KOSHAI QUADER HANGED, Jamaat leader executed at 10:01pm, to be buried at Faridpur village

This Star photo taken on February 5 shows, getting life term from a war crimes tribunal, Quader Mollah flashing V-sign that triggered widespread outrage. Mollah, a key ally of the Pakistani occupation force, was hanged tonight at Dhaka Central Jail for his wartime offences.

KOSHAI QUADER HANGED

Forty-two years into Bangladesh’s bloody war of liberation, Abdul Quader Mollah, a key ally of the Pakistani occupation force, was hanged tonight inside Dhaka Central Jail for his wartime offences.

The first war criminal to pay for the 1971 crimes against humanity, the Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general was executed at 10:01pm hours after the country’s highest court dismissed his petition to review his death sentence.

“His body remained hanging for 20 minutes before it was taken down,” Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Yusuf Mreedha told The Daily Star.

The then president of Shahidullah Hall unit of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student wing of Jamaat, the 65-year-old completed the full circle of legal ways to save his skin before walking to the gallows.

Known as Koshai (butcher) Quader for his brutal style of torture on the freedom-seeking people during the country’s Liberation War, he declined to seek presidential clemency even though the authorities approached him thrice.

An ambulance will take Mollah’s body to his village home in Faridpur where he will be buried.

His body will be handed over to his relatives.

A special squad of Rab and police has been formed to provide them security on the way.

Earlier, Inspector General (Prisons) Main Uddin Khandaker entered the prison at 8:15pm.

Fifteen minutes later, flood lights of the prisons were turned on around 8:30apm.

Around 9:15pm, deputy commissioner of Dhaka, Civil Surgeon of Dhaka Abdul Malek, and Imam of Dhaka Central Jail Jame-Mosque Monir Hossain entered the jail.

It was Mollah’s sentence — life-term imprisonment — on February 5 which triggered a youth upsurge in the capital, known popularly as Shahbagh Movement, that later spread across the country.

The ICT-2 awarded Mollah life imprisonment on two out of six charges and different jail terms on the other three proved charges.

For weeks, Shahbagh youths continued their movement to press home the demand of execution of war criminals, forcing the government to bring an amendment to the International Crimes Tribunal law, which is the basis for the special tribunal trying the accused of war crimes committed 42 years ago.

The state on March 3 appealed with the SC against the life-term ruling, terming it “inadequate” and seeking the death penalty for his wartime offences.

On September 17, a five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain revised the verdict, sentencing Mollah to death.

After the full text of the verdict was released, ICT-2 issued death warrant for the Jamaat leader on December 8.

Published: Thursday, December 12, 2013

Buddha Goya News

The Bihar Police on Monday released the CCTV footage of serial blasts at Bodh Gaya temple on Sunday. No group has so far accepted responsibility for the attacks.

The Bihar police also released sketches of two suspects in teh serial terror blasts at Bodhgaya. The suspects have been identified as Sahidur Rehman and Saifur Rehman, both M operatives. 

At Buddha Gaya

Buddhist monks from 50 countries held a special prayer inside Boddha Gaya temple for return of peace after explosions.

AT BUDDHA GOYA BUDDHIST PLACE.

WE ARE BUDDHISTS STRONGLY CONDEMN

Bomb Blast at Buddha Goya Buddhist Sacred Place...

Bodh Gaya news >>

police said. 

The blasts did not cause any casualty or damage to the temple and the Bodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment, a police officer said. 
The temple at Bodh Gaya was built at the spot where the Buddha attained enlightenment over 2,500 years ago. It was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2002.

Home ministry confirms Bodhgaya serial blasts a terror attack, two pilgrims injured-Serial explosions inside and outside Mahabodhi temple in Bihar were a terror attack , the Home Ministry said on Sunday as it sent National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) teams for post-blasts investigations.

"It was a terror attack," Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami told PTI.

He, however, said so far no group has claimed responsibility for the multiple blasts and investigations were on.

Goswami said four blasts took place inside the temple complex while four occurred outside it.

Two people have been injured in the blasts hich took place between 5:30 to 5:58 am.

Arvind Singh, a member of Mahabodhi Temple Management Commitee said the two injured included a national of Myanmar and another of Tibet. They have been admitted to Magadh Medical College and Hospital, he said.

Singh said two other bombs, one near the 80 feet statue and one at bus stand have been defused.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) S K Bhardwaj said prima facie it seems the serial blasts have been done by some terrorist organisation.
DIG Special Branch Parasnath told PTI said, "A team of NIA officers is coming to Bodh Gaya from Kolkata."

