The year in review 2009 began with great anticipation. After two years of having an undemocratic government in power, who at one point threatened to stay back indefinitely, democracy had clawed its way back and a new government was in power. In the first couple of weeks, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina named her new cabinet – a refreshing breath of new faces – and our anticipation for the future reached new highs. Twelve months down the line, it can be safe to say, that some of that anticipation has fizzled out. The biggest downside of the year, undoubtedly, was the loss of 76 lives during the infamous Peelkhana carnage. The nation spent an uncertain couple of weeks in the aftermath of the tragedy. There were further glitches in the calendar as the months wore on. Tender-grabbing and extortion by Awami League activists hit the headlines regularly as did extra-judicial killings by law enforcement authorities. We met our first serial killer in Rasu Khan and discovered a plethora of alleged criminals of Indian origin and wanted by the Indian law enforcement authorities. On the upside of 2009, the Bangladesh cricket team, led by mercurial Saqib Al-Hasan, emerged victorious in numerous expeditions at home and abroad. The Bangabandhu Murder Trial finally approached closure while the High Court and Supreme Court stamped their authority through a number of rulings that attempted to establish citizen's rights. On the last week of 2009, we take a look at the most significant events and people that shaped our lives this year. a year of tragedy The mutiny and its aftermath on February 25 and 26, which would later spread in BDR camps around the country, the lives of 57 army officers, along with 19 other civilians and BDR soldiers, were lost. The atrocious nature of the mutiny became clear in the hours and days that followed with the discovery of the brutal manner in which the officers were killed – their bodies defiled, set on fire and buried in mass graves inside the Peelkhana or dumped through the sewerage line. During the mutiny, civilians and family members of army officials were also killed, tortured and physically abused while their belongings were damaged, ignited and looted. The arms storage at the BDR headquarters was looted. Though the government declared a general amnesty on the mutiny, they would later shift from the position and an operation 'rebel hunt' would be launched to round up BDR soldiers who were absconding. The government formed an investigation committee headed by former bureaucrat Anisuzzaman on March 3, while the armed forces formed another committee, to look into the mutiny. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, many senior members of present cabinet indicated to the presence of conspiracies and outside elements in the mutiny. Commerce Minister Faruk Khan would directly blame religious fundamentalists for their link to the incident. However, the report of the investigation committee, which was partially released on May 21, failed to find any such links. The investigation committee further recommended that the BDR forces be reconstituted under a different name and uniform, work of which is already in progress. In the following months, criminal cases were filed against the mutineers, while many of them were interrogated in custody. As many as 46 BDR jawans died during the period of interrogation, claimed by officials as death by 'heart attack'. Serious human rights concerns were raised over these deaths by many quarters and the government subsequently formed another committee on May 14, to investigate the issue. The new committee was scheduled to deliver its report within a month of its formation, however, they are yet to publish it. For a period of time, the government seemed to be in a dilemma on whether to try the mutineers under the Army Act or the regular Code of Criminal Procedure. The president subsequently referred the issue to the Supreme Court on August 17, who would then appoint ten amicus curie to provide their expert opinion. On October 15, the government decided that the mutiny would be tried under the BDR Act of 1972, while the incidents of crime including murder, arson and loot would be tried under the existing laws at a speedy tribunal, pending the completion of investigation by the CID. Concerns were again raised as to the fairness of trial as the BDR chief was appointed chair of the special courts while the defendants were stripped of their rights to question the accusers as well as their right to be defended by legal counsel, though they were allowed to seek advise from them. The trial began on November 24, in a special court at the Rangamati sector headquarters taking cognisance of mutiny charges against five soldiers of the 12 Rifles Battalion. This is the fourth of the six special courts formed under the order on November 15 for the trial of the BDR soldiers facing charges of mutiny. Special court 1 was formed for the mutinies in Khulna, Rajshahi and Kushtia sectors, special court 2 for Dinajpur and Rangpur sectors, special court 3 for Sylhet, Comilla and Mymensingh sectors, special court 4 for Chittagong, Rangamati and