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National Parliamentary Elections
Amid the resistance and boycott by the BNP-led opposition alliance, the 10th parliamentary elections held on January 5 in 147 constituencies was marked by significantly low turnout in many centres and deadly violence in some places outside Dhaka in which at least 20 people, including an Ansar member, were killed. The Awami League secured absolute majority in the 10th parliament by bagging 232 seats – 105 contested and 127 uncontested. The Jatiya Party became the second largest party in the pa -
Attack on Hindus
Jamaat-Shibir activists wearing masks launched a violent attack on Hindu community in Jessore on January 6, allegedly for voting for boat. They set fire at a number of houses and looted some 107 residences of the Hindu community people at Malopara-Chapatala village under Abhaynagar upazila. Some 100 people of the locality had to jump into the Bhairab River in order to save themselves from the violent attack of the Jamaat-Shibir activists as they were equipped with firearms, crude bombs, machet -
Cabinet sworn in
A new 49-member cabinet led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sworn in with President Abdul Hamid administering the oath on January 12. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the Cabinet Division, Public Administration Ministry and Defence Ministry. -
10-truck arms haul verdict
A Chittagong court handed on January 30 down death sentences to 14 people, including former ministers Motiur Rahman Nizami and Lutfozzaman Babar and four ex-defence personnel in intelligence agencies, for masterminding the country’s largest ever smuggling of weaponries in 2004 that raised concerns about national security. There were 50 accused in the arms case and 52 in the other. Except for the 14 convicts, Judge Mojibur acquitted rest of the total accused from the charges. -
Snatching of convicted JMB members
JMB Majlish-e-Shura members Salauddin alias Salehin, Hafej Mahmud alias Raqib Hasan and Zahidul Islam alias Boma Mizan had been snatched from a prison van at Trishal on February 23 while they had been taken to a Mymensingh court from Gazipur jails. Later, police arrested Rakib Hasan Sohel, one of the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militants, who were snatched away by assailants. Of the hijacked JMB members, Salauddin and Hafej Mahmud were death row convicts while Boma Mizan was a life -
Bangladesh's national anthem record
Bangladesh created a record for gathering the most people to sing the national anthem 'Amar Shonar Bangla' at the National Parade Ground in Dhaka on March 26. The Guinness Book of World Records accepted the record on April 9. -
Ahsanullah students drown in the Bay
Two students of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology in Dhaka have gone missing while swimming near Saint Martin Island in Cox's Bazar on April 14. But they were not traced. -
Abduction of Bela chief's husband
Abu Bakar Siddique, husband of Bela chief Syeda Rizwana Hasan, has been abducted from Fatulla area in Narayanganj on April 16. Kidnappers of Abu Bakar Siddique, a businessman, released him after more than 30 hours of his abduction near the Mirpur Ansar Camp at Mirpur 1 around midnight with his eyes blindfolded and gave him Tk300. -
Narayanganj 7-murder incident
A total of seven people, including Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, were abducted on April 27 and killed allegedly by RAB 11 personnel. Their bodies were later found floating in Shitalakhya River. The other victims were-- Nazrul's four associates, senior lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver. The three sacked RAB officials – Lt Col Tareq Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander SM Masud Rana – are facing trials for the abductions an
A probe team, led by Additional Director Genera -
Fulgazi Chairman Ekram Killing
Fulgazi Upazila Chairman Ekramul Haq was shot and burnt to death by miscreants who set his microbus on fire in Academy area of Feni town on May 20. Ekram, 47, was the ruling Awami League-backed Upazila Chairman of Fulgazi, Feni. He was also the president of Awami League, Fulgazi Upazlia unit. -
Myanmar BGP kills BGB man
Mizanur Rahman, a naik of the Border Guard Bangladesh, was killed by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) at Naikhongchhari in Bandarban on May 30. He was shot allegedly by the Myanmar frontier guards, near the border pillar number 52 at Paanchhari in Dochhari union. -
Rocket shells recovered in Habiganj
A total of 222 pieces of 40m rocket shells, 248 rocket launcher charges and other warheads have been recovered from the bordering Satchhari forest of Chunarughat upazila in Habiganj on June 4. Officials of Rapid Action Battalion recovered more arms and ammunition by conducting several drives in the forest. -
Bihari camp attack
Nine members of a Bihari [stranded Pakistani] family were burnt alive following a clash between the Bangali and Bihari community people in Kalshi of the capital's Mirpur area on June 14. Another person, who received severe bullet injuries, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. -
Verdict in Ramna blast case
Chief of banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Mufti Abdul Hannan and seven of his aides were sentenced to death on June 23 for killing 10 people in a bomb blast incident during the traditional celebrations of the Bangla New Year at the capital’s Ramna Batamul in 2001. For the same offence, six other Huji members were sentenced to life term imprisonment for conspiracy, plotting and carrying out the attack on commoners who were visiting the place to observe the day, on April 14. -
124kg smuggled gold seized
In the country’s biggest ever haul of smuggled gold, 1,065 gold bars weighing over 124kg and worth about Tk540m were recovered from a Bangladeshi flag carrier soon after it landed at Shahjalal International Airport on July 24. However, the authorities failed to make any arrests in the incident. Officials of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) aided the customs officials in the raid. -
Pinak 6 capsize with 250 on board
With more than 250 passengers, Mawa-bound double-decker vessel, Pinak 6, sank in the Padma River on August 4 due to strong current and high winds. After an eight-day search, the rescue operation was called off. A total of 48 bodies were recovered and while 58 were still missing. -
Islami programme host Faruqi killing
Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi, presenter of religious programmes on Channel i, was slaughtered by unidentified armed assailants at his own residence in the capital's Purba Rajabazar on August 27. He was also the Presidium member and international affairs secretary of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat – an organisation known better for opposing the views of Jamaat-e-Islami. -
