Dhaka: Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said, ‘I have been in regular contact with the Bangladesh Army Chief since the change of power in Bangladesh. We even spoke through video conference on November 24.’

He made this comment in response to a journalist’s question at the Indian Army’s annual press conference on Monday (January 13).

At a press conference ahead of the Indian Army’s ‘Army Day’, General Upendra Dwivedi said, ‘We are neighbors. We have to live together, understand each other and no kind of enmity will be good for our mutual interests. Hatred between neighbors will not bring good for either side.’

In response to journalists’ questions, the Indian Army Chief said, ‘I want to remind you of the comment made by the Bangladesh Army Chief recently. He said, India is important for us from a strategic point of view. From our point of view, the matter is the same. Bangladesh is also important for us for strategic reasons.’

He said that most of Bangladesh’s border is with India and a small part in the southeast is with Myanmar. General Dwivedi claimed that there is no ‘problem’ between the armies of the two countries.

On military cooperation, he said that the relations between the two countries are strong. So far, the relations with the army are good and perfect.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5 in the student-public movement, tensions have increased between Bangladesh and India over the construction of a fence in the border area. In the meantime, Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi spoke at a press conference on the Bangladesh issue.

Dhaka: The dismissed trainee sub-inspectors (SIs) of the 40th batch of the police have announced a fast unto death by staging a sit-in in front of the secretariat until their reinstatement.

The 40th (cadet) sub-inspectors of the 2023 batch of dismissed SIs held a sit-in in front of the secretariat from Monday (January 13) morning demanding the reinstatement of their duties. They announced the hunger strike by holding a press conference as their demands were not met by 3:30 pm.

Dismissed cadet Alamgir Hossain said at a press conference, "We, 321 sub-inspectors, staged a peaceful sit-in in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs on January 5 and 6 to protest the unfair dismissal of the 40th cadet sub-inspector batch of Bangladesh Police from the ongoing training and to demand their reinstatement." The Home Secretary met a delegation of us and assured us of taking appropriate action regarding our demands. Since we have not seen any visible action in our regard so far, we (321 people) have been peacefully protesting in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs since this morning (January 13).

He said, "Since we have not received any specific assurance from the appropriate authorities since this morning, we have announced a hunger strike until death as our next program from today (January 13) until we are reinstated in service. We will remain in front of the Secretariat until our demands are met."

The protesters, who took the stand earlier, said that we did not participate in the training on November 4, 2023. After the training was completed, a total of 321 people were discharged in four phases without being assigned to the job, citing various reasons. Therefore, we, the discharged trainee sub-inspectors (SIs) of the 40th batch, have taken a stand demanding our reinstatement in service.

 Discharged cadet Sajidul Islam said, "A total of 321 people have been discharged instead of completing our training and posting for various minor reasons. 203 people were excluded for not having breakfast." 49 people were dismissed for standing in the field without listening to commands, 58 for being inattentive in class. 3 people were dismissed for not marching in class, and finally 8 people were dismissed for making noise in the field. Therefore, we would like to draw the attention of the government and request that we be reinstated in our jobs immediately.

Protester Anamika Saha said, "We have been training for a year, making many sacrifices, almost without pay. When we were supposed to be regular in the job, we were dismissed. Now we are roaming the streets in the hope of getting our jobs back."

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) is erecting a barbed wire fence on the Cumilla border. Half of the pond falls in India and half in Bangladesh. Local residents said that residents of both countries used to bathe in this pond to collect necessary water

Local residents said that one-third of the pond is in India. The remaining part falls in Bangladesh. However, residents of both countries bathe in this pond to collect necessary water.

The pond is located on the border between Suryanagar of Sonaimura police station in Sepahi district of Tripura state, India, and Shahpur village of Jagannathpur union in Cumilla Sadar upazila. The BSF started constructing a barbed wire fence there a few days ago. Currently, work is ongoing. However, the BGB said that this fence is not being built using Bangladeshi land.

Barta24.com visited the Cumilla border on the spot. We spoke to local residents. When we went there, we saw that four armed BGB members were on alert near the pond. The work of installing pillars is going on in the presence of BSF. In addition, the patrolling of BGB members has been increased. All the roads entering the border are now under strict guard. BSF has increased patrolling on the Indian side.

Local resident Rajiba Sultana said, we have been coming and going for a long time because we are neighbors. Due to the construction of the barbed wire fence, we have lost touch with our relatives. BSF is oppressing us more.

Mainul Hasan Mia, a 70-year-old from the same area, said, I got married in India. My in-laws' house is there. Due to the fence, I will not be able to go to my in-laws' house regularly as before.

Cumilla 10 BGB Commander Lieutenant Colonel AM Zahid Parvez said, the construction of fences within 150 yards of the zero point of the Cumilla border was approved by a high-level decision of the Bangladesh and Indian governments. That work is now underway. However, we are always monitoring whether it is working outside the design or not. If there is any deviation from the design, the work is immediately stopped through a flag meeting. We will not let them occupy even an inch of our land.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed three separate cases against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, her sister's son Radwan Mujib Siddique Bobby, daughter Azmina Siddique, and Tulip Rizwana Siddique on charges of abusing power to obtain plots from RAJUK.

The cases were filed at the ACC's Dhaka Integrated District Office on Monday (January 13). ACC Director General Md. Akhter Hossain confirmed the case.

Earlier on Sunday (January 12), the ACC filed a case against ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her daughter Saima Wazed Putul and 16 others, including the secretary of the Ministry of National Housing and Public Works, after finding evidence of abusing power to obtain a 60-katha plot in Purbachal.

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana, her son Radwan Mujib Siddique Bobby and daughter Azmina Siddique have been named as the main accused in three separate cases. On the other hand, Tulip Rizwana Siddique and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have been named as co-accused. In addition, 12 to 13 people have been named as accused in each case.

The case statement states that while serving as the highest office-bearer and public servant of the government, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina misused the power vested in her and, despite not being eligible for the allocation, obtained the allocation in the name of Saima Wazed, 203rd Street, Sector 27 of the Purbachal Housing Project, and took the plot on the registry along with actual possession of the plot. A case has been filed against the accused under Sections 161/163/164/409/109 of the Penal Code, 1860, as well as Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

The main allegation is that Sheikh Hasina, with the special powers of the government for political reasons, misused her power and committed irregularities and corruption in collusion with senior officials of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) to allocate six plots of 10 kathas each from Road No. 203 of the Diplomatic Zone of Sector 27 of the Purbachal New City Project in the name of herself, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul, sister Sheikh Rehana, sister's son Radwan Mujib Siddique Bobby and daughter Azmina Siddique.

On December 27, the ACC announced its decision to investigate allegations of irregularities in the allocation of plots in Purbachal against Sheikh Hasina and six members of her family. After ruling the country for a decade and a half, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5 after a student-people uprising. She has been there since then.

The ACC decided on December 22 to investigate allegations of embezzlement of 300 million dollars (Tk. 30,000 crore) abroad against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Earlier, a five-member investigation team was formed to investigate allegations of corruption of Tk. 80,000 crore against Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana's family in various projects. The commission has ordered the same team to investigate the new allegation of embezzlement of 300 million dollars. All of them are reportedly at the investigation stage.

The allegations of corruption of several billion dollars in the Rooppur nuclear power project against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members are "completely baseless", said her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who is currently residing in the United States. At the same time, he challenged the ACC to provide evidence of this "corruption".