United News of Bangladesh

At least 15 workers were injured in a boiler explosion at a garment factory in Fatullah, Narayanganj, on Friday morning, triggering a two-hour road blockade by agitated workers protesting alleged safety lapses and other irregularities at the factory. The incident occurred around 8:45am at Nirjan Garments in the Taltala area of Pagla under Sadar upazila. The injured included Arbin, Zakir, Monju, Shahin, Joy, Hridoy, Sabina, Khadija, Nasima, Al-Amin and Antor, among others. They are undergoing treatment at different private hospitals and at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). According to workers and eyewitnesses, panic spread inside the factory following the explosion, leaving several workers injured. Workers alleged that they had repeatedly informed the factory authorities about the risky condition of the boiler, but no effective measures were taken to address the issue. They also claimed that materials had been stored along internal factory roads, narrowing evacuation routes. As a result, many workers were unable to leave the premises quickly during the emergency, increasing the number of casualties. Following the incident, angry workers blocked the Dhaka-Narayanganj old road, disrupting traffic and causing long tailbacks. During the protest, workers reportedly confined and assaulted the factory’s production manager, Jasim Uddin, and supervisor Monir. Police from Fatullah Model Police Station and Industrial Police rushed to the scene and worked to bring the situation under control. Later, Fatullah Thana BNP Labour Affairs Secretary Babul Ahmed spoke with the workers and assured them that their legitimate demands would be discussed with the factory management. Following the assurance, the workers withdrew the blockade. The officer-in-charge (OC) of Fatullah Model Police Station said police were deployed at the scene after receiving information about the incident. “The situation is now normal and the workers have withdrawn the road blockade,” the OC said.

A professional mugger was caught red-handed by traffic police while attempting to flee after mugging a passenger’s mobile phone in the Pallabi area of the capital on Friday. The arrested mugger was identified as Md Manik, 29. The incident took place in the vicinity of Kalshi intersection. Two policemen stabbed by ‘muggers’ in Dhaka; two arrested Police Sergeant M S Mahmud Ali was performing his duty at the Kalshi intersection under the Traffic Pallabi Zone at the time of the incident. While checking documents of a microbus after signaling the vehicle to stop, the sergeant noticed a mugger attempting to flee after taking a mobile phone from a passenger inside the vehicle. The sergeant immediately chased the suspect and, after a brief pursuit, courageously managed to apprehend Manik on the spot. The snatched mobile phone was later recovered intact and returned to its rightful owner. The arrested mugger was handed over to Pallabi Police Station for further legal action.

Four children have died with symptoms consistent with measles in the 24 hours until 8:00am on Friday, taking Bangladesh’s combined tally of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 670. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has classified the latest deaths as suspected measles fatalities. With the latest update, the number of suspected measles deaths has risen to 577, while the number of laboratory-confirmed measles deaths remains unchanged at 93. A total of 1,078 new suspected measles cases were reported during the 24-hour period, taking the cumulative number of suspected cases nationwide to 90,982. Meanwhile, 96 new confirmed measles cases were recorded, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 10,869. Since March 15, a total of 75,156 patients with suspected measles have been hospitalised across the country, of whom 71,396 have recovered, according to DGHS data.

A worker died after falling from an under-construction building in the Kalabagan area of the capital on Friday morning. The deceased was identified as Md Yasin, 38, son of Habibur Rahman of Changirgaon village in Ramganj upazila of Lakshmipur district. According to police and witnesses, Yasin was working on the fifth floor of an under-construction building in the Bhuter Goli under Kalabagan Police Station around 9:30am when he accidentally fell and sustained critical injuries. His co-workers rushed him to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 10:15am. He later succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment around 11:40am. In-charge of the DMCH police camp Md Faruk said the body has been kept at the hospital morgue for an autopsy.

