Captain Abdul Majed, convicted killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and assumed to have been in hiding in India since 1996, was sent to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj, hours after he was arrested in Dhaka. Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit under Dhaka Metropolitan Police, in its forwarding report, said Abdul Majed was arrested from near Gabtoli Bus Stand of Dhaka around 3:45am on Monday night (Tuesday morning). He was produced before court the next day.

A Dhaka Court issued he death warrant for Captain Abdul Majed in connection with the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members. Judge Md Helal Chowdhury of District and Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka issued the order after the prosecution submitted two separate petitions -- one for showing him arrested and the other for issuing the death warrant. It has since been learned that Majed filed a mercy petition to save himself from execution, but this has been turned down by President Abdul Hamid.

Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) expressed grave concern about the rising trend of domestic violence against women during the ongoing countrywide shutdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Drawing attention to a recent call by UN Secretary General to take speedy actions to prevent domestic violence across countries, MJF urged the government to take effective measures by prioritising issues of violence against women and children in official COVID-19 National Response Plan.

In a statement released to media, MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam said instead of protection and safety in homes, many women and girls in several parts of the country are suffering from domestic violence which is really worrying. Being confined, it is not possible for victims to report violence or take legal action. Citing data received from 'reliable sources', MJF said 36 rape incidents and more than 300 incidences of domestic abuse and violence occurred in March in three districts--Bogra, Jamalpur and Cox's Bazar.

Bangladesh Bank cut both the policy rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR) once again to inject liquid funds into the market to push through the ongoing economic fallout stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The central bank reduced banks' CRR by 100 basis points to 4 percent, a move that would inject about Tk 12,800 crore into the economy, said a central bank official. The cash reserve ratio determines the portion of customer deposits that commercial banks must keep as a reserve with the central bank authority.

Using the reserve ratio, the central bank can, in effect, control the amount of liquid cash that circulates in the economy -- a higher CRR means the banks must hold higher reserves and thus tighten the flow of cash. Bangladesh Bank also slashed the policy or repurchase agreement rate (known as the repo rate) by 50 basis points to 5.25 percent to make funds cheaper for banks. The reduced repo rate means banks can get more access to central bank funds if needed at a lower rate of return.

Authorities of Dhaka University, Jagannath University and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology suspended all classes and examinations until further notice due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Dhaka University made the announcement Thursday (April 9) and said students will be notified at least three days before classes and examinations resume. Calling upon students to do physical exercise regularly, the university authority asked them to stay at home and continue their studies during the closure.Administrative activities of the university will remain closed till April 14 but emergency services will remain out of the purview of the closure.

Jagannath University Registrar Md Ohiduzzaman too made a similar announcement on behalf of the university authorities. Registrar of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) Mohd Ishfaqul Hussain also circulated a notice saying all activities of the university will be suspended until further notice. But SUST plans to continue online classes.