIC 

JATRA BIROTI LIVE PERFORMANCES 

When 7-11pm 

Where Jatra Biroti, 60 Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Banani, Dhaka 

What Listen to the words and melody of Bengal’s lyrical and 

musical icons. 

Transformers-The Last Knight (3D): 

11:30am, 4:30pm, 7:30pm 

Spider-Man Homecoming (3D): 

1:45pm, 4:30pm, 7:20pm 

The Mummy (3D): 12:10pm, 5pm 

Baywatch (2D): 12pm, 2:30pm 

Despicable Me 3 (3D): 11:40am, 

2:30pm 

The Glass Castle (2D): 11:45am, 

2:20pm, 2:20pm, 5pm, 7:10pm, 

7:35pm 

Voyangkor Sundor (2D): 2:20pm, 

7:30pm 

Raiyan (2D): 5pm 

Annabelle: Creation (2D): 11:45am, 

2:35pm, 4:45pm, 7:30pm 

Viceroy’s House (2D): 12pm, 

2:05pm, 7:25pm 

Concord Entertainment Co 

Ltd, the country’s largest 

entertainment service provider, 

has built Fantasy Kingdom, 

Water Kingdom, X-treme Racing 

Go-Kart and Resort Atlantis in 

Jamgora, Ashulia. In Chittagong, 

they have also built Foy’s Lake 

Amusement World, Sea World 

and Foy’s Lake Resort for the 

entertainment-loving people. 

This Eid, spend some time 

with friends and family at 

Fantasy Kingdom where King 

Ashu and Queen Lia will spread 

happiness to every visitor 

they meet. Fantasy Kingdom 

encompasses beautiful and 

large architectural landmarks. 

Giant Splash, Santa Maria, 

Magic Carpet, Whirly Bird, 

Happy Kangaroo, Bumper Boat, 

Bumper Cart, Izzy Dizzy and 

Zuzu Train are some of the 

popular rides to try when at 

Fantasy Kingdom. Ashu Castle 

and Water Tower Restaurant are 

among the many food courts 

at the park. To celebrate Eid, 

park authority has arranged 

for special promotions for the 

visitors. Additionally, concerts, 

DJ shows and acrobat shows 

will also be arranged during this 

time. 

Concord Entertainment Co 

Ltd is also introducing world 

class Go-Karts at the Fantasy 

Kingdom Complex. 

Water Kingdom, which is 

situated nearby, features a 

number of water slides, a wave 

pool, lazy river and facilities 

for smaller children. Concord 

Entertainment Co Ltd has 

arranged all international water 

based rides in Water Kingdom. 

Special offers and promotions 

will be arranged at these theme 

parks this Eid.•

DT 

18 

Sports 


No regrets for 

Shakib after 10 

years in Test cricket 

• Ali Shahriyar Bappa 

Shakib al Hasan, the world’s No 1 

all-rounder according to the latest 

ICC Test ranking, feels no regret after 

playing just 49 matches in his 10 

years of Test service. 

Bangladesh have played a lot 

less Tests compared to Australia 

and New Zealand or any other nation. 

Australia have played 114 Tests 

since 2007 while England contested 

129 matches. 

The Tigers played only two 

Tests in 2016. 

In comparison, this year Bangladesh 

got to play a few away Tests – 

five - and are still to play four Tests 

- two against Australia at home and 

as many against South Africa away. 

Shakib, a regular performer 

for the Tigers since his Test debut 

against India in 2007, yesterday 

recalled memories of his first Test 

and informed that there is much 

more responsibility on him now 

as he is one of senior players of the 

team. 

“I did not think anything like 

how much Tests I will play or anything 

else during my first Test. That 

time it was a bit of fun. But now 

there is more responsibility, along 

with the fun factor. It would have 

been nice If I played more Tests. 

But actually, there is not much regret. 

How much I perform for the 

team in matches is the most important 

thing to me,” Shakib told the 

media at Sher-e-Bangla National 

Stadium in Mirpur. 

“There are two more Tests 

ahead. Our team performed well 

this year. Hopefully we will play 

well in the upcoming series,” he 

said. 

There were numerous occasions 

when Shakib’s outstanding performance 

lifted the Tigers, sometimes 

earning glory along the way. 

But when asked about his best 

performance, Shakib chose the 96- 

run innings he played while chasing 

against host West Indies in St 

George’s in 2009. 

Bangladesh won the match 

by four wickets, and eventually 

clinched the series 2-0. 

“Memorable Test was against 

England in Dhaka in which we won. 

Personally I believe the innings 

against the West Indies was one of 

my best. And also the 217 against 

New Zealand was a memorable 

achievement. In terms of bowling, 

seven wickets against New Zealand 

in Chittagong was my personal favourite,” 

said Shakib. 

Surprisingly, Shakib never 

played against Australia during his 

49- Test career and the all-rounder 

said he is all ready to go against the 

Aussies. 

“It’s an exciting feeling. We 

have played ODIs and T20Is several 

times but in Test, it is the first time. 

Australia and England always give 

Test cricket extra value. To play 

against such sides is always exciting,” 

he explained. 

After 10 years in Test cricket, 

Shakib admitted that a lot has 

changed positively in Bangladesh 

cricket since his debut and he also 

thanked the fans, officials and 

everyone related with the game for 

his success. 

