50 killed as US-Bangla plane crashes
At least 50 people, including 50 Bangladeshis, were killed after an aircraft of US-Bangla Airlines crashed and burst into flames near Kathmandu airport in the biggest ever aviation disaster involving a Bangladeshi passenger aircraft.
The deceased Bangladeshi nationals are Foysal Ahmed, Eakub Ali, Alifuzzaman, Bilkis Ara, Begum Hurun Nahar Bilquis Banu, Akhtara Begum, Nazia Afrin Chowdhury, Md Rokibul Hasan, Sanzida Haque, Md Hasan Imam, Mohammad Nazrul Islam, Akhi Moni, Meenhaz Bin Nasir, FH Priok, Tamarra Prionmoyee, Md Motiur Rahman, SM Mahmudur Rahman, Tahira Tanvin Shashi Reza, Pias Roy, Umme Salma, Aniruddha Zaman, Md Nuruz Zaman, Md Raiquz Zaman, co-pilot Prithula Rashid and crewmember Khwaja Hussain, according to a post shared by State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam in his Facebook account.
The Bangladeshi injured are Shahreen Ahmed, Almun Nahar Annie, Md Shahin Bepari, Md Rezwanul Haque, Mehedi Hasan, Emrana Kabir Hashi, Md Kabir Hossain, Sheikh Rashed Rubayet, Saiyda Kamrunnahar Shwarna, pilot Abib Sultan and crewmember KHM Shafey, he said.
Of the injured passengers, Rezwanul was taken to OM Hospital while the rest were taken to Kathmandu Medical College.
The pilot was admitted to Norvic International Hospital while Shafey was yet to be taken to the hospital, the state minister wrote.
Exact death toll was yet to be confirmed while filing of this report as the injured were taking treatments in Nepali hospitals.
A YouTube video revealing the conversation between the pilot of the US-Bangla flight BS-211 and the control tower of Katmundu’s Tribhubon International Airport (TIA) hinted at a miscommunication between them.
The Independent, however, could not verify the authenticity of the audio tape.
Raj Kumar Chhetri, general manager at TIA, told the news agencies that the aircraft skidded off the runaway after landing in the "wrong direction against the order of the control room".
"The control room had given permission to land from the southern end. But it landed from the northern side after making few rounds in the sky," he said.
“The plane flew past just above the air-traffic
control tower during its descent for landing. It touched down the ground just next to a parked plane and ploughed through a fence on the east side of the airport, and plunged into the lower ground,” said Chhetri.
“When control tower asked the pilot if there was any problem, the pilot said everything is okay. However, instead of landing from the north side, the plane went towards north-east and made two rounds,” the Kathmandu Post reported Chhetri as saying.
“Again the tower asked the pilot why he didn’t land the plane and enquired if he was okay. In reply, the pilot said all is fine and he was preparing to land. The alignment of the plane was not properly adjusted for landing.
When the air-traffic controller informed about the alignment, there was no response. And then the plane descended from close to airport tower towards the right side (near army hangar),” he added.
Court sends Khaleda to jail
In a major development, a Dhaka special judge’s court sentenced BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case filed in 2008. Her eldest son and BNP senior vice-chairman, Tarique Rahman, and four others were given 10 years' jail term in the case. The court also fined Tarique and the four Tk. 2,10,71,000. Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman delivered the verdict at 2.29pm in a jam-packed and highly-guarded makeshift courtroom set up at Bakshibazar in Dhaka. Khaleda Zia and two other accused— former BNP lawmaker Qazi Saleemul Huq and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed—were present. Three other accused—Tarique Rahman, Khaleda’s ex-principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddique and Ziaur Rahman’s nephew Mominur Rahman—were tried in their absence.
It is the second time that a lower court has convicted a former head of government in connection with a corruption case. Earlier, a lower court had given its judgment in a case in which HM Ershad was the accused. The authorities have put in place tight security measures across the country. Foolproof security arrangements have also been made in and around the court area to avoid any untoward incident in the aftermath of the verdict.
The three times premier, Khaleda Zia, wearing an off-while sari, left for court from her Gulshan residence, but had to wait on the way for about three hours as her followers gathered in large numbers from Mogbazar to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. She reached the courtroom at 1.51pm.
The judge entered the courtroom at 2.12 pm and started delivering the verdict, saying it is a big case and the verdict is of 632 pages. “I will not read out the full judgement. I will read some relevant portions of the verdict,” the judge said. After elaborating the case history, the court delivered the verdict: “The prosecution has been able to prove the allegations brought against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
As the prosecution has proven the allegations against Tarique Rahman and four others, the court awarded each of them 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined them Tk. 2,10,71,000 under Sections 409 and 109 of the Penal Code.” It also said: “Although the allegations brought against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia have been proven beyond reasonable doubt, the court sentences Khaleda Zia to five years’ rigorous imprisonment, considering her age and social status.”
The court said the trial proceedings in the case were delayed as the defence lawyers moved the higher court to halt the proceedings.
Even after chargesheets were submitted against the accused persons, trial proceedings stopped several times following the no-confidence petitions filed by the accused against the judges concerned.
