No rumour, please

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Urges Home boss; says probe result any time.

 

Home Minister Shahara Khatun yesterday hinted at a positive result any moment in the investigation into the journalist couple murder and urged the media not to spread any rumour regarding the killing or suspects. 

She said, “You [journalists] will perhaps get a result any moment as there have been remarkable developments.” She, however, refrained from disclosing any information about the probe findings. 

On the other hand, after claiming about “substantial progress” in the murder probe on Monday, police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday said no mentionable progress has been made yet.

Meherun Runi, senior reporter of private TV channel ATN Bangla, and her husband Sagar Sarowar, news editor of another private TV station Maasranga, were murdered in their West Rajabazar apartment early Saturday.

The home minister yesterday also declined to set further deadline for the murder investigation. She was talking to journalists after addressing the 17th founding anniversary of the Coast Guard at Aagargaon.

Asked about her initial 48-hour ultimatum to law enforcers over finding out the killers, Shahara said she had mentioned the time frame so that the law enforcers give importance to the investigation.

She urged journalists to keep from spreading any rumours regarding the killing or suspects.

Meanwhile, three days past the incident, police said they are yet to find any proof of any journalist's involvement in the murder.

“We have not arrested or detained any journalist. We have not even interrogated any media associates on the murder,” Imam Hossain, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon division, said yesterday at a press briefing in the media centre of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

He, however, said police do not know whether other law enforcement agencies, like the Criminal Investigation Department or the Detective Branch of police or Rab, have arrested or interrogated any journalist. 

Asked about the newspaper reports on arresting six people, he said, “If you [the media] talk about detention, I would say we have picked up two security guards and the caretaker of the building the slain couple used to live in.”

He said police yesterday collected documents and information on what Sarowar and Runi had been working on from their offices to see whether there had been any professional issue behind the killing.

They are also collecting the book written by Sarowar, he added. 

Rab, however, remained tight-lipped about their progress in the investigation. 

Commander M Sohail of Rab's legal and media wing said they are yet to dig out any information “that can be reported”.

“We don't want to comment on anyone's detention unless we have adequate information about their involvement,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) at a meeting yesterday condemned the gruesome murder demanded arrest of the assailants.

The meeting also appealed to all editors and journalist of print and electronic media to adhere to the highest ethical standard of journalism while reporting on the incident, and refrain from making any speculative comment. 

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Faridee laid to rest

Legendary actor Humayun Faridee was buried at Mirpur Intellectuals' Graveyard Tuesday afternoon.

His mourning admirers, fans, well-wishers and relatives thronged the graveyard to pay an emotional farewell to the thespian.

Earlier, his fourth namaz-e-janaza was held at Dhaka University Central Mosque around 1:45pm.

His body was kept at the Shaheed Minar for nearly three hours from 10:00 in the morning to enable his grief-stricken relatives, well-wishers, friends, cultural personalities, journalists, and fans from of all walks of life to pay their last tribute to the actor.

Faridee's first namaz-e-janaza was held in front of his residence around 12:45pm Monday while the second took place on Bangladesh Television complex in Rampura around 2:00pm. His third namaz-e-janeza was held at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (FDC) after Asr prayers.

Faridee, who mesmerised audiences for over two decades with his powerful versatile acting skills in theatre, television drama, and cinema, breathed his last at his Dhanmondi residence in the capital Monday morning. He was 60.

A freedom fighter, Faridee had been suffering from some complications, including lung disease. He was admitted to a city hospital about eight or nine days ago and returned to his residence on Sunday, his relatives said earlier.

An ambulance, carrying his body, reached the graveyard in the afternoon.

In the morning, hundreds of people from all walks of life including his grief-stricken friends, cultural personalities, politicians and journalists paid glowing tribute to Faridee, one of the brightest silver screen stars in the country, at the Central Shaheed Minar.

His body, which had been kept at the Birdem mortuary for Monday night, was taken to the Shaheed Minar around 10:00 in the morning.

President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday expressed their deep shock at the death of the veteran actor. They prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed their sincere sympathies to the bereaved family members.

Born in Narinda in the old part of Dhaka on May 29, 1952, Faridee was a student of economics at Jahangirnagar University. His passion for acting began in his childhood. In the early 1980s, he joined Dhaka Theatre.