Memorable Test was 

against England in 

Dhaka in which we 

won. Personally I 

believe the innings 

against the West 

Indies was one of my 

best. And also the 217 

against New Zealand 

was a memorable 

achievement. In 

terms of bowling, 

seven wickets against 

New Zealand in 

Chittagong was my 

personal favourite 

“It’s a satisfying thing. Ten years 

is a long time. This is a positive 

sign that our cricket has improved. 

Credit goes to all. Even before 10 

years, so many people have contributed. 

Administrations, facilities, 

support staffs, coaches, even 

ball-boys, and obviously, fans. 

I think Bangladesh people love 

cricket even more than the Indians. 

Cricket is the No 1 thing in Bangladesh. 

For players, it’s a great satisfaction,” 

he said. 

He added, “Mehedi Hasan Miraz 

and Taijul Islam have been bowling 

really well. Earlier I got some really 

good support from [Abdur Razzak] 

Raj bhai, [Mohammad] Rafique 

bhai. In previous days, we did not 

get helpful wickets. But now the 

mentality has changed. Now we 

play for win. So bowlers get good 

chance to shine.” • 

Shakib al Hasan throws the ball during training in Mirpur yesterday 

Bangladesh spinners to 

lead the contest 

• Minhaz Uddin Khan 

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al 

Hasan believes their spinners will 

fare better than the Australia slow 

bowlers. 

With the first Test match scheduled 

to begin in Mirpur’s Sher-e- 

Bangla National Stadium in two 

days’ time, the spin battle between 

the two sides have been a major 

topic for discussion. 

If the Bangladesh spinners are 

sharpening up with the inclusion 

of spin consultant Sunil Joshi, who 

joined the camp yesterday, Australia 

batsmen are busy finding techniques 

in the nets to counter the 

opposition attack. 

There is also discussions going 

around as to how Bangladesh will 

want the slightly renovated wicket 

in Mirpur to behave. 

However, Shakib, who will 

be playing his 50th Test and his 

maiden against Australia, thinks 

the Tigers should put aside every 

thought and just play according to 

the situation. 

“We do not have control on 

wickets. Rather, the curators have 

control. It will not be wise to think 

much about it. We will have to perform 

better than them under any 

condition, given it is our home. It 

will be good for me if the wicket 

helps spin, considering that I am a 

spinner,” Shakib told the media at 

SBNS yesterday. 

“At the same time, we should 

also think of our pacers, they are 

capable of taking wickets. They 

are experienced. We should not 

depend only on the spinners. You 

will see the pacers giving you a 

vital breakthrough at times and 

this is way bigger than a spinner 

taking four or five wickets,” he 

said. 

Australia have struggled in the 

sub-continent in the past 10 years. 

In their previous six visits to 

Asia, the side have won only twice. 

Their most recent win came 

against host India in February this 

year. 

The Aussies had started the 

four-match series with a win only 

MD MANIK 

to face a 2-1 defeat with one game 

finishing in a draw. 

Shakib and Team Bangladesh 

are aware of the fact and the former 

hopes Australia’s struggle would 

continue as the host expect a possible 

2-0 win in the series. 

“They have the culture of coping 

quick with foreign condition. 

They do struggle but they do come 

over it. We will have to play our 

best cricket to win against them. It 

will not be wise to start the series 

depending on the condition and 

wicket,” said Shakib. 

“It is true that we are in a very 

good shape but it is tough to say if 

it is the best time for us to play Test 

against Australia for the simple fact 

that we did not play against them 

as of yet (in Test). So it is tough to 

say if we will have a better chance 

against them, although they are 

an inexperienced team, and have 

struggled in India and Sri Lanka 

recently. I will hope they continue 

that way here too and we do well,” 

concluded the former Bangladesh 

Test captain. •

Aussies meet 

Satolla slum 

residents at Oxfam 

• Tribune Report 

Australian cricketers yesterday visited Oxfam 

in Bangladesh to meet with the families 

from Satolla slum in Dhaka as they learned 

about the living conditions of residents and 

met domestic workers who are part of Oxfam’s 

Uuban resilience programme. 

The players took time out from their 

preparation for the first Test match of the 

Qantas Tour of Bangladesh, which begins 

on Sunday in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National 

Stadium, to hear from locals about 

their struggles to access decent work, as 

well as water and sanitation services, and 

see firsthand how Oxfam in Bangladesh is 

working to counter these issues. 

Australia captain Steve Smith, rightarm 

pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Jackson 

Bird, top-order batsman Usman Khawaja 

and officials were part of the visiting party. 

The second and final Test begins in Chittagong’s 

Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 

on September 4. 

The Aussies will leave Bangladesh on 

September 9. • 

Sports 19 

DT 


Six BPL T20 franchises submit local players retainees’ list 

• Tribune Report 

Six of the BPL T20 franchises have 

submitted their respective local retainees’ 

list for the fifth edition, set 

to begin on November 3 this year. 

Yesterday was the deadline of 

submission for the six franchises 

from last season. 

As for the newest franchise of 

the tournament, Sylhet Surma Sixers, 

the BPL governing council is 

mulling providing the side a list of 

the local players, minus the Icons 

and retained cricketers. 

Being a new team, Sylhet will be 

given the opportunity to pick three 

local cricketers from the list so that 

all the seven teams walk into the 

Players’ Draft with equal number 

of local cricketers. 

The BPL players’ draft is scheduled 

to be held on September 16. 