The ADG said that there was a general alert about possibility of terrorist attacks in Bihar and the state police have tightened security.

"At Bodh Gaya temple, the police security arrangements are only outside the temple while the security inside is looked after by temple trust officials," he said.

The DIG said, "The sanctum sanctorum of the Mahabodhi Temple is intact. The temple premises have been sanitised."

The secretary of the Bodh Gaya committee Dorji said, "There were four blasts inside the temple premises.

Fortunately, there was no damage to the Bodhi Tree or the main temple structure."

"In the first blast which took place near the Bodhi tree, a table was blown up because of which two persons were injured. The second blast, I think, was inside the enclosure where books were kept. The furniture was damaged but there was no damage to the monuments or statues," he said.

Asked about the nature of explosives used, S K Bharadwaj, ADG (Law and Order) said they were low intensity time bombs.

He said, "We got information about six-seven months back that there may be a terror attack on the Mahabodhi temple.

After that we had beefed up secuirty and deployed extra forces".

Bodh Gaya Buddhist temple, around 10 km from Gaya and 100 km from capital Patna, is world famous. Lord Buddha had attained enlightenment here under the Mahabodhi tree in the temple premises.

The Mahabodhi Temple is frequented by Buddhist pilgrims from
Sri Lanka, China and Japan and the whole of southeast Asia.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama makes frequent trips to Bodh Gaya and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had visited it six months back. A total of 52 countries have established their monasteries here.

Oh World, Save the Buddhist & Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh!

Is Bangladesh a democracy?

Your Right To Know
Monday, January 21, 2013

Nilufer Ahmed, Dhanmondi, Dhaka

The definition of democracy is said to be "Government of the people, by the people, for the people". Then there are countries that have tailored democracy to the benefit of their people so that their basic human rights are protected, while at the same time they can elect or vote their leaders out of office. Is Bangladesh a democracy?

In Bangladesh, democracy has somewhat degenerated into a license to deeds evil: killing innocent people in broad daylight, committing outrage to innocent schoolgirls including children, and to do whatever one's distorted mind wishes to do with impunity. That is democracy in Bangladesh. This democracy is not what we gave lives for. This democracy is not what we want for our progeny. Where is the Rule of Law?

How is bail being enlarged t o the murderer and rapist of the 5-year-old girl? This is my message to all the fathers and parents of the victims of rape and murder: Get hold of the murderer or rapist, gather all the people of the village, hang the man from the tallest tree, and leave him there for all to see. Let him hang there until everyone knows what he did. There is no Rule of Law in Bangladesh, and we are, unfortunately, living in a 'mock democracy'.

2012 disappointing for human rights State agencies must be held to account

Your Right To Know
Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Editorial

In the last year of its tenure, one of the key issues the government must be attentive to is the deteriorating law and order situation in the country.

According to rights organisation Odhikar's Human Rights Report 2012, the picture is far from positive. Rates of violation of women and children and the number of people killed following rape was high, as was the number of dowry-related incidents. A record number of attacks on minority and indigenous communities, women and journalists were reported; 132 people were killed in mob beatings and 38 by Indian Border Security Force. Also, 169 people, according to Odhikar, and 84 people, according to another rights organisation, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), were killed in political confrontations last year.

Perhaps the most alarming trend, however, was in the rise of crimes allegedly committed by the state's law enforcing agencies themselves -- enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings -- followed by an apparent lack of accountability. While Odhikar has put the number of enforced disappearances linked to the state at 24 -- up from three in 2009, 18 in 2010 and slightly down from 30 in 2011 -- ASK has found 56 cases overall of unexplained disappearances. Odhikar put the number of extrajudicial killings at 70 while ASK put the figure at 91. The fact that these trends have not only continued but even increased over the years demonstrates a culture of impunity for those in positions of power, reinforced by an unfortunate denial mode of a government which has failed to recognise and address the issue.

We strongly urge the government to take up the law and order situation -- particularly where its own agents may be the culprits -- without further delay, carry out thorough and impartial investigations and provide credible results whereby those responsible are appropriately punished. If the government is to gain the confidence of its people, providing them with a sense of security is crucial.

Some important watch bodies and we as media have been laying emphasis on the acute need for improving upon human rights situation in the country but, sadly, the government appears to be unmoved. In the final year of its tenure it will hopefully move up things on this front.