He was well-known for his extraordinary portrayal of roles in different plays, which included Songsaptak, Pathar Shomoy, Dui Bhai, Sheeter Pakhi, Kothao Keu Nei, Shomudre Gangchil and Kachher Manush.

Midway in his stage career, Faridee joined films and won the hearts of millions through his work. Some of his prominent movies are Dohon, Hulia, Shontrash, Bachelor, JoyJatra Shamolchaya, Bohubrihi, Ekattorer Jishu, Mayer Morjada and Aha. He also directed a few TV plays.

Faridee had been living a lonely life since his divorce from eminent actress Suborna Mustafa in 2008.

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India to build new railway track to link with Bangladesh

The Indian government will soon start work   on a new rail link to Bangladesh that would ease surface transport in the mountainous northeastern states, a railway official said here Tuesday.

India will build a 15-km railway track linking Tripura capital Agartala with Bangladesh's southeastern city of Akhaurah, which is also an important railway junction connected to Chittagong port, resource-rich Sylhet and Dhaka.

An agreement to this effect was signed between between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina during her visit to India in January 2010.

"Total cost of the proposed project is estimated at Rs.252 crore. The Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) would lay the new railway tracks on both sides of the border," Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) chief administrative officer (Construction) Arvind Sewary told reporters.


After holding a meeting with Tripura ministers and officials, Sewary said: "In the forthcoming railway budget, the allocation of funds is expected to be sanctioned and immediately after that, the work for laying track would start."

The railway budget will be presented in parliament on March 14.

A high-level NFR team led by Sewary is now on a tour of Tripura to study the proposed Agartala-Akhaurah link and other ongoing railway projects, being commissioned by the railway authority.

The project is expected to be completed by 2014. Of the 15 km  rail line, five km of track falls in the Indian territory and the remaining in Bangladesh.

The official said: "With the establishment of the new railway link, northeast India would be connected to the Chittagong international sea port by rail."

Agartala is the newest station of the Indian Railways, and came up on the country's rail map in October 2008.

Surface connectivity is an important factor as the landlocked northeastern states are surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China and the only land route to these states from within India is through Assam and West Bengal. But this route passes through over 70 percent hilly terrain with steep roads and multiple hairpin bends.

For ferrying goods and heavy machinery to the northeast from abroad and other parts of the country, India has for long been seeking land, sea and rail access through Bangladesh.

Agartala, for instance, is 1,650 km from Kolkata and 2,637 km from New Delhi via Guwahati and West Bengal, whereas the distance between the Tripura capital and Kolkata through Bangladesh is just about 350 km.

The NFR is now laying tracks to connect Tripura's southern most border town Sabroom, 135 south of here. From Sabroom, the Chittagong international sea port is just 72 km.   

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20,000 Indian websites come under attack from Bangladesh hackers

In the first major hacking spree of the year, Black HAT Hackers, a Bangladesh based group hacked into nearly 20,000 Indian websites including that of Indian Border Security Force. 

The group based in Bangladesh posted in their community page that their action was in response to the killings by BSF personnel in the border. BSF’s website www.bsf.nic.in was completely damaged in the process.

One hacker belonging to the Black hat Hackers posted in the Facebook fan page of the group: “We don't have any personal issues with Indians. But the brutality of BSF as well as Indian Govt has forced us to do this.” 

While another posted, “India supported us in 1971,now they r killing us!!!! An open enemy is better than a false friend.

”I don’t care even if death comes... I'll keep fighting formy motherland until we get victory...!!!' reads another post.

The group also hacked www.paisacontrol.com website a popular Stock Tips, Stock News website.

The hackers after defacing many websites posted: Indian Border Security Force (BSF), Stop killing Bangladeshis at border. Bangladeshi Hackers group named 3xp1r3 Cyber Army also has hacked into more than 700 other Indian websites. 

After hacking 20,000 Indian sites the Black Hat posted on internet celebrating their hacking episode. 

Ashell India have left the Cyber World Because Of FEAR. SO we can say that INDIA have lost in this Cyber War. The hackers also posted the videos of alleged brutality of the BSF personnel at the border. 

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