Shahidul put on 7-day remand
A Dhaka Court remanded the renowned photographer Shahidul Alam in police custody for seven days in an Information and Communication Technology Act (ICT) case. The police sought 10 days’ remand for Shahidul after suing him under Section 57 (2) of the ICT Act. They accused him of spreading rumours and making provocative statements against the government on his Facebook page that triggered panic among the public, leading to a deterioration of law and order. Earlier, a case under the ICT Act had been filed against Shahidul, who is also the managing director of Drik Gallery. He was charged with sharing videos on social media that incited violence in the ongoing student-led movement for road safety.
Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media and public) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said the case had been filed by Detective Branch (DB) inspector Mehedi Hasan at Ramna police station.
Shahidul was detained by DB men from his Dhanmondi house on Sunday night. The DB later confirmed the news.
The photographer was taken morning to the DB office at Minto Road, where he was interrogated by DB officers.
Earlier, Rahnuma Ahmed, wife of Shahidul, at a press briefing claimed that she was unable to trace her husband’s whereabouts. She said Shahidul Alam should be returned unconditionally and without being harmed.
“Law enforcers abducted him forcefully. But is it their job to abduct someone? It’s what kidnappers do!” she said.
Rahnuma also claimed that on that night Dhanmondi police station delayed the registration of her complaint.
The photographer was detained hours after giving an interview to the Doha-based television channel Al Jazeera regarding the ongoing students’ movement.
In a statement, Drik Picture Library Limited communication officer Amina Neyamat said: “Internationally renowned photographer Dr Shahidul Alam, managing director, Drik, was forcibly abducted from his house in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, after 10:00pm on 5 August 2018 (sic).”
Earlier, on Saturday, Shahidul came under attack allegedly by miscreants while capturing an attack on the students campaigning for road safety near City College in Dhanmondi. Soon after the incident, he took shelter in a nearby guesthouse and went live on his Facebook page to share the incident.
Photo Captions
1. BNP chief Khaleda Zia is seen through her vehicle’s window on the way to the makeshift court at Bakshibazar in the capital.
2. A policeman carries two pillion riders even without any helmet on their heads on the Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue at Farmgate in the capital at 4:50pm. clearly violating the Motor Vehicles Act 1983 that prohibits more than one pillion rider and makes mandatory use of helmets.
3. Shahidul Alam is being produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court in the capital.
4. Aggrieved students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College go berserk and vandalise vehicles after a bus of Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan ploughs into their fellows waiting for public transport near Radisson Hotel on Airport Road. Inset, Dia Akter Mim of Class XI and Abdul Karim of Class XII of the college were killed on the spot.
5. Nepalese law enforcers and rescue workers gather around the debris of the US-Bangla airplane (inset) that crashed and burst into flames near the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
The deaths that jolt the nation
Two students were killed and 12 others injured when a rash driver ploughed through passengers on a footpath near Radisson Hotel on Airport Road in the capital in July. The two deceased—17-year-old Dia Akter Mim of Class XI and 19-year-old Abdul Karim of Class XII—were students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College. Another student of the same college was critically injured and was admitted to Kurmitola General Hospital.
At least 50 buses were vandalised by angry fellows.
Kazi Sahan Haq, officer-in-charge (OC) of Cantonment Police Station, confirmed the incident to The Independent. “Two students were killed. The condition of the other is serious. Irate students vandalised the bus and blockaded the road after the incident. As a result, there was tremendous traffic congestion on the road,” said the OC. Angry locals nabbed the errant bus driver and handed him over to Cantonment Police Station shortly after the mishap.
Around 3:30pm, the OC said normal vehicular movement had been restored, but students continued to fume over the incident.
Sagir Mia, assistant director of Kurmitola General Hospital, said, “Fourteen people were brought here after the accident. Two of them were declared dead. We gave primary treatment to six while the other six were taken to Combined General Hospital (CMH).”
An eyewitness said a group of students was waiting for the bus at the foot of the flyover. Two buses of the Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan were trying to overtake each other. When the students tried to board the buses, one of the buses—Dhaka Metro B-119297—ran over the students.
On getting this news, the furious students came out and started organising protests on the road. When they started vandalising vehicles and torching buses, vehicular movement on the airport roads ceased.
Sachin Mallik, assistant commissioner (traffic) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said the mob torched and vandalised over 50 buses in the area. The accident occurred around 12:30pm, following which students from the educational institution took to the streets and blocked the road in protest. Vehicles were vandalised and a bus was torched immediately after the accident.
Around seven to eight students were waiting in front of Kurmitola Armed Forces Medical College to cross the road when the mishap took place, he added.
Abdul Ahad, additional deputy commissioner of the DMP’s Gulshan division, said movement of traffic was suspended for nearly two hours on this important road of the capital.
Senior police officials went to the spot and removed the protestors from the road. The road was cleared around 2:30pm. They detained the bus driver and helper at the spot, he added.
The infuriated students claimed that the route has proved to be extremely dangerous for all commuters. They alleged that bus drivers and their helpers do not control their speed and always try to overtake each other. Recently, the death of Saidur Rahman
Payel increased serious concerns about the road safety of the people. Payel, an NSU student, was seriously injured while boarding on a Hanif Paribahan bus as he got off in the middle of the road amid traffic congestion. Instead of taking to hospital, staff of the bus threw him on a canal and later on July 23, his decomposed body was discovered from the canal at Gazaria upazila under Munshiganj district. Just a month ago, a former student of Jahangirnagar University (JU) was killed in the same area after being hit by a speeding bus. Such accidents are occurring quite frequently in the capital because of rash driving.