As the country welcomed Durga Puja, the interim government issued several directives aimed at ensuring a stable law and order situation throughout the country. The directives were issued through an official memorandum signed by Md Zahirul Haque, senior assistant secretary of the Political-2 branch of the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The guidelines follow decisions made during the second meeting of the Law and Order Advisory Council, chaired by the Home Affairs Adviser this week.

The key directives include maintaining law and order during the celebration of Sharadiya Durga Puja 2024, with all law enforcement agencies advised to enhance visible patrols and increase surveillance. Armed forces deployed for maintaining order will also provide necessary assistance. Local administration and law enforcement agencies must conduct inspections of the puja pandals. They are also advised to be vigilant against the spread of any objectionable or inflammatory statements on social media.

Four banks - First Security Islami, Social Islami, Global Islami and National - have received a total of Tk 945 crore as liquidity support from five other banks. First Security Islami Bank received Tk 200 crore from City Bank, Tk 50 crore from Mutual Trust Bank and Tk 50 crore from Dutch-Bangla Bank, according to the central bank data. Social Islami Bank received Tk 300 crore from City Bank and Tk 50 crore from Mutual Trust Bank.

Global Islami Bank received Tk 25 crore from Eastern Bank while National Bank received Tk 200 crore from City Bank, Tk 50 crore from Mutual Trust Bank and Tk 20 crore from Bengal Commercial Bank, as per BB data. Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Husne Ara Shikha confirmed the news and said some banks are still preparing required documents to support those lenders. The four banks, as well as Union Bank, had obtained a Bangladesh Bank guarantee last month to avail liquidity support from the inter-bank money market.

The advisory committee on government purchase approved the import of two cargoes of liquified natural gas (LNG) from the spot market. Singapore-based MS Gunvor Singapore Pte will supply per million British thermal unit of the consignment at $13.57 and $13.77. The first consignment will cost Tk 640.15 crore while the second one Tk 649.59 crore. The committee approved the consignments after getting quotations from among the 23 companies that have Master Sale and Purchase Agreements (MSPAs) with Petrobangla, following the Public Procurement Rules 2008.

After taking charge, Adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Fouzul Kabir Khan had announced they would stop using the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act 2010, the controversial law that indemnified many of the transactions in this sector. The Adviser on Finance and Commerce, Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, has previously disclosed there are credible allegations of irregularities centring the purchase of LNG by the previous government.

Acting Editor of the Amar Desh Mahmudur Rahman was finally granted bail by a Dhaka court, in a case related to the alleged conspiracy to abduct and kill former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge As-Shams Jaglul Hossain issued the bail order on Thursday, although by then Rahman, who chaired the Board of Investment during the last BNP-led government. On September 29, Mahmudur Rahman was sent to jail by a different court in the same case, after returning home from Malaysia

The case dates back to 2011 when it is alleged that senior BNP leaders and its cultural wing, Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha (JASAS), conspired to kidnap and murder Sajeeb Wazed Joy in the United States.Yet interestingly the case was filed in Dhaka. The charges also included that the accused met at various locations, including the JASAS office in Paltan, Dhaka, New York, the United Kingdom and other places in Bangladesh.