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     Volume 5 Issue 87 | March 24, 2006 |


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Dhaka Diary

Legally Muggers
Last Wednesday, while I was returning from my class after a tiresome day's work when my car was passing by the traffic signal at Panthapath opposite Body n Sports, a sergeant signalled us and two more cars to halt. My initial thought was that it was a routine investigation. But when he approached us, he had different ideas. He told us that we had just run a red light, though I remember it being green. He took my driver's licence along with the others and asked the drivers to move aside with him. He then asked my driver to give 200 taka or else he would fine us 2000 taka. My driver was helpless and had to give in to the sergeant's 'request'. For those who are not aware, we have uniformed muggers roaming around.
Minhaj Ahmed
E-mail

New strategy for beggars
The other day, I had gone to the Kamalapur railway station along with my cousin to see a friend off. With around 10 minutes for the train to depart, I started to arrange my luggage and get on the train, when suddenly a beggar wrapped himself around my leg and started begging for alms. I was thrown into confusion. The train was about to leave, and this little boy simply would not let go of my foot. Finally, I had to give in to his pleas, and managed to threaten him mildly as well. "I'll report you to the police!" I said. "The officers in duty around here get a part of the alms we receive, so it wouldn't really matter even if you complain," came his quick reply.
Kabir
DU

Coaching centre or cheating centre
Some days ago after saying my Jumma prayers I was returning home. After leaving the mosque I was given a leaflet containing course information of a renowned coaching centre. The format of the leaflet seemed familiar to me. After observing it for a while, I recognised the format. It was the same format used by The Daily Star to pack their 15th anniversary specials. They used the same red and white background. On the white portion, their 10th anniversary was announced, mentioning the name of the coaching centre. They covered the red part with information about their courses and the addresses of their two branches. In a nutshell, they copied the whole format! I wonder how they will be able to teach their students when they don't possess enough creativity to create a format on their own!
Atiqur Rahman
DC

 

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