Comilla Victorians did not wait 

for the deadline and announced 

Imrul Kayes, Liton Das and Mohammad 

Saifuddin as their retained 

cricketers with Tamim Iqbal 

as the Icon. 

It is understood that Dhaka Dynamites 

with Shakib al Hasan as 

Icon retained Mosaddek Hossain, 

Mohammad Shahid and Mehedi 

Maruf. 

Khulna Titans with Mahmudullah 

as Icon retained Shafiul Islam, 

Mosharraf Hossain and Ariful 

Haque. 

Chittagong Vikings will have 

Soumya Sarkar as the Icon and 

retained Taskin Ahmed, Anamul 

Haque and Subashish Roy. 

Rajshahi Kings named Mushfiqur 

Rahim as their Icon and is 

known to have retained Mominul 

Haque, Mehedi Hasan and Farhad 

Reza. 

Rangpur Riders have retained 

Mohammad Mithun, Rubel 

Hossain and Sohag Gazi and boast 

Mashrafe bin Mortaza as their 

Icon. 

If the players’ draft regulation 

does not change, the seven franchises 

will be allowed to register 

maximum of 13 local cricketers 

and will have the embargo of picking 

seven local cricketers from the 

draft. 

Khulna Titans: Mahmudullah 

(Icon), Shafiul Islam, Mosharraf 

Hossain and Ariful Haque 

Dhaka Dynamite: Shakib al 

Hasan (Icon), Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad 

Shahid and Mehedi Maruf 

Chittagong Vikings: Soumya 

Sarkar (Icon), Anamul Haque, Subashish 

Roy and Taskin Ahmed 

Comilla Victorians: Tamim 

Iqbal (Icon), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das 

and Mohammad Saifuddin 

Rajshahi Kings: Mushfiqur Rahim 

(Icon), Farhad Reza, Mehedi 

Miraz and Mominul Haque 

Rangpur Riders: Mashrafe Mortaza 

(Icon), Mohammad Mithun, 

Sohag Gazi and Rubel Hossain 

Sylhet Surma Sixers: Sabbir 

Rahman (Icon), to choose three 

players during players’ draft. • 

Action from the Ascent Corporate Soccer Cup plate quarter-final between Marico 

and MTB in Dhaka yesterday 

COURTESY 

ASCENT CORPORATE SOCCER CUP 

Brac, Sterling, MTB, EnergyPac 

into Plate semis 

• Arsalan Quddus and 

Syed Shabab 

Multimode and their captain Tafsir 

Awal could not repeat their heroics 

against a very organised Brac Bank 

in the QF of the Plate Championship. 

Shams of Brac Bank proved 

to be the difference with a glorious 

hat-trick. We will miss Multimode’s 

sportsmanship spirit and their conduct 

the pitch and their silky skills. 

They were a joy to watch. The 

Bankers move on to the semifinals. 

STERLING 4-0 BAT 

BAT’s run was also halted by a rampant 

Sterling team who are getting 

better with each match. Akbor got 

on the score sheet again with a 

brilliant hattrick. He has been exemplary 

in this tournament. BAT 

can be proud of how they fared in 

this tournament and we will miss 

seeing Safwan and Faiyaz on the 

pitch. We hope they play next year. 

Meanwhile Sterling seems like the 

team to beat in the Plate. 

MARICO 1-1 MTB (MTB won 3-2 on 

penalties) 

It was end to end stuff when Marico 

and MTB clashed. This was a tie 

to savour as we witnessed constant 

attacks and counter attacks by both 

teams who were not willing to give 

an inch to the opponent. But it 

seems like it was a good day for the 

bank outfit as the match was won 

by MTB in a breathless shootout. 

First-timer Marico gave an exceptional 

account of themselves and 

have made many new fans. 

ENERGYPAC 8-1 ASIATIC 

EnergyPac took Asiatic to the 

cleaner in a 8-1 thrashing. The advertising 

firm did not know what 

hit them as leader of the Pac (pun 

intended) Sujon ran rings around 

their defense. He ended up scoring 

four with Ashraf on a brace. They 

are also looking good for a podium 

finish. Asiatic were left to lick their 

wound and fight another day. We 

hope that they bounce back next 

year. •

20 


DT 

Sports 

Mayweather, McGregor get down to business 

• AFP, United States 

A stony-faced Floyd Mayweather issued 

a warning to Conor McGregor 

on Wednesday as the two fighters 

faced off just three days ahead of 

their money-spinning boxing duel. 

In stark contrast to their lurid, 

trash-talking global press tour last 

month, a subdued McGregor and 

a stern-looking Mayweather spoke 

respectfully as they prepared for 

tomorrow’s 12-round boxing contest 

at the T-Mobile Arena. 

Mayweather, who bombarded 

McGregor with expletives and 

homophobic slurs during last 

month’s frenzied publicity blitz, 

did not swear once during Wednesday’s 

news conference. 

McGregor, the massive underdog 

for this weekend’s bout, restricted 

himself to verbally abusing 

a heckler in the audience who predicted 

he would be knocked out. 

McGregor faces his first ever 

professional boxing contest against 

Mayweather, the undefeated former 

welterweight king who has come 

out of a two-year retirement to take 

on the Irish mixed martial arts star. 

However McGregor, the 29-yearold 

two-time UFC world champion 

from Dublin, insisted he was ready 

to stun the world of combat sports 

by upsetting Mayweather. 