A young man was beaten to death after being suspected of theft on the Rajshahi Medical College premises. The deceased was identified Rakibul Hasan Raki, 32, a resident of Hetemkhan Karigarpara of the city. Police have arrested three students of Rajshahi Nursing College on Friday in connection with the incident that took place on Thursday evening. According to police, Rakibul was detained by some students in front of Charu Mama's canteen of Rajshahi Medical College on Thursday evening on suspicion of theft. Later, he was beaten with a wooden stump, leaving him seriously injured. The victim was taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital around 8:30pm, where doctors declared him dead. Following the incident, police launched a drive and arrested three nursing college students – Atique, Saiyab and Fahim – on Friday morning, said Officer-in-Charge of Rajpara Police Station Abul Kalam Azad. He said Rakibul’s sister filed a murder case against unidentified persons.

Four-month-old twin sisters – Mehrin and Naurin – sleep peacefully in their grandmother’s arms, unaware of the hardship that has overshadowed their short lives. Their mother, Rina Khatun of Maheshpur upazila in Jhenaidah, claims that her husband divorced her after she gave birth to the twin girls. However, twins’ father Rakibul Islam rejected Rina’s allegations, describing them as “false and baseless” and instead claiming that Rina is involved in a “marriage trade” for money and that she had married four times earlier. “Is giving birth to girls a crime?” asked Rina, struggling to hold back tears while speaking about the ordeal she says began during her pregnancy. She said she married Rakibul Islam of Purana Kola village about one and a half years ago. The couple's married life progressed normally until a medical examination revealed that she was carrying twin daughters. Rina alleged that after learning the babies were girls, the attitude of her husband and in-laws changed significantly. “The mental torture began when they learned both children would be girls,” she said, while narrating the whole episode at Maheshpur Police Station on Friday. “They said they would have accepted the children if at least one of them was a boy. I could not understand such hatred towards my own daughters.” Rina also alleged that demands for dowry were made during her pregnancy and that she faced both mental and physical abuse from her in-laws. After giving birth to Mehrin and Naurin on February 11, the situation worsened, she claimed. Eventually, she was sent to her parents’ home and later received a divorce notice on April 25. “I have done nothing wrong,” she said. “Whether a child is born as a boy or a girl is not in human hands. Yet my daughters and I have been abandoned. I worry about their future every day,” the young woman said. Her mother, Halima Khatun, said the family is struggling to care for the two infants amid financial hardship and uncertainty. “We want justice for my daughter and grandchildren,” she said. “They deserve to live with dignity and security.” However, Rakibul denied the allegations. “I was very happy to have daughters,” he said over the phone. “The claims Rina is making are not true.” He said their marriage went smoothly for about a month before problems began to emerge. He alleged that Rina would quarrel whenever he tried to use her mobile phone. Rakibul further claimed that while she was pregnant, Rina attempted to terminate the pregnancy when it was eight months along. “Later, I came to know that marriage was a business for her,” he alleged. “Before marrying me, she had been married four times. Each time, she allegedly collected a large amount of money through the marriage contract and then left,” he said. Rakibul claimed that his marriage contract with Rina involved a dower amount of Tk 300,000. He said he had wanted to continue the marriage but alleged that Rina used to roam around on motorcycles with another man while leaving their two-month-old babies behind. “I did not like that,” he said. “When I tried to bring her back to my house, she said she would not return without her mother.” Alleging that Rina’s family is involved in fraudulent activities centred on marriage contracts, he said, “The entire family runs a business through marriage and dower money. By marrying Rina, I myself have become a victim.” Officer-in-Charge of the police station Mehedi Hasan said the allegations were being treated seriously. “We are looking into the matter from both legal and humanitarian perspectives,” he said. “An investigation will be conducted and appropriate legal action will be taken if the allegations are found to be true.” The OC said the matter has already been reported to the Superintendent of Police.

