Minister says DU women assaulters held, cops deny

This Facebook file photo shows the incident of sexual assault on women during Pahela Baishakh celebrations near TSC of Dhaka Univesrsity on April 14.

Star Online Report

Some people identified from video footage of sexual assault on women on Dhaka University campus during Bangla New Year celebration have been arrested, state minister for home Asaduzzaman Khan told the parliament today.
However, law enforcement agencies like police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have denied the claim and said they know nothing in this regard.
Eight assaulters were identified from video footages to have sexually abused women during Pahela Baishakh at Dhaka University on April 14. There was a bounty out for their capture.
Today, State Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told the parliament that “some” of those attackers have already been arrested with “one or two” remaining to be captured, reports Bangla daily Prothom Alo.
“All of them have been identified. Some of them have been detained and handed over to law enforcers. One or two of them are left. Will catch them too,” he was quoted saying.
However, contacted later, Muntasirul Islam, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and its spokesperson, told The Daily Star that no identified assaulters were in their custody.
“We are trying our best to arrest the assaulters. We are still working hard on it,” he said.

Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of Rab’s legal and media wing and its spokesperson, echoed the same while talking to The Daily Star when contacted. “We are trying our level best in this regard.”
The joyous celebration of the Bangalee's biggest festival -- Pahela Baishakh -- was tainted by incidents of sexual assault on women on the Dhaka University campus on April 14 evening – sparking widespread public outrage.
Some 30 to 40 rowdy youths assaulted and sexually harassed around 20 women for about one hour at the Suhrawardy Udyan gate near the TSC area around 6:00pm, according to witnesses.
At first, police denied that any such incident took place. They said that CCTV footages did not show any evidence of the assault. It was from those footages that they later said eight culprits were identified.
The incident sparked countrywide outrage with several student organisations holding protest programmes. At one such programme, police used brute force to quell protesters – which also drew widespread flak.

College admission results to be published a day later, ‘unavoidable circumstances’ cited

Staff Correspondent, bdnews24.com

Published: 2015-06-26 18:07:24 BdST

The government has stalled by 24 hours the announcement of the first merit list for college admissions.

The website www.xiclassadmission.gov.bd cited ‘unavoidable circumstances’ for not publishing admission results for 2015-16 education year just yet.
It also said the results will be available from 11:30pm on June 26 instead of June 25. Alongside the central site, they would be available on the sites of the various education boards.
Dhaka Board’s college inspector Ashfaqus Salehin had earlier told bdnews24.com the results could be published anytime on Thursday.
For the last few years, college admissions have been based on secondary results. Dhaka Board, in a statement said students in the first merit list would be able to get admission to colleges between June 27 and 30, without paying any late fee.
A second merit list will be published on July 2, based on the seats remaining in colleges after the first lot of admissions. 
Students were given the scope to apply for admissions from June 6-21. Those who missed the scope would be allowed to apply from July 9-11. The results would be published on July 12.
In the results of the Secondary School Certificate and similar exams published on May 30, 87.4 percent of the examinees passed. Along with them, students who passed the secondary exams in 2013 and 2014 would also be eligible to apply for college admission.
Classes will start from July 1 and the practicals will begin from Aug 1.

Supreme Court judges can use the prefix ‘Justice’ on their national identity cards

Moinul Haque Chowdhury, bdnews24.com

Published: 2015-06-26 15:26:53 BdST

Election Commission is correcting the National Identity Cards of three citizens to introduce ‘Justice’ as a title for the first time in line with a High Court decision.

The applications by High Court Justices Naima Haider and Mirza Hussain Haider, and that of his wife to change their names to include the title were approved by the EC on Wednesday.
Election Commissioner Abdul Mobarak told bdnews24.com: “We record data of their profession, titles during voter registration. But they are not shown on the ID cards.”  
Only Supreme Court judges and former judges will be eligible to use the title on their NIDs, according to the verdict that resulted from a 2011 plea.
“We are bound legally to include the title as the High Court verdict instructs us to use the prefix Justice in front of the names of all sitting and retired judges of Appellate Division and High Court Division.”
However, the election commissioner added there is no scope to add professional prefixes in the national IDs following the 2013 amendment to the law.
‘Name’ has been defined to be as mentioned in the applicants birth certificate or primary school certificate or junior school certificate or secondary school certificate or similar examination certificates.
“However, the definition will not be applicable for names included in the voters’ list before its addition to the law.”
Petitioner Advocate Manzill Murshid told bdnews24.com the court on Jun 16, 2011 gave a rule nisi to include the prefix in front of the names of the judges. On Jan 16, 2012, it was declared rule absolute. 
“The petition was filed considering the status of the Supreme Court judges who are holding a constitutional post. The Justice prefix is included in front of their names in their passport and all other places. Considering that, the ruling instructed for including the prefix in their national ID cards.”
Three months back, Justices Naima Haider and Mirza Hussain Haider submitted an application to have their National ID cards revised along with a copy of the verdict and order, and their passports.
Wife of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider, Sadia Raushon Jahan Haider, also applied for revision, seeking inclusion of the prefix in front of her husband’s name in her national ID card.   
EC’s legal wing Joint Secretary Md Shahjahan said, “There was no legal bar to include titles in names when the order was given. So the order is being implemented. So not only these three, all the Justices can revise their national IDs adding the prefix before their names.”
Director General Sultanazzuman Md Saled Uddin, who heads the national ID registration division, told bdnews24.com the scope to add professional prefix with names is applicable for only the Supreme Court judges and not the others.
“The certificate will carry the name at birth. Professional titles come in later. Titles or profession cannot be part of the name.
“The professional identity is there in the archives and will be tagged with the national ID number and bar code. It won’t be visible on the card.”
The NID DG added if everyone were to be given the facility, the law would have to be amended again.