“Been to a lot of these crazy 

press conferences,” said McGregor. 

“This is a lot more subdued. More 

business-like, the way I like it.” 

“We are prepared for 12 

three-minute rounds of non-stop 

Floyd Mayweather Jr of the US and Conor McGregor of Ireland pose during a news conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday 

pace. We are prepared, I will put 

pressure on him and break this old 

man. Trust me on that. 

“I don’t see him lasting two 

rounds. I feel I have the decision to 

end it inside one.” 

Mayweather, 40, looked relaxed 

throughout, even taking time to 

quietly admonish members of his 

entourage who had shouted at 

McGregor. 

And rather than the abuse of last 

month, Mayweather praised McGregor 

as a “helluva fighter, a stand-up 

guy and a tough competitor.” 

“It’s not going to be an easy 

fight,” Mayweather said. “It’s going 

to be blood sweat and tears. “He’s 

the best at what he do, I’m the best 

at what I do. It comes down to the 

two competitors going out there 

and displaying our skills.” 

But Mayweather’s words came 

with a warning for McGregor. 

“After 21 years I’ve been hit with 

everything and I’m still right here,” 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic signs new oneyear 

contract with Man Utd 

• Reuters 

Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic 

has returned to Manchester United on 

a year-year contract “to finish what I 

started,” the 35-year-old announced 

in a club statement yesterday. 

“It was always mine and the 

club’s intention for me to stay. I 

cannot wait to get back out on that 

Old Trafford pitch” he said. “I am 

back to finish what I started.” 

Ibrahimovic has not played since 

May after suffering a knee ligament 

injury in the 2-1 Europa League win 

over Anderlecht. He underwent 

surgery which was expected to 

keep him out for the rest of the year 

and, in Thursday’s statement, Ibrahimovic 

suggested he is not ready 

to make an immediate return. 

“I know that I have to take my 

time to make sure that I am ready,” 

he said. 

Although United released the 

much travelled striker after his 

one-year contract expired in June, 

he was allowed to use their training 

ground to recuperate and has 

recently posted on Instagram to 

prove his fitness. 

“I have been working hard and 

will continue to do so to make sure 

I am in the best possible condition 

for my return to the pitch,” he said. 

Ibrahimovic, who will wear the 

number 10 shirt, scored 28 goals 

in 46 appearances for the club last 

season, helping them to win the 

EFL Cup and Europa Cup. 

Manager Jose Mourinho indicated 

that he is looking to the Swede 

to play an important part in the 

second part of the season. 

“We are delighted Zlatan is on 

the road to recovery and we are 

equally delighted to have his ambition 

and experience back with us,” 

said Mourinho. “After his contribution 

last season he deserves our 

trust and we will be patient waiting 

for him to return. I have no doubt 

that he will be important in the second 

part of the season.” 

United are joint top of the league 

after winning both their opening 

matches, scoring eight goals without 

reply against West ham United 

and Swansea City. Three of the 

goals have been scored by Romelu 

Lukaku, a 75m pound replacement 

for Ibrahimovic from Everton. 

Mourinho is well stocked with 

striking options, including Marcus 

Rashford and Anthony Martial. • 

Mayweather said. 

“And if you give it, you must 

be able to take it. There have been 

plenty of guys who talked a lot of 

trash, but when it’s all said and 

done, I came out victorious. 

“I’ve said it’s not going the distance 

and you can mark my words. 

“Anything and everything 

in boxing that can be done, I’ve 

done it. I was born a fighter, I will 

die a fighter.” 

McGregor is hoping his punching 

power can catch Mayweather 

out on Saturday. But the American 

veteran warned he had faced plenty 

of hard hitters before. 

“Manny Pacquiao got bombs, 

Canelo (Alvarez) got bombs, Shane 

Mosley got bombs. But remember 

this - I got a great chin. And the 

same way you give it, you’ve got to 

be able to take it.” 

McGregor meanwhile laughed 

off suggestions from his opponent 

earlier this week that he may struggle 

to make the 154-pound limit at 

Friday’s weigh-in. 

“I’ve never missed weight in my 

life and it won’t be happening this 

time,” McGregor said. “I’ve had my 

nutritionist practically living with 

me throughout camp.” 

The showdown between Mayweather 

and McGregor was confirmed 

in June after a protracted 

guessing game about whether the 

two fighters from different sports 

would ever meet. 

Tomorrow’s bout could become 

the most lucrative fight in history 

according to Showtime Sports television 

executive Stephen Espinoza. 

Mayweather could add another 

$200 million to his career earnings 

depending on pay-per-view sales 

while McGregor, who only four 

years ago was a struggling former 

plumber’s apprentice living on welfare, 

could collect $100m. 

“This will be the most widely 

distributed pay per view in history,” 

Espinoza said. “That’s not hyperbole, 

that’s fact. We are well on the 

way to a record-setting event.” • 

Neymar announces 

lawsuit as row with 

Barca intensifies 

• Reuters, Barcelona 

Neymar’s acrimonious split from 

Barcelona escalated yesterday 

as the Paris St Germain forward 

announced plans to sue the Liga 

club, two days after Barca revealed 

they were suing the Brazilian over 

breach of contract. 

Reports in the Spanish media 

said that Neymar had filed a lawsuit 

via soccer’s world governing 

body against Barca for an unpaid 

loyalty bonus of 26m euros 

($30.69m), which was included in 

the last contract the player signed 

with the Catalan side in November 

2016. 