Khagrachari sectors and special court 5 for Dhaka sector. The courts will also hold trial of the mutineers in other battalions and installations under the sectors concerned. Special court 6 will hold trial of the mutineers at the BDR headquarters in Dhaka and other installations under the headquarters. The framing of charges against 60 soldiers of the 7 Rifles Battalion facing trial in special court 1 of the Bangladesh Rifles, at the 47 Rifles Battalion headquarters in Satkhira, has been posted for January 18. Seven months have already elapsed without much headway into the investigation of the incidents of unnatural death of BDR soldiers in custody. The draft of the new law for the Bangladesh Rifles proposes raising the highest punishment to death penalty for mutiny or disobedience on the battlefield. a year of achievement Justice finally prevails The verdict follows a case filed on October 2, 1996 by Muhitul Islam, Sheikh Mujib's personal assistant, who survived the grisly attack on August 15, 1975. For 21 years after the killing, the assassins enjoyed immunity to any trial through an infamous indemnity ordinance passed by the then president Khondokar Moshtaque Ahmed, which was subsequently incorporated in the nation's constitution by General Ziaur Rahman. When the Awami League government was voted to power in 1996, it annulled the indemnity ordinance and initiated the Mujib murder trial. Since its initial filing, the case had moved from the Dhaka district and session judge courts to the High Court and finally reached the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for the final verdict. The accomplishment of the trial of Bangabandhu's killing was one of the Awami League-led government's manifesto promises. Among the 12 convicted, sacked lieutenant colonel Syed Faruque Rahman, retired lieutenant colonel Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, retired lieutenant colonel Muhiuddin Ahmed, retired lieutenant colonel AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and retired major Bazlul Huda are currently behind bars. Retired lieutenant colonel Md Abdul Aziz Pasha is reportedly dead. The remaining six – retired colonel Khandaker Abdur Rashid, retired major Shariful Haque Dalim, retired lieutenant colonel AM Rashed Chowdhury, retired lieutenant colonel SHMB Noor Chowdhury, retired captain Abdul Mazed and retired risaldar Moslemuddin have been sentenced to death in absentia. They are believed to have taken refuge in Pakistan, Libya, USA and Canada. After the judgement, the government has initiated a process to bring them back. Barrister Shafique Ahmed, the law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister, on his return from Canada said, the Canadian government agreed to deport former Lt Col SHMB Noor Chowdhury. Besides, the foreign ministry has been trying to bring back all the fugitive convicted killers in Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case, he added. The government brought back Bazlul Huda from Bangkok on the day of judgement by the Dhaka district and sessions judge court on November 8, 1998. Another fugitive convict, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed was brought back from the USA during the tenure of the caretaker government of Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed. On the night of August 15, 1975, Mujib, his wife, three sons, two daughters-in-law, his brother, his brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat, his nephew Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni and Moni's wife Arzoo were all murdered in a coup to remove Mujib from power. Triumph at the Caribbean Debutant Mahmudullah completed a memorable Test match on July 13, bowling Bangladesh to a historic 95-run victory, its first ever away from home. Whisking the West Indians batsmen off the field with his spin, Mahmudullah ended the match with figure of five wickets for 51 runs. The man of the match was awarded to Tamim Iqbal for his determined century in the first innings. The second Test match ending on July 20, took Bangladesh to a new level of confidence. With Sakib al Hasan leading from the front, Bangladesh comfortably surpassed the target of 215 with a day to spare. The then acting skipper, Sakib had secured the man of the match with his all round performance, taking five wickets for 70 runs and scoring an unbeaten 96 from 97 balls in the second innings of the last Test match against West Indies. The ODI series triunth followed the clean sweep in the Test series, against a home side, decimated by a player boycott. 'It was a total team effort,' said a delighted stand-in captain and the undoubted star of the team, Sakib al Hasan afterwards. 'After winning the Test series, we were looking forward to this ODI series,' said Sakib. 'Every time the team was under pressure, someone was able to put their hands up and do the job. This success in the Caribbean will help to take us to the next level.' a year of controversy Quarrel at sea Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty and Myanmar Ambassador U Phae Thann Oo were called into the foreign ministry and foreign secretary Mijarul Quayes handed the notifications to them to pass on to their respective governments. 