United News of Bangladesh

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Sunday said the police must not serve as an instrument of any political party or group but should instead become a true friend of people and a symbol of public security. The government's priority is to ensure public safety and build a modern, professional and people-oriented police force free from political influence, he said while addressing the graduation parade of the first phase of the 27th BCS (Police) batch at the Bangladesh Police Academy in Sardah, Rajshahi. He said the government has taken various steps to restore the morale of the police force which was undermined by excessive politicisation during the previous “fascist government”. The minister said a strict system of rewards for professionalism and disciplinary action for misconduct has been introduced to strengthen integrity and discipline within the force. Congratulating the newly appointed officers who took part in the parade, the minister said this joyous moment should have come much earlier in their lives. He said it was deeply painful that they had endured 18 years of severe deprivation and inhumane suffering as victims of the vindictive actions of the previous authoritarian and fascist government. The minister extended his heartfelt greetings to all the officers for regaining their rightful positions and due recognition following the fall of the authoritarian regime. He said they were beginning their careers at a historic time for the country and urged them to uphold equality before the law. “From political activists to marginal farmers, everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. No one seeking police services should face discrimination,” he added. He also stressed the importance of maintaining the chain of command, discipline, loyalty and teamwork, while urging the officers to enhance their expertise in cyber security and criminal investigation to meet emerging challenges. Reaffirming the government's zero-tolerance policy against corruption, Salahuddin called on all police members to perform their duties with honesty and dedication. The minister expressed hope that members of the 27th BCS (Police) batch would use their knowledge and experience gained over the past 18 years in different professions to strengthen the Bangladesh Police. A total of 58 probationary ASPs — 57 from the first phase of the 27th BCS (Police) batch and one from the 28th batch — officially entered service through the parade. At the ceremony, Probationary ASP Dr Md Nurul Huda Bhuiyan won the Best in Field Activities award and was also named the Best Probationer. Probationary ASP ABM Mamun received the Best Shooter award, while Abu Numan Mohammad Khairul Islam won the Best Academic Award. During the ceremony, the minister inspected the parade, took the salute and distributed awards among the best-performing probationary officers. The event was attended as special guests by Land Minister Mizanur Rahman Minu, local Members of Parliament, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md. Ali Hossain Fakir, Principal of Bangladesh Police Academy G M Azizur Rahman, Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner Dr. A.N.M. Bazlur Rashid, and Rajshahi Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Md. Ashik Saeed. Senior military and civilian officials, local and foreign invited guests, guardians of the ASP probationers, and journalists from various media outlets were also present at the ceremony.

Police recovered the body of an eight-year-old girl from beside a railway track at Tarakandi village in Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur district on Saturday night. The deceased was identified as Mahmuda, daughter of Idris Molla of Tarakandi village in the upazila. Rasul Samdani Azad, Officer-in-Charge of Nagarkanda Police Station, said Mahmuda went out from her house around 5 pm on Saturday and since then she remained missing. When the family failed to trace her, they, along with local residents, launched a search and found her body beside the railway tracks around 9 pm, he said. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to the Faridpur Medical College and Hospital morgue for an autopsy. The body bore severe injury marks on her head, said OC. Police also detained three people for interrogation. Legal action will be taken based on the autopsy report and the findings of the investigation, said OC.  

At least four students were injured in a clash between residents of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Hall and Mawlana Bhashani Hall at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) early Sunday. Among the injured, first-year student Rifat Hossain is an inmate of Suhrawardy Hall, while the three others are residents of Bhashani Hall. The violence reportedly stemmed from an argument in a Messenger group of first-year (Batch-65) students of the Faculty of Agriculture. According to students, the dispute began over a meme posted in the group's discussion on the election of a class representative for Section A. The online argument later escalated into a physical confrontation between students from the two residential halls.

The government on Sunday decided to allow interested private companies to operate water bus services on waterways around Dhaka, as part of a broader initiative, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, to revive the capital's river transport network. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister at the Cabinet Division's conference room at the Bangladesh Secretariat, said PM’s Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Hossain Shadhin. The meeting also decided to restore and keep navigable the waterways surrounding the capital to improve water-based transportation and ease urban mobility. As part of the initiative, proposals from interested private companies will be evaluated before they are allowed to operate water bus services on the designated routes.