Fifa confirmed to Reuters that 

they had “received a claim from 

Neymar against FC Barcelona” and 

said the matter was being investigated. 

PSG smashed the world transfer 

record earlier this month by triggering 

the 222m euro buyout clause 

in the contract. 

On Tuesday, Barca said they 

were suing Neymar for 8.5m euros 

as they want him to return the 

bonus he was paid when he signed 

the five-year deal. 

The bonus Barca referred to is 

separate to the 26m euro payment, 

according to reports in Spain. 

Neymar’s management group 

N & N Consultoria responded in 

a statement on Tuesday that the 

player had fulfilled the terms of the 

contract, as well as stating it was 

planning legal action. 

The player’s lawsuit against Barca 

is the latest chapter of an increasingly 

bitter split between Neymar 

and the club which catapulted him 

to world fame by signing him from 

Santos in 2013 and with whom he 

won two La Liga titles, three Copa 

del Reys and the 2015 Uefa Champions 

League crown. •

Sports 

21 


DT 

Du Plessis to 

captain T20 

World XI in 

Pakistan 

• Reuters 

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis will 

captain a World XI in a three-match 

T20 series in Pakistan next month 

as top-level cricket returns to the 

country, the International Cricket- 

Council confirmed yesterday. 

Du Plessis, 33, is one of five 

South Africans named in a 14-man 

squad released on the ICC Twitter 

feed. 

The squad includes representatives 

from seven nations for the 

games, which will have international 

status, in Lahore on Sept 12, 

13 and 15. 

Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel, 

David Miller and Imran Tahir are 

the other South Africans. 

Three Australians - George Bailey, 

Ben Cutting and Tim Paine - 

have been selected alongside two 

West Indians and one player each 

from England, Bangladesh, New 

Zealand and Sri Lanka. 

Former Zimbabwe captain Andy 

Flower will coach the squad. 

Pakistan have played most of 

their home games in the United 

Arab Emirates over the past eight 

years because of security concerns. 

Barring a short visit by Zimbabwe 

two years ago, Pakistan has 

been starved of internationalcricket 

since 2009, when gunmen attacked 

a bus carrying Sri Lankan 

players in Lahore, wounding six 

players and killing six security staff 

and two civilians. 

World XI squad: Faf du Plessis 

(capt, SA), Hashim Amla (SA), 

Samuel Badree (WI), George Bailey 

(Aus), Paul Collingwood (Eng), Ben 

Cutting (Aus), Grant Elliott (NZ), 

Tamim Iqbal (Ban), David Miller 

(SA), Morne Morkel (SA), Tim Paine 

(Aus), Thisara Perera (SL), Imran 

Tahir (SA), Darren Sammy (WI). • 

UCL PLAYOFFS 

Slavia Prague 0-0 APOEL 

APOEL won 2-0 on aggregate 

FC Copenhagen 2-1 Qarabag 

Santander 45, Pavlovic 66 Ndlovu 63 

2-2 on agg; Qarabag won on away goals 

FCSB 1-5 Sporting Lisbon 

Junior Morais 20 Doumbia 13, Acuna 60, 

Martins 64, 

Dost 75, Battaglia 88 

Sporting Lisbon won 5-1 on aggregate 

Liverpool 4-2 Hoffenheim 

Can 10, 21, Salah 18, Uth 28, Wagner 79 

Firmino 63 

Liverpool won 6-3 on aggregate 

CSKA Moscow 2-0 Young Boy 

Schennikov 45, Dzagoev 65 

CSKA Moscow won 3-0 on aggregate 

Hoffenheim’s Dennis Geiger in action 

with Liverpool's Georginio Wijnaldum 

and Alberto Moreno during their 

Champions League playoff second leg 

at Anfield on Wednesday REUTERS 

Goals flow as Liverpool, Sporting reach group stage 

• Reuters, Zurich 

Liverpool scored three goals in 12 

dramatic first-half minutes, two of 

them from Emre Can, on their way 

to a hugely entertaining 4-2 win 

over Hoffenheim which took them 

back to the Champions League 

group stage on Wednesday. 

Portugal’s Sporting also went 

on the rampage, scoring four times 

in the last half hour to beat former 

European champion Steaua Bucharest, 

now known as FCSB, 5-1 

away after they had been held 0-0 

at home in the first leg. Qarabag became 

the first team from Azerbaijan 

to reach the group stage when 

they qualified on away goals after 

losing 2-1 away to FC Copenhagen, 

while APOEL Nicosia and CSKA 

Moscow also went through. 

Liverpool last played in the 

group stage in 2014-15 and their 

presence means the English Premier 

League will have five of the 

32 teams after Manchester United 

qualified as Europa League winner. 

There was a huge amount at 

stake in Wednesday’s games as 

teams who take part in the group 

stage receive a minimum fixed payment 

of 12.7m euros. 

Teams also receive money from 

the market pool which can vary 

from anything between 1.4m euros 

to more than 50m depending on 

the size of the market in the club’s 

respective country. 

Liverpool looked like scoring 

every time they attacked against 

Hoffenheim and could easily have 

hit double figures although their 

defence looked vulnerable. 

Can broke through in the 10th 

minute when his shot was deflected 

off Kevin Vogt and beat Oliver 

Baumann inside his near post, the 

start of a long night for the Hoffenheim 

goalkeeper. 