'We need to delimit our maritime boundary to explore and exploit oil, gas and other natural resources in the Bay to meet our demands,' said Foreign Minister Dipu Moni after the government's decision to serve legal notices to India and Myanmar. The dispute between the three countries over the demarcation of the maritime boundary on the Bay of Bengal has been a long-standing one and tensions initially surfaced when in November 2008, the naval forces of Myanmar and Bangladesh were on the brink of a confrontation at the Bay of Bengal as it was noted by Bangladesh that Myanmar had been conducting an oil and gas exploration project - with the aid of a South Korean company, Daewoo - in a disputed area of the sea. Nearly 50 men and four ships were employed in the exploration work in Block AD-7, escorted by two of Myanmar's naval warships. India and Myanmar claimed their respective maritime borders and have already filed their claims with the United Nations on June 29 and May 21, 2009 respectively, while Bangladesh has to do this before July 27, 2011. Tipaimukh danger The proposed work was stalled in March 2007 in the face of protests within (people of the Manipur state of India are slated to be worst-affected) and outside India, for not following international conventions on international rivers. The completion of the dam in 2012 will virtually dry up the Surma and the Kushiara rivers, thus choking the north-eastern regions of Bangladesh, say experts. Experts also believe that the Tipaimukh dam would adversely affect the country's fisheries, agriculture, environment and water supply. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, the finance minister of Bangladesh and also the founder president of the green non-governmental organisation, Bangladesh Paribesh Andalan (BAPA) points out, 'India will be worse hit than Bangladesh and so the general people of India are also against the project.' A team of parliamentary affairs committee on water resources visited the site and said that they did not notice any sign of work starting at Tipaimukh dam in the region in August. Their report was widely criticised in the country especially by the opposition parties. People of Bangladesh have more to fear if India makes a barrage at Fulertala (through which they will be able to manage water according to their needs), and procure water from the river Barak, while the rivers Surma and Kushira will become virtually dry. Ticket to the Bay blocks Experts fear that the PSC allows the IOCs right to export gas to third parties, bypassing our national needs. The national committee blamed the government for not taking into account public opinion regarding the matter and instead advocated 'capacity building' to conduct our own explorations in the future. The government representatives, meanwhile, pointed out to acute energy crisis as a reason for awarding to contracts on a speedy basis. Anu Muhammad member secretary of the national committee, with hundreds of others, was injured during a barbaric attack by the police at Bijaynagar in Dhaka when the committee tried to lay siege on the Bangladesh Mineral Oil & Gas Corporation (Petrobangla) headquarters at Kawranbazar on September 2, protesting the contracts. The lone strike called this year owed to the attack brought on the activists. While the existing onshore gas reserve is feared to deplete by 2013, the government and some experts believe offshore exploration opens the scope to meet the future demand. The exploration process if initiated now will still take another four to five years, to bear output. Playing crisscross over Bangladesh The two countries are scheduled to sign a deal on India's access to the Ashuganj port in May 2010. India has been seeking transit for a long time so that Indian vehicles can enter Bangladesh through the Benapole border and enter and leave the Indian states Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram through Tamabil, Bibirbazar and Khagrachari in Bangladesh. New Delhi has long been pressing Dhaka for transit facilities for their benefits. The access will allow India to gain in business and intervene into ongoing insurgencies in seven sister states. Another topic connected with the issue is the Asian Highway. Of three routes proposed by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the government has articulated its preference for the two routes, both of which begin from and end in India after going through Bangladesh. Its preference however runs contrary to the very rationale behind why Bangladesh should be connected with the Asian Highway, i.e. for greater interconnectivity. Worryingly still, the government has kept its decision and plan of actions regarding the transit facility under wraps. newsmakers of the year Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus
Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj Lutfozzaman Babar Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapash Sakib Al Hasan Dido Rasu Khan Daud Merchant goodbyes Mohammad Saifur Rahman October 6, 1932 – September 5, 2009 Passing away at the age of 77, Saifur had served the government as finance and planning minister in three terms - 1976-1982, 1991-1996 and 2001-2006. The chartered accountant was also a veteran politician who began his career by joining the political coalition, Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal in 1977. The coalition was later renamed Bangladesh Nationalist Party in 1978. He holds the unique record of preparing 12 out of the 36 annual budgets for the country since its liberation in 1971. The late finance minister had been honoured with the Ekushey Padak in 2005 for his contribution during the language movement. Survived by three sons and a daughter, Saifur was laid to rest at his family graveyard beside his wife's grave in Baharmardan village. Shah Abdul Karim February 15, 1916 – September 12, 2009 Karim has 1,600 compositions and six books to his credit. The Bangla Academy has translated 10 of his songs into English. Passing away at the age of 93, Karim was immensely popular for his Sufi songs and extraordinary metaphors that convey messages of secularism and depiction of divine love. Some of his popular songs include Agey ki sundar din kataitam, Gramer nowjoan, Hindu Mussalman, Tomra kunja sajao goo, Aj amar prananath asibei and Gari choley na. Born on February 15, 1916, Karim was a regular radio artiste during the early the part of his career. He had performed on many important political and cultural movements that include the historic Kagmari Congregation in Tangail, the 1954 election, the 1969 mass upsurge, the general election of 1970 and the movement against the military junta Ershad in the 1980s. Karim was honoured the highest national award 'Ekushey Padak' in 2001. He also received the Prothom Alo-Meril Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and Drouhee Kotha-Shahityik Abdur Rouf Choudhury Award in 2000. Alauddin Al-Azad 1932 – July 3, 2009 Noted poet, author, novelist and professor, Dr Azad was also first secretary to the Bangladesh High Commission in Moscow. He also taught Bangla and served as educational counsellor at the Bangladesh embassy in Moscow. His novel novels include Teish Nambor Toilochitra, Shiter Sheshrat Basanter Pratham Din, Karnaphuli, Kshuda O Asha, Khashra Kagoj and Shyam Chhayar Songbad. Some of his popular stories include Jege Achi, Dhankannya and Mrigonavi. Manchitra, Vorer Nodir Mohonay Jagoron, Surjo Jalar Swapan and Lelihan Pandulipi are some of his popular poems. His popular dramas are Ehuder Meye, Morokkor Jadukar, Dhanyabad and Songbad Sesangsho. The 'Ferrari Diary' is Azad's book on the liberation war. Azad received a good number of awards, including the Unicef award, Bangla Academy award, Sadhinota and Ekushey Puroskar for his outstanding contribution in the field of Bangla literature. He also earned a National Film Award. Gaziul Haq February 13, 1929 – June 17, 2009 He chaired the meeting at the Dhaka University premises on February 21, 1952 from which the decision to violate Section 144 was made. Later that day police fired into the students who demanded equal status of Bangla along with Urdu. On April 14, 1953 he was expelled from the university, for actively engaging in politics and his MA degree was suspended by the authorities. His degree was later restored and suspension lifted because of student protests. Haque was arrested again on February 19 of the following year, 1954, and released on April 18. A lawyer by profession, Haque fought the liberation war bravely on Bogra frontline. Gaziul was also a celebrated singer and lyricist, with the song 'Bhulbo na Bhulbo na Ekushey February' being among the most inspirational pieces throughout generations. He was a capable and competitive athlete, having been a boxing champion in his youth. As a writer, some of his works include Jeler Kabita (1959), Ebarer Sangram Swadhinatar Sangram (1971), Bangladesh Unchained (1971), Mohammad Sultan (1994) and Media Laws and Regulations in Bangladesh (1992). Dr Noazesh Ahmed February 1, 1935 – November 24, 2009 While studying plant genetics in the US, his participation at the Portrait of America Exhibition in 1957-58 brought him to the limelight and since then he had developed a niche in nature photography. His popular published works include Bangladesh (1975), Portrait of Bangladesh (1982), Quest for Reality (1997), Wild Flowers of Bangladesh (1998) Chinnapatra (2002) and Dhanshiri Naditir Pashey (2004). He has held exhibitions in New York, Washington D.C, London, Japan, Thailand while his works have been published in many globally reputed newspapers and magazines including the Sunday Times, the Guardian, Focus, Hemisphere, Illustrated Weekly of India and Far Eastern Economic Review. He was also consultant editor of Banglapedia (National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh from 2002 to 2003. an entertaining year Monpura breaks 45-year-old record The full-length feature film has not only uplifted the genre of Bangla films but broken the 45-year-old record of ticket sales at the box office in Dhaka within three weeks of its release on February 13, 2009. The film's prolonged stay at the theatres has also broken the country's first released film Mukh O Mukhosh's record, which was shown at the theatres