Police have arrested a local leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) on charges of raping a college girl in Jashore's Chougachha upazila. The arrestee, Arafat Hossain Rabbi, 22, is the senior joint general secretary of the Chougachha Government College unit of JCD and a resident of Balidapara village under Fulsara union in the upazila. He was picked up on Saturday night following a case filed by the victim over the incident that took place earlier in the day. According to the case statement, the victim, a Class-XII student, sought Rabbi's help in obtaining her National Identity Card. Although the Upazila Election Office was closed due to a public holiday on Saturday, Rabbi allegedly took her to Chougachha municipality in the morning. The complaint alleged that he later persuaded her to accompany him to a house in the Niribilipara area of the municipality, where he allegedly raped her. After returning home, the victim informed her parents of the incident and later filed the case at Chougachha Police Station. Officer-in-Charge Mamunur Rashid of the police station said the accused was produced before a court on Sunday. He also said they were investigating the incident.

Bangladesh should prioritise distributed renewable energy, including rooftop solar and battery storage, to reduce dependence on imported fuels and strengthen energy security, Coordinator of the Distributed Renewable Energy Platform (DREP) Khondaker Golam Moazzem said on Sunday. “Distributed renewable energy should be viewed as a distinct component of the country’s renewable energy strategy rather than being grouped with conventional utility solar and wind projects,” he said while speaking at a seminar titled “Distributed Renewable Energy: The Future Solar Solution for Bangladesh” organised by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) at its auditorium in collaboration with the DREP. Prime Minister’s Adviser for Finance and Planning Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir attended the seminar as the chief guest. Moazzem, also the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) research director, said renewable energy discussions in Bangladesh generally focus on large-scale solar, wind or hydropower projects, but distributed renewable energy offers a different approach by generating electricity close to where it is consumed. “Unlike utility-scale power plants that require vast tracts of land and extensive transmission infrastructure, distributed renewable energy systems can be installed on residential and industrial rooftops, agricultural land and other small sites,” he said. Moazeem mentioned that electricity generated from these systems can either be consumed directly or supplied to the national grid through distribution networks. He said such systems include rooftop solar installations under net metering, industrial rooftop solar, agrivoltaics, battery-backed renewable energy systems, solar home systems and solar-powered irrigation. The DREP coordinator noted that one of the biggest advantages of distributed renewable energy is that it does not require large areas of land, addressing one of the common criticisms of utility-scale renewable energy projects. Presenting data on the sector’s current capacity, he said Bangladesh now has around 213 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar connected through net metering, while another 94 MW comes from rooftop solar systems outside the net metering scheme. Solar home systems contribute around 263 MW, solar irrigation pumps 60 MW, while solar charging stations, drinking water systems and solar street lighting account for about 17 MW. Mini grids add another six MW. Altogether, Bangladesh has around 655 MW of distributed renewable energy capacity, Moazzem said. He said the sector has significant growth potential as industries increasingly turn to rooftop solar because of gas shortages and rising energy costs. “The country’s energy crisis is unlikely to disappear soon, while reliance on imported fuel will become increasingly expensive. Therefore, Bangladesh must expand the use of domestic energy resources, including renewable energy and rooftop solar,” he said. The CPD research director said energy-efficient technologies, battery storage and rooftop solar will play a growing role across industries, agriculture, transport, households and healthcare facilities. Electric vehicles, battery systems, solar irrigation, mini grids and electric cooking appliances are also expected to become more widespread in the coming years, he added. Moazzem also announced that the Distributed Renewable Energy Platform, launched in July 2025, will work on policy research, legal and regulatory reforms, technology development, financing mechanisms and community-level expansion of distributed renewable energy across the country. The platform currently comprises five member organisations: ActionAid Bangladesh, Bangladesh Solar & Renewable Energy Association (BSREA), CPD, Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) and SOLshare. The platform will also engage with the government, private sector and development partners while drawing lessons from countries such as China and Vietnam to accelerate the adoption of distributed renewable energy in Bangladesh.  