Mohamed Salah stroked in the 

second in the 18th minute when 

Georginio Wijnaldum’s shot hit the 

post and rebounded to the Egyptian 

in an unmarked position, then Can, 

also left alone, turned in Robert 

Firmino’s pass three minutes later. 

Hoffenheim coach Julian 

Nagelsmann quickly made a tactical 

substitution, replacing Havard 

Nordtveit with Mark Uth, who almost 

immediately pulled one back 

with an angled shot. 

The Germans began to look 

threatening as Serge Gnabry twice 

went close and Uth forced Simon 

Mignolet to prevent a second goal 

which could have changed the 

complexion of the game. 

Firmino ended Hoffenheim’s 

hopes in the 64th minute with an 

easy finish after Vogt was dispossessed 

by Jordan Henderson, before 

Sandro Wagner headed one 

more for Hoffenheim. 

Seydou Doumbia gave Sporting 

an early lead in Bucharest but Brazilian 

Junior Morais quickly replied 

for Steaua, who then put the visitor 

under pressure. The turning point 

came on the hour when Marcos Acuna 

latched onto a Bruno Fernandes 

through ball, goalkeeper Florin Nita 

was caught in no man’s land and the 

Argentine scored coolly. 

FCSB lost their composure as 

Gelson Martins, Bas Dost and Rodrigo 

Battaglia added further goals. 

South African Dino Ndlovu was 

Qarabag’s hero as he scored in the 

63rd minute, his fourth goal of the 

competition, to cancel out Federico 

Santander’s scrambled opener 

for FC Copenhagen on the stroke 

of halftime. 

Andrija Pavlovic rekindled Copenhagen’s 

hopes by scoring in the 66th 

minute but Qarabag held out for a 2-2 

aggregate draw to qualify on away 

goals thanks to Ndlovu’s effort. • 

DAY’S WATCH 

FOOTBALL 

STAR SPORTS SELECT 1 

12:00AM 

German Bundesliga 

FC Koln v Hamburger 

SONY TEN 1 

12:00AM 

French Ligue 1 

Paris Saint-germain v Saint- Etienne 

SONY TEN 2 

Spanish La Liga 

12:00AM 

Real Sociedad v Villarreal 

2:00AM 

Real Betis v Celta Vigo 

CRICKET 

STAR SPORTS SELECT 2 

4:00PM 

West Indies Tour of England 

2nd Test, Day 1 

Champion side Bangladesh Navy yesterday receive the winner’s trophy after winning the inter-forces Swimming, Water Polo 

and Diving competition 2017 

ISPR 

De Villiers quits 

as South Africa 

ODI skipper 

• AFP, Johannesburg 

Star batsman AB de Villiers quit as 

South Africa ODI skipper Wednesday, 

but committed to representing his 

country in all three cricket formats. 

“Faf du Plessis has proved to 

be an outstanding captain of the 

Twenty20 (T20) and Test teams,” 

he said in a statement. 

“Bearing this in mind, I have informed 

Cricket South Africa that I 

would like to step down as ODI captain. 

It has been an honour to lead 

the team for the past six years, but 

it is now time for someone else to 

take the ODI side forward.” •

22 


DT 

Showtime 

WB announces a Harley- 

Joker rom com 

• Showtime Desk 

A day after the announcement 

of a Joker origin story movie, 

Warner Bros went on to announce 

yet another buzz-making project 

starring Gotham City’s favourite 

mad man. 

With Jared Leto and Margot 

Robbie already signed to reprise 

their roles from Suicide Squad, 

Joker’s favourite co-star Harley 

Quinn will be romancing him 

in the film, according to The 

Hollywood Reporter. 

The Harley-Joker misadventure 

will be written and directed by 

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, 

who is the director and executive 

producer of the weepy TV series 

This Is Us. The duo also wrote and 

directed I Love You Phillip Morris 

and Focus, while strictly directing 

Crazy Stupid Love and Whiskey 

Tango Foxtrot. 

Shoot for the film will start 

after WB wraps on the Suicide 

Squad sequel, which doesn’t even 

have a director as of now, reports 

The Hollywood Reporter. 

According to the simultaneous 

reports of Deadline, the 

upcoming Harley-Joker movie is 

the one previously referred to as 

Gotham City Sirens. 

The new project is also 

described as a Suicide Squad 

spin-off, which will be produced 

by DC Entertainment President 

Geoff Johns. In the David Ayer 

directorial Suicide Squad, Harley 

Quinn and the Joker were seen 

as mad lovers. The film also 

recounted the origin story of the 

character of Harley Quinn and 

how she, a former psychiatrist, 

came to be the Joker’s lover from 

his doctor.• 

Aupee Karim set to perform Hajj 


Famous TV actor, dancer and 

model, Syeda Tuhin Ara Karim, 

who is commonly known as 

Aupee Karim, is flying to Saudia 

Arabia today, in order to perform 

Hajj. 

Aupee’s parents will fly with 

her to Mecca to perform the 

annual Islamic pilgrimage, which 

is also one of the main reasons for 

Aupee to set for the pilgrimage, 

confirmed her husband, Enamul 

Karim Nirjhar. 

“Aupee is leaving for Hajj with 

her parents. Please pray for her 

safe return,” said the architect. 