for six consecutive months. While Mukh O Mukhosh received 50,000 audiences during its screenings at theatres, Monpura superseded 50,000 audiences during the first three weeks after its release at the Balaka Cineworld, Balaka 2 and Cineplex. The film has rightly secured its place as one of the biggest entertainers of the year. The 1.52 crore taka movie had drawn nearly half a million audiences to the cinemas till the end of August and has made nearly three crore takas in revenues. The love story of Shonai and Pori has thus been celebrated across the country in 70 theatres. Shahabuddin returns The Dhaka-born painter reportedly sold paintings worth Tk 2 to 3.50 crores in the two exhibitions. A freedom fighter himself, most of Shahbuddin's paintings narrate an injured person's struggle and emotion during the war in 1971. His works had a blending of colours of oriental and occidental art. The exhibition 'Jai Bangla' was inaugurated by celebrated Indian actor Shabana Azmi. Shahabuddin, who has been living in Paris since 1974, has had more than 40 solo exhibitions in Europe alone and has represented Bangladesh on numerous occasions in international art forums. His last solo exhibition in Dhaka was held at Shilpangan in 2000. THIRD PERSON SINGULAR NUMBER A MULTI-STARRER SOUNDTRACK The stubbornness of bulls an unhealthy year The swine flu scare The vitamin A disaster Killed at infancy around the globe Obama wins Nobel Prize India's first mission to the moon The Copenhagen summit Obama shuts down Guantanamo a year of adjustment An SOS to public servants Some 1.2 million government employees and officers have been entitled to the new pay scale increment since July 1 year. However, public servants were yet to receive the benefits of the new pay scale as it pended a gazette notification until December 2. Under the new pay scale, the highest salary has been fixed at Tk 40,000 and the minimum at Tk 4,100. One of the more pleasant adjustments this year helps to calm the cries of public servants and adds to improving their lifestyle. What's in a name? Tuning to DST The decision had received widespread criticism from different quarters initially. Muslim religious groups were against it as they feared it would make prayer schedules difficult. Interestingly, instead of adapting to the new time completely, a lot of people, especially in the urban areas or mufassals broke into two divisions – one following the old timings and the other following the new. While the DST has become popularly known as digital time, the previous timing in some areas is referred to as analogue time. Although the government was supposed to revert back to the previous timing sometime in October, it has instead rescheduled the office and school hours to avoid the rush hour traffic, while retaining the DST. Splitting the rush hour Under the new timing, school-goers will have to finish their task between 7:00am and 2:30pm while the government and semi-government, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions will maintain their old timing from 9:00am to 5:00pm. The non-government offices, banks and other private institutions will begin their day from 10am and finish at 6:00pm. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a cabinet meeting on August 31, directed the authorities to set separate timetables for the different sectors which was followed up on October 12 in view to reduce the worsening traffic condition. Acquaintance with the red, green and yellow Under the new traffic arrangement, the main roads have three lanes: the lane by the road divider has been designated for cars, jeeps and vehicles carrying VIPs, the middle lane has been marked for the buses, mini-buses, covered vans and pick ups while the lane by the footpath has been designated for motorbikes, CNG-run-auto-rickshaws and human haulers. The police earlier held a two-week trial on the streets to bring the commuters under the habit of following the rules. As part of the drive, the traffic department of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police filed 7,251 cases in the first week from December 8 to December 14. During the period, the police also fined rule violators Tk 6.48 lakh, seized 169 driving licenses for three months and 136 vehicles as well as arresting 98 persons for committing road traffic offences. a year of justice Suo Moto on crossfire The suo moto gave the government two weeks initially to explain why the crossfire killing of two brothers, Lutfor Khalasi and Khairul Khalasi, said to be leaders of Sarbahara Party, by the RAB on November 16, should not be declared extrajudicial. The government has yet to reply and the Attorney General sought for more time, presumably until the court resumes on January 3, 2010. In spite of the Awami League's strong opposition to extrajudicial killing while in opposition, more than 100 killings have taken place after it formed the government. Legal action against arbitrary caning The court alongside asking the government and inspector general of police, the reason for their failure to prevent extra-legal penalties, also asked the government to explain why it would not be directed to frame and adopt