Ex-B’desh min dies in jail, sparks concerns over custodial deaths
Dhaka, Feb 7: Former Bangladesh Minister and senior Awami League leader Ramesh Chandra Sen died on Saturday after reportedly falling ill while in police custody at Dinajpur District Jail, according to local media reports citing official sources. The incident has added to the growing number of reported custodial deaths involving Awami League leaders and supporters in Bangladesh prisons, intensifying allegations of political repression and targeted actions under the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus. Sen, who previously served as the Water Resources Minister and represented the Thakurgaon-1 (Sadar upazila) constituency as a Member of Parliament, was pronounced dead at 9:29 am on Saturday by doctors at the emergency department of Dinajpur Medical College Hospital. According to a report by leading Bangladeshi daily The Dhaka Tribune, he fell ill early in the morning and was rushed from Dinajpur District Jail to the hospital at approximately 9:10 am Sources within the jail administration informed The Dhaka Tribune that Sen had been arrested on August 16 last year and was subsequently shifted to Dinajpur District Jail. (PTI)
Four children injured after unknown object explodes in Nepal
Kathmandu, Feb 7: Four children were seriously injured on Saturday when an unidentified object they were playing with exploded in Nepal’s Madhesh province, police said. The incident occurred when the children, aged between nine and 16, were on a picnic near the Dudhaila river in the Saptari district of the province. They found an object that looked like a rocket used as a firecracker in the forest, which exploded when they picked it up, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Dambar Bahadur Puri. The children are undergoing medical treatment at Madhesh Province Hospital at Rupani, and their condition is out of danger, said the police officer. The police said they are conducting further investigation into the matter. (PTI)
Greek police detain 313 in raid at varsity
Thessaloniki, Feb 7: Authorities in Greece on Saturday detained 313 people in a raid on the university campus of the country’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, after riot police were attacked by mobs of people hurling more than 100 Molotov cocktails. Greek police said roving groups of people wearing hoods emerged from the campus of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the predawn hours Saturday to attack a squad of riot police. The unit is usually deployed some distance from the campus to quell any disturbances after all-night parties that take place on university grounds. Police said all 313 people were released without being charged. Such attacks against riot police near the university campus are not uncommon but it’s the first time that so many people were detained after such a clash during which an unusually high number of firebombs was used. The university said in a statement that off-campus “extremists” in conjunction with some individuals from within university grounds had committed the attacks. They said an investigation is underway to determine if any students had taken part. (AP)