However, Aupee Karim, 

who is also a faculty member 

at the School of Architecture 

in American International 

University, Bangladesh, is 

currently busy with her family 

and teaching, making her 

appearances on TV less frequent 

than ever. However, she was 

occasionally seen hosting TV 

programs and acting in limited 

TV dramas. 

She was last seen at Desh TV 

on August 15 in Roktomakha 

Buke Swadesher Chobi, a program 

surrounding the life and works 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman. • 

Taylor Swift 

announces new album 


After days of dropping a series 

of clues, Taylor Swift has 

confirmed her new album, 

Reputation. 

According to her social 

media post, the pop queen 

has put speculation to rest 

by announcing that she is 

releasing her latest album 

called Reputation on November 

10. She is set to unveil a 

new single from the album 

Thursday night. 

She returns to social media 

releasing a cover art of the 

album which features a black 

and white portrait of the artist 

overlaid with newspaper-style 

text. 

The 27year old singer has 

announced her new album 

a little over a week after her 

court victory, when a jury 

decided she had been groped 

by a radio host before a 

concert. 

Her last record, 1989, was 

released in 2014 and sold 

1.2 million copies in its first 

week.•

Showtime 

Feluda series on Bioscope 


Imagine you are trapped in an 

impossible situation from where 

you can be rescued only if you 

are able to solve a set of complex 

riddles. In such a circumstance, 

who do you ask for help? 

Any Bengali you ask this 

question would almost certainly 

answer – Feluda! Such is the 

respect and admiration fostered 

by the Bengalis on the charismatic 

genius investigator developed 

by the legendary film-maker and 

fiction writer Satyajit Ray. 

Till date, the character has 

appeared in 18 short stories and 

17 novels by Satyajit Ray. Ray 

himself, has directed two films, 

Sonar Kella (1974) and Joy Baba 

Felunath (1979). Later, his son 

Sandip Ray directed five films and 

ten TV films based on Feluda’s 

adventures. Although, the role has 

been played by stellar actors over 

the years, perhaps the most iconic 

portrayals of the detective were by 

veteran actors Soumitra Chatterjee 

and Sabyasachi Chakraborty. 

Taking a massive turn from the 

pages of the good old books, and 

TV series; the legendary creation 

of Satyajit Ray, Pradosh C Mitter 

aka Feluda is all set to return with 

a bang. Parambrata Chatterjee, the 

talented actor from India will star 

as Feluda while Hridhi Sen will 

play the role of Topshe, his faithful 

sidekick. And the best part is, 

Feluda is going to solve mysteries 

right here in Bangladesh! 

This Eid ul Adha, as a gift to 

all the Feluda fans out there, 

Bioscope, Grameenphone’s video 

streaming platform, is releasing 

a new web series on the iconic 

investigator. Kandy Production Ltd 

and Bongo-stellar Digital Ltd have 

signed an agreement regarding 

this matter on August 22. 

Shahriar Shakil, managing 

23 


DT 

director of Kandy Production 

Ltd and Karel Kuiperi, head of 

content of Bongo-Stellar Digital 

Ltd, signed the agreement 

on behalf of the respective 

organisations during an event held 

at Grameenphone’s head office. 

Rafael Mahbub, product manager, 

Bioscope, Grameenphone, Shikdar 

Wahiduzzaman, media manager, 

Kandy Production Ltd, were also 

present. 

Mohammad Muntasir Hossain, 

head of digital entertainment at 

Grameenphone, said, “Feluda 

is undoubtedly one of the most 

iconic Bengali characters ever 

created. There is hardly any book 

lover who has not read at least one 

story of the legendary detective. 

I personally am a huge fan of 

the character and its architect 

– Satyajit Ray. This time, we are 

going to see Feluda solve cases 

right here in Bangladesh. The 

highly talented ensemble cast 

from Bangladesh and West Bengal 

and a carefully weaved story 

produced by skilled personnel 

who love Feluda promises to 

deliver an audiovisual experience 

to remember.” 

The new Feluda series, 

comprised of four episodes in its 

first season, will be an exclusive 

content of Bioscope. The episodes 

will be accessible on Bioscope 

Live TV app and on the Bioscope 

website at bioscopelive.com. • 

Sidharth is a Gentleman 


Sidharth Malhotra has completed 

five whole years in the industry, 

and looks as confident as ever 

with his seventh movie, A 

Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, 

Risky where he features as the 

titular character - a gentleman. 

In an exclusive interview to an 

online news portal, Bollywood 

actor Sidharth Malhotra revealed 

details about his character, the 

on screen chemistry between 

him and Jacqueline Fernandez, 

and his definition of a true 

gentleman. 

According to the actor, “a 

true gentleman is someone who 

believes in equality and respects 

women. One should have a sense 

of individuality. Of course, he 

should have a good dressing 

sense and style.” 

The last time Sid worked with 

Jacqueline was in Brothers from 

2015 where they didn’t share 

any screen space. However, this 

time, the actress plays the role 

of Sidharth’s love interest in the 

film. The actor said, “I enjoyed 

working with her. Jacqueline 

is extremely hard working and 

self-made, and there is a certain 

level of comfort between us that 

made the chemistry look great in 

the film.” 