guidelines and orders for all authorities concerned to report on the occurrence of such extrajudicial penalties by any people or bodies, including union councils or municipal representatives, in the name of arbitration, mediation and conciliation. A writ petition filed by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Ain o Salish Kendra, BRAC and Nijera Kori, described incidents in June where a woman and a man were caned 101 times by the order of village elders at Nabiganj in Habiganj in arbitration in the presence of a chairman and a woman being caned 101 times at Srimangal in Moulvibazar for talking with a man of other faith. The Ain O Salish Kendra and Bangladesh Mahila Parishad found through the national dailies that this year until May, some 15 families were victim of illegal fatwa. Bringing sexual harassment to book The High Court for the first time issued a set of guidelines against sexual harassment on May 14. These include installation of complaint centres headed by women to prevent sexual harassment of women and girls at educational institutions, offices, factories and other workplaces. The directive was issued after the final hearing of a public interest litigation writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Jatiya Mahila Ainjibi Samity on August 7, 2008. Any kind of provocation through phone calls or e-mail, lewd gestures, showing of pornography, lurid stares, physical contact or molestation, stalking, vulgar sounds or any display of a derogatory nature will be tantamount to sexual misdemeanor. The verdict, however, fell on deaf ears as the government and autonomous authorities have so far failed to initiate any move to protect women from being sexually harassed at workplaces and educational institutions. At least two incidents of sexual harassment, including a rape incident, have been reported at a public and a private university after the ruling in May this year. a year of injustice Justice served through bullets The extrajudicial killings, however, still continued unabated with the government gradually shifting its position - from condemnation to justification - regarding such killings. The state minister for home affairs, Shamsul Haque Tuku recently pulled the defence for such killings saying, 'if the law enforcers are attacked by criminals when they are fighting terrorism and maintaining law and order, they must have the right to self defence.' While members of the civil society condemn the government statements regarding extrajudicial killing, what Tuku said is not essentially different from what his predecessor, Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj said in May or the Home Minister, Sahara Khatun, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, has been saying or for that matter, what the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, said during her stay in the US. Tender grabbing and manipulation unabated On April 13, BCL Dhaka University branch's organising secretary of central committee, Ashrafur Rahman and international relation secretary, Sheikh Sohel Rana were arrested on charge of tender-grabbing. The former and serving BCL leaders were also reported to have been involved in stopping tenders at TCB in Karwan Bazar and other places in connivance with the administration. The tenders of Chittagong City Corporation worth Tk 12 crore were apparently distributed among AL activists in presence of the city mayor, Mohiuddin Chowdhury. Disappointed over the activities, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned from her position as president of Chhatra League on April 5. Institutions wear the political badge One mention the party forgot to make in its manifesto was of completing a fully politically-inclined public administration, irrespective of merit, experience or performance. Ever since the government's assumption on January 6 this year, there has been a gradual reshuffle in every important position, from the police, educationists to the secretaries and ambassadors. At least 500 officials of various levels, including secretaries to home, establishment, communications, information, education and local government ministries have been changed apparently to reshuffle the bureaucracy in the party's favour. Another 350 officials are idling their time away as officers on special duty (OSD). The government on September 7 promoted a total of 494 officials, mostly from the administration cadre to the levels of deputy secretary, joint secretary and additional secretary in excess of the approved vacant positions in the organogram and made them OSDs. The government has given contractual appointments on political considerations to most of the key overseas missions of the country including those in the United States, United Kingdom and India. Fifty-four senior police officers were transferred and three others were made OSD in March. In addition, the position of the chiefs of the Anti Corruption Commission and the Regulatory Reforms Commission, have also undergone change. The vice chancellors of the Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi University have also been appointed on the basis of political consideration. |
__._,_.___