Bangladesh
3 dead in Jamalpur after truck collides with pickup van
Three people were dead after a truck collided with a pickup van in Betmari area of Jamalpur’s Melandaha upazila today, police said.
The deceased were identified as Shah Alam (45), son of Karim Uddin, and Kajol (32), the driver of the pickup van and son of Hanif Uddin of Jamalpur Sadar Upazila, and Chanchal Barman (27) of Kurigram’s Ulipur upazila.
Md. Delawar Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Melandaha police station, said a Jamalpur-bound truck hit a pickup van at around 7 am this morning, leaving 3 people dead on the spot.
On information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies and sent them to Melandaha Upazila Health Complex, he said.
Later, police sent the bodies to Jamalpur General Hospital morgue for autopsy.
The truck was seized from the spot. However, the driver fled the scene of the accident.
90-year-old woman dies as truck hits auto-rickshaw in Sylhet
An elderly woman was dead and two people were injured when a truck hit a cng-run auto rickshaw at Shatmail point area in Sylhet last night.
The deceased was identified as Tahera Begum, 90, resident of Bishwanath upazila.
The accident occurred around 8:15 pm last night.
The injured are Mahdia, 14, and Dudu Mia, 60.
According to locals and police, the truck hit the auto-rickshaw at Shatmail area of Dakshin Surma upazila, leaving the elderly woman dead on spot.
The two injured were rushed to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College in a serious condition.
Shamsuddoha, officer-in-charge of Dakshin Surma Police Station, said the truck driver fled the scene.
Dhaka’s air quality remains unhealthy this morning
Dhaka's air quality is “unhealthy” this morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 158 at 9:15 am, Dhaka ranked 9th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
India’s Delhi, Thailand’s Chiang Mai, and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 306, 250 and 212, respectively.
An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered “unhealthy” while between 201 and 300 is “very unhealthy”, and 301–400 is “hazardous”, posing severe health risks to residents.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Clash between two groups leaves 1 dead, 25 wounded in Habiganj
A man was killed and 25 were wounded in a clash between two groups, allegedly over establishing supremacy, in Baniachong upazila of Habiganj yesterday evening.
Police have so far detained six people in connection with the incident. A tense situation has been prevailing in the area since yesterday.
The deceased was identified as Jahangir Miah, 45, while identities of the injured could not be known immediately.
Police and locals said there had long been a dispute between former union parishad member Azam Ali and Kachham Ali of Kushiyartala village under the upazila over establishing dominance.
People of both groups locked into an altercation over income earned from properties when arbitration was going on at the village on Saturday afternoon, they said.
Read more: Panchagarh clash leaves 2 killed and at least 50 hurt
At one stage, the groups attacked each other with locally made lethal weapons, leaving Jahangir dead on the spot and 25 injured. They are now undergoing treatment at Habiganj Sadar Adhunik Hospital.
Jahangir belonged to the Kachham Ali group, locals said.
Ajoy Chandra Dev, officer-in-charge of Baniachong Police Station, confirmed the death, saying that police fired 20 rounds of bullets and used 2 rounds of tear gas to bring the situation under control.
Six people were detained from the spot after the incident while members of law enforcing agencies have been patrolling the area to ward off any violent incident further, he said.
The body was sent to the Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy, the OC said, adding that no case has so far been lodged in this connection.
4 held over mindless assault on cop in Barishal
Four people including a Chhatra League leader of Agailjhara Upazila Unit of Barishal district have been detained over beating up a policeman on Saturday evening.
The detainees are Zakir Paik, general secretary of Upazila Chhatra League, Monir Paik, Zahirul Haque Paik and Zia Paik.
They are accused of assaulting injured police constable Bhudev Biswas.
The incident took place in front of BHP Academy of the upazila at around 7 pm, said Golam Sarwar, officer in charge of Agailjhara Police Station.
OC Golam Sarwar said, constable Bhudev was returning to the police station after his duty, when his motorcycle hit Zakir Paik's leg in the crowd in front of BHP Academy.
Later, Zakir Paik along with others beat him even after coming to know his identity. Locals rescued the policeman and admitted him to the Upazila Health Complex.
A case will be filed against the detainees, assured the OC.
Father, son crushed underneath as truck overturns in Ctg
A man and his 14-year-old son were killed and another person was injured when a truck loaded with watermelons overturned in front of Boro Darogarhat in Chattogram's Jafrabad area on Saturday night.
The deceased were identified as Selim Uddin, 42, and his son Minhaj,14.
The identity of the injured could not be ascertained immediately.
Shahadat Hossain, in-charge of Kumira Highway Police, said a pick-up van was standing on the Chittagong-bound lane of the highway due to road work in the area.