The supervisor of a bus was killed after his vehicle crashed into another bus on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in Chauddagram upazila of Cumilla early Friday. The deceased was identified as Md Alamgir Hossain, 50, son of late Abdul Karim Mridha of Raja Narayanpur village in Bera upazila of Pabna district. He was working as a supervisor of Shyamoli NR Travels. According to highway police, a Chattogram-bound Saintmartin Shohardo bus allegedly attempted to stop on the left side of the highway without giving any signal. At that moment, a Dhaka-bound Shyamoli NR Travels bus travelling behind it rammed into the rear of the vehicle around 4:30am in the Hari Sardar area, said Md Ruhul Amin, officer-in-charge of Miabazar Highway Police Station. The collision caused damage to both buses and left Alamgir critically injured. Locals rescued and took him to Chauddagram Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead. The OC said preliminary findings suggest that the accident occurred after a bus tried to stop abruptly without any warning signal. After the accident, drivers of both buses fled the scene, he said, adding that the two vehicles were seized and legal proceedings are underway.

A intellectually impaired young man was found dead with his face severely bruised on the bank of the Kalni River in Austagram upazila of Kishoreganj on Friday morning. The deceased was identified as Md Shafique Mia, 31, son of late Azizul Haque of Abdullahpur village. He worked as a labourer at a local market. On information, police recovered the body around 9:00am at the village. Locals said Shafique Mia had intellectual disabilities and was father of two daughters. He has recently gone through a divorce with his wife, which was later settled through local arbitration. As part of the settlement, it was decided that Tk 50,000 would be paid as alimony to his former wife. Residents said Shafique was carrying around Tk 40,000 and was trying to arrange the remaining Tk 10,000. He usually kept the money with him, raising suspicion among locals that he might have been killed for looting his money. Officer-in-Charge of the Austagram Police Station Md Rokonuzzaman said preliminary findings suggest he might have been killed sometime on Thursday night. He also said they were investigating the matter.

Police arrested alleged top criminal “Auto Sajal” from the Sayedabad area of the capital on Thursday night. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Nazrul Islam disclosed the information at a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre on Friday morning. He said a team from Jatrabari Police Station carried out an operation in the Sayedabad area around 9:10pm and arrested Sajal. During preliminary interrogation, Sajal reportedly revealed that weapons and drugs had been stored at a rented house in Swamibagh. Acting on the information, police conducted another drive at the house and recovered two Taurus-brand pistols, four magazines and 77 rounds of live ammunition. Police also seized 59 grams of heroin, 87 grams of a substance locally known as “Medi” (allegedly used in heroin processing), Tk 22,960 in cash and four handsets allegedly used in criminal activities. According to police, the recovered firearms are suspected to be among looted weapons. DMP official Nazrul said Sajal's name emerged during the investigation into a shooting incident in the Sayedabad Bus Terminal area on March 2, in which an inspector of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) was shot during a raid. Three suspects had earlier been arrested in connection with the incident. They were identified as Bappi, Hanif and Mosammat Shamsunnahar. Nazrul Islam said Sajal had long been involved in illegal arms supply and drug trafficking. Although he worked as a transport helper, he allegedly carried out criminal activities under disguise. Police said Sajal faces 11 cases filed at different police stations under the DMP.

Police Headquarters has issued a nationwide alert over fears of possible clashes between Awami League activists and members of other political parties, centring on the party’s founding anniversary on June 23. In a communication on Thursday, it directed all police units across the country to remain on alert and take necessary precautionary measures. According to the communication, leaders and activists of Awami League, which faces a ban on its activities, may try to hoist party flags at local offices and bring out processions carrying banners marking the party’s founding anniversary in different districts across the country. Such activities could trigger confrontations with activists of other political parties, especially members of the National Citizen Party and the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, creating a risk of law-and-order deterioration. The directive also warned that Awami League activists could become hostile towards law enforcement personnel if they are obstructed from carrying out such programmes. Several officials of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and superintendents of police in different districts confirmed receiving the precautionary instructions. Sources at the Police Headquarters said the nationwide alert was issued as part of advance precautionary measures based on reports received from several intelligence agencies. Police have already begun preparations to strengthen security measures ahead of the AL anniversary, while intelligence surveillance has been intensified, the sources said.