Al-Qaeda threatens Bangladesh
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the formation of a wing of the militant group in India and its neighbourhood. In the video posted online, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri promised to spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the "Indian subcontinent". On September 4, Zawahiri said the Indian wing "would rescue" Muslims in Bangladesh, along with other places in the subcontinent, from "injustice and oppression.” -
Latif Siddiqui controversy
Expelled minister Abdul Latif Siddique has been languishing in jail since November 25 in a case filed for hurting the countrymen’s religious sentiment by making controversial remarks on Islam, Hajj and Tablig Jamaat. Six other cases have been filed with the same court against Latif for his controversial remarks made on September 28 during a meeting in New York. A number of cases have been filed with different courts across the country and most of the courts issued arrest warrants against Lat -
DU stops 'double chance' for intake exam
In an attempt to stop university seats being wasted each year, Dhaka University on October 14 decided that the students from now onwards would only get a single chance to contest for the intake exam of the university. However, the students who failed to get into the university staged several protests against the decision. -
Natore head-on collision
Thirty-two people were killed, and many more injured, in a fatal road accident at Rezur Crossing of Razapur area in Baraigram upazila in Natore on October 20. The deceased were from Sidhulai village of Gurudaspur upazila, Taranagar of Baraigram upazila, and Hizli of Singra upazila. -
War criminal Ghulam Azam, Alim die
Convicted war criminals Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam and BNP leader Abdul Alim died at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University on October 23 and August 30 respectively. Ghulam Azam, the 92-year-old Jamaat guru was sentenced to 90-year imprisonment on July 15 last year for crimes against humanity that he had committed during the 1971 Liberation War. Alim a former minister in the cabinet of late president Gen Ziaur Rahman (1977-81), served as the chairman of Peace Committee in Joypurha -
Accused acquitted in Padma graft case
A Dhaka court acquitted all seven accused including former bridges division secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan in the much-talked-about Padma Multipurpose Bridge graft case on October 26. Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Special Judge Md Zahirul Haque passed the order after accepting the final report of the case filed by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC). The six others are former caretaker engineer Kazi Mohammad Ferdous, former executive engineer Riaz Ahmed Javed, deputy managing director Md M -
Plot to assassinate Hasina
India's top counter-terrorism agency on October 29 uncovered a suspected plot by a banned militant group to assassinate the prime minister of Bangladesh and carry out a coup. India will hand over a dossier to Bangladesh with details of the plan by members of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, which has carried out scores of attacks in India's eastern neighbour. -
Railways minister ties knot
Railways Minister Mujibul Hoque gets married ending his bachelor life at the age of 67 on October 31. Formalities of the wedding was completed in the bride’s own village Mirakhula in Chandina upazila of the district. Denmohor of the wedding was set Tk5 lakhs and one. Meanwhile, money and mobile phone handsets of around 50 guests including Abdul Matin Khashru MP were stolen during the wedding ceremony. Police detained a pickpocket from the wedding venue. -
Lights out all over Bangladesh
An unusual power outage took over the entire country as the national grid collapsed on November 1. Though power supply was restored partially across the country but later the national grid collapsed again. The outage triggered by the excessive electricity supply from India. -
RU professor killed
Shafiul Islam Lilon, a professor of social science at Rajshahi University, was hacked to death outside his house in the Chauddapai area of Rajshahi city on November 15. He died several hours later while undergoing treatment for his wounds. A Facebook page, apparently representing an unknown militant group, has claimed responsibility for the murder. Professor Shafiul had a long standing suspicion that Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir men might physically assault him. -
Tigers whitewash Zimbabwe
Bangladesh whitewashed Zimbabwe by wining the fifth and last ODI by five wickets in the series at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on December 1. With this win Bangladesh successfully whitewashed the tourist by winning all matches. Chasing Zimbabwe's 128, Bangladesh reached the winning score in the 25th over of its innings.
Bangladesh scored the 130 losing five wickets in 24.3 overs, with 153 balls remaining. -
Khaleda's meeting with govt officials
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on December 4 held a meeting with several present and former government officials at BNP party office in the capital's Gulshan. The government identified the public servants who reportedly attended the secret meeting. Later, the clandestine meeting with Khaleda Zia earned Ministry of Public Administration (MOPA) Joint Secretary AKM Jahangir forced retirement. -
Sundarbans oil spill
Southern Star Seven, carrying 357,000 litres of oil, capsized in Shela River at Sundarbans, spilling oil over a large area in the river on December 9. It poured an estimated 350,000 litres [75,000 gallons] of furnace oil into waterways inside the forest reserve, spreading across an area of several hundred square kilometres and contaminating the land and water of the tidal mangrove forest. -
5 sacks full of money, gold bars recovered
Customs Intelligence officials and detectives, in a drive, seized huge foreign currencies from an apartment in the capital’s Nayapaltan area on December 25. At least 528 gold bars weighing about 61 kg were also recovered from the apartment. However, he did not disclose the number of the arrestees. -
Jihad found dead in the 600-ft pipe
Four-year-old Jihad has been found dead inside the abandoned 600-ft deep water pump pipe at capital's Shahjahanpur Railway Colony on December 26, almost a full day after he fell into it. The duty doctors of Dhaka Medical College Hospital said Jihad died around three-fours before he was recovered. -
Kibria murder: Sylhet mayor surrenders
Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury surrendered before a district court on December 30 in former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria murder case. On January 27, 2005, five people including Kibria were killed in a grenade attack after at