A Gentleman, starring 

Sidharth Malhotra and 

Jacqueline Fernandez is all set 

to release worldwide on August 

25. The film has been extensively 

shot in Miami, Florida - one of 

the best destinations for serene 

beaches. • 

Star 

Cineplex 

releases 

Xefer’s 

first solo 

album 


Star Cineplex is proud to produce 

Xefer Rahman’s first ever solo 

album today, August 25, at the 

Star Zone of the cineplex at 

Bashundhara City. Known for 

bringing the latest and popular 

movies to Bangladesh, this is 

the first time Star Cineplex is 

producing a music album. 

A popular YouTuber of 

Bangladesh, Xefer became popular 

for her knack of covering hit 

numbers. The singer has already 

made her debut for playback 

singing in films with Shenapoti, 

a joint-venture film between 

Bangladesh and India. 

However, her album Uncaged 

is set to be her first ever solo 

album that features nine songs. 

Among them, the songs “Judge” 

and “Somebody” has already been 

published on You Tube. •

24 


DT 

HC ASKS GOVT TO CONFISCATE 

NIKO’S PROPERTY › 4 

Back Page 

TIGERS SPINNERS TO LEAD 

THE CONTEST › 18 

FELUDA SERIES 

ON BIOSCOPE › 23 

RAB says more than 130 pirates operating in the Sundarbans have surrendered their weapons and ammunition, making most of the mangrove forest safe now 

RAB declares Sundarbans 

pirate free 

• AFP, Dhaka 

FEATURE 

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) declared 

on Thursday that rampant 

piracy in the Sundarbans was a 

thing of the past, crediting a gun 

buyback scheme for reducing 

crime and tiger poaching in the 

vast mangrove forest. 

RAB said more than 130 pirates 

operating in the forested delta region 

had surrendered their weapons 

and ammunition in exchange 

for cash, legal aid and mobile 

phones since the programme began 

just over a year ago. 

The scheme had virtually eradicated 

the lawlessness once rife 

in the world’s largest mangrove 

forest, a natural habitat for endangered 

Bengal tigers, said a spokesman 

for the RAB. 

“Most of the areas in Sundarbans 

are now pirate-free,” Mizanur 

Rahman Bhuiyan said. 

“So far 132 pirates-turned-poachers 

from 12 groups have surrendered. 

They abducted fishermen 

and were engaged in wildlife 

poaching in the Sundarbans.” 

The battalion had spent more than 

a decade cracking down on criminality 

in the dense mangrove forest, with 

117 pirates killed and nearly 400 arrested 

in sweeps since 2004. 

But the buyback scheme, introduced 

in May 2016, has proved 

more effective in tackling crime in 

the Unesco world heritage site. 

Nearly 250 guns and 12,500 

rounds of ammunition had been 

handed over in exchange for legal 

assistance, cash, mobile phones, 

winter clothing and gifts to mark 

the Eid-ul-Adha, Bhuiyan said. 

The pirates are not granted amnesty 

for their offences but are 

viewed favourably for turning 

themselves in. 

Home Minister Asaduzzaman 

Khan awarded each of the surrendered 

pirates $2,000 at a ceremony 

in the coastal town of Bagerhat on 

Wednesday, the RAB said. 

Conservationists said the surrender 

of so many pirates represented 

a small victory for Bengal 

tigers, prize targets for poachers. 

“They kill tigers and deer indiscriminately. 

They poach tigers and 

sell their meat and body parts to people 

connected with the illegal wildlife 

trade,” said Anwarul Islam, a zoology 

professor at Dhaka University. 

The Sundarbans, which also 

straddle parts of eastern India, are 

home to rare wildlife including Irrawaddy 

dolphins and Bengal tigers, 

both of which are endangered 

species due to poaching and habitat 

encroachment. 

The big cat population in the 

10,000sqkm forest dropped to just 

over 100 in 2015 from an estimated 

440 a decade earlier. 

A UN agency last year urged 

Bangladesh’s government to halt 

construction of a huge power plant 

at the edge of the forest, warning 

the controversial project could 

“irreversibly damage” the Sundarbans. 

• 

HC: No industries 

within 10km of 

Sundarbans 


COURTS 

The High Court on Thursday directed 

the government not to allow any 

industrial unit to be set up within 

10 kilometers of the Sundarbans 

mangrove forest. 

The HC bench of Justice Moinul 

Islam Chowdhury and Justice JBM 

Hasan passed the order after primary 

hearing on a petition, reports 

UNB. 

The court also asked the government 

to submit within six months 

a list of the industries already built 

within the designated range. 

The site of the controversial 

proposed Rampal coal-based power 

plant is 14km outside the forest 

periphery. 

It also issued a rule seeking an 

explanation as to why the approval 

of industries and factories within 

10km of the forest will not be in 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN 

violation of the gazette notification 

of the Environment and Forest 

Ministry issued in 1999 and why 

they should not be removed. 

The secretaries of the Environment 

Ministry, Industries 

Ministry, Land Ministry, director 

general of the Department of Environment, 

Deputy Commissioner 

of Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Barguna 

and police superintendent of 

Khulna were asked to respond to 

the rule. 

President of Save the Sundarbans 

Foundation Sheikh Faridul 

Islam filed the writ on April 4. 

According to the writ petition, 

the Environment and Forest Ministry 

issued the gazette notification 

on August 30, 1999 declaring 

the Sundarbans as a reserved area 

and its 10km area as an ecologically 

critical area but the Environment 

Department has reportedly issued 

clearance certificates to 150 industries 

in the area. • 

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 

8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

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