The accident occured when the truck rammed the pick-up van and overturned, leaving father and son dead on the spot.
BNP's sit-in foiled in Bhola after alleged AL attack leaves 25 injured
The sit-in programme of BNP was foiled in Monpura upazila of Bhola on Saturday, after an attack carried out allegedly by leaders and activists of Chhatra League and Jubo League, two front organisations of the ruling party.
Twenty-five BNP men, including Nurul Islam Nayan, vice-president of Central Jubo Dal, were injured in the attack.
As part of the central programme schedule, Nayan went to Monpura in the morning along with BNP leaders and activists, and was staying at Dak Bungalow. After a while, AL activists entered the Dak bungalow and vandalized some motorcycles. "Sensing danger, when we tried to leave the bungalow, the Awami League men again attacked us, leaving at least 25 leaders and activists injured, including me," he alleged.
He also condemned the attack and demanded immediate action to bring the attackers to justice.
Denying the attack, Selina Chowdhury, president of Manpura Upazila Awami League, said factional conflict within the BNP was behind the attacks.
"We don't know anything about the attack and motorcycle vandalism," she categorically said.
CU student commits suicide in dormitory
Another public university student, this time a female student of Chattogram University (CU), committed suicide at a residential hall of the university on Saturday.
Rukia Sultana Ruku, 22, was a student of the 2019-20 session of the department of management and a residential student of the university's Shamsunnahar Hall.
She lived in room 201. She was from Lalmonirhat district. Her body was recovered around 5:30 pm on Saturday.
Eyewitnesses said her classmates went to Ruku's room and found her hanging. Later, they first took her to the University Medical Center and then shifted her to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared her dead in the evening.
Hall Provost Rakiba Nabi said, "Students found her hanging in her room and brought her to the hospital. The doctor on duty declared her dead."
On information, Ruku's husband came to the hospital and received the body, he added.
4 arrested after expatriate's wife tortured at Salish by village elders
Police have arrested four people in connection with flogging and stone pelting a woman in Habiganj’s Chunarughat upazila.
The arrested individuals are Hafez Nurul Islam, 30, Bayezid Hossain, 70, Akbar Ali, 69, and Atiq Ullah, 50. The victim is the wife of an expatriate.
According to the details of the case, some people spread rumors that the woman was allegedly involved in adultery with a rickshawpuller.
A village arbitration was conducted on the matter last Monday, where the woman was given the punishment of 82 lashings, 80 stonings, and 1-month house arrest.
The woman said that the auto rickshaw driver used to visit their house and started harassing her at one point.
When she did not agree to his proposal, the man secretly recorded his private moments on his phone and later spread rumors, she said.
One of the arrestees, Akbar Ali, flogged the woman with 82 lashes and others present threw stones at her. Hafez Nurul and Bayezid were present there.
Unable to bear the torture, the woman fell to the ground and sustained injuries. She received treatment at home.
Meanwhile, the woman's husband returned home on Thursday after learning about the incident. The accused autorickshaw driver is currently on the run.
Rashedul Haque, inspector of Chunarughat police station, stated that the preliminary investigation revealed that the woman was flogged and stoned. The case was filed on Friday, and the court immediately ordered the arrest of four individuals, who were subsequently sent to jail.
Foundation stone laid of 1000-bed hospital in Panchagarh
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Saturday laid the foundation stone of 1,000-bed North Point Tertiary Medical College and Hospital in Panchagarh's sadar upazila.
The minister laid the foundation stone and inaugurated the construction work of the hospital at Dariapara area of the upazila.
Tipu Munshi said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expanded healthcare from the capital to the grassroots level. Now many districts of the country have medical college and hospitals and new ones are being constructed.
He called on government initiatives as well as private organizations and all concerned to contribute from their respective positions through more dynamic and improvement in medical education, treatment, services and research programs to ensure universal health care and the overall development of the country's health system.
The minister said that the health service system has been integrated with information technology, which extends from national-level hospitals to community clinics and rural health workers. He also said that medical services have been introduced through mobile phones and online platforms from upazila and upazila-level hospitals. "As a result, it has become easier for the people of the country to get quality healthcare," added the minister.
This hospital will play an important role in providing better quality health services to the people of Bangladesh and neighboring countries in the border district of Panchagarh. Tipu Munshi thanked the authorities concerned for constructing such a big hospital in this region.
Zhuang Lifeng, chairman of North Point Medical College and Hospital, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony, while Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen was present as a special guest.
Panchagarh-1 Constituency Member of Parliament Mazharul Haque Pradhan was present as the guest of honour.