A Chattogram court on Sunday placed listed top criminal Mobarak Hossain Emon alias David Emon, and his three associates on 10 days' remand in murder and arms cases filed at Fatikchhari Police Station in Chattogram. Judge of the Senior Judicial Magistrate-3 Motasim Billah passed the order when police produced the four accused before his court, seeking seven days' remand in each of the two cases. The other accused placed on remand are Md Shamim, Safayet Hossain and Al Islam Alif, also known as Tamal. After hearing both sides, the court granted five days' remand in each case, totalling 10 days. On Thursday, another Chattogram court sent David Emon and three associates to jail after showing them arrested in three cases. David Emon was arrested in a joint operation in Jashore in the early hours of July 29 while trying to flee to India. Earlier in the day, the accused were produced before the court under tight security. Additional police were deployed in and around the court premises during the remand hearing. According to case documents, police recovered firearms from Fatikchhari on July 29 based on information obtained from Emon and three others following their arrest. Police said David Emon, 25, son of late Md Musa of Kanchannagar in Fatikchhari upazila, faces 13 cases, including those related to murder and illegal arms. Additional Superintendent of Police (Hathazari Circle) Kazi Md Tareq Aziz said the accused will be questioned to gather further information about their criminal activities and to recover more illegal weapons. According to multiple district police sources, investigators traced David Emon's whereabouts while probing the murder of Maksudul Haque Chowdhury in the Pahartali area on June 13. Based on information provided by the arrested suspects, police later raided an abandoned house in Manikpur village of Kanchannagor union in Fatikchhari and recovered a foreign pistol, two local LG guns and several other improvised weapons.

The recommended assistant teachers, who started an indefinite sit-in at Shahbagh in the capital on Sunday morning, have withdrawn their programme after the government announced their fresh joining schedule. The teachers called off their protests around 2:30pm following the government's decision setting October 1 as the date for joining and October 4 for posting, they said. The protesters also thanked the government for accepting their demand, and left the protest venue. Earlier in the day, candidates recommended for appointment as assistant teachers in government primary schools went on an indefinite protest in front of the National Museum, demanding that the government complete their appointments by August. The demonstration began around 11:00am under tight police security. A total of 14,384 candidates were recommended for appointment following the government primary school assistant teacher recruitment examination held on January 9 this year. However, despite completing the recruitment process, the recommended candidates have yet to receive their appointment letters.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has brought forward the joining date for candidates selected in the 2025 recruitment of assistant teachers for government primary schools, setting October 1 as the new date. According to a notice issued by the ministry on Sunday morning, the successful candidates will report to their respective District Primary Education Offices on October 1. The notice said appointment letters will be issued in due course against vacant posts. After joining, the teachers will be posted to schools and subsequently undergo professional training. The revised schedule replaces an earlier decision taken at an emergency virtual meeting on Saturday, which fixed October 29 as the joining date. Following that meeting, Primary and Mass Education Secretary Md Shakhawat Hossain said the recruitment process had been delayed due to investigations and other procedural issues, but the government aimed to complete appointments by October 29. Under the revised plan, a total of 14,384 newly recruited assistant teachers will join their respective district offices before being posted to schools and undergoing professional training. Meanwhile, the selected candidates started an indefinite sit-in in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh on Sunday morning, demanding their immediate appointment.

A man hacked his former wife and her mother to death in the city’s Kathalbagan area on Sunday morning. The deceased were identified as Ratri, 20, and her mother Firoza Begum, 35. Following the incident, police arrested the suspect identified as Shipon. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kalabagan Police Station Fazle Ashique said Shipon and Ratri used to live together in a building near Al-Amin Mosque of Kathalbagan even after their divorce. An argument broke out between them around 9:00am when Firoza sided with her daughter. At one stage, Shipon allegedly swooped on both women and hacked them with a sharp weapon, leaving Ratri dead on the spot and Firoza injured. The injured was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in critical condition, where doctors declared her dead. The OC said they arrested the suspect, and legal proceedings are underway.