Twenty-two shops were destroyed in a fire that broke out at Prodhan bazar in Charfesson upazila on early Saturday.

Quoting locals, Shamsul Arefin, officer-in-charge of Charfesson Police Station, said the fire broke out at a mattress shop around 1am from an electric short-circuit and engulfed the adjoining shops.

On information, two firefighting units rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire after two and a half hours of frantic efforts, said the OC.

The fire gutted 22 shops.

Affected shop owners claimed that the estimated loss caused by the fire was around Tk 5 crore.

A 12-year-old boy was arrested from Kayettuli area in old Dhaka for allegedly raping a first-grader girl.

Inspector Hasan Matabbar, also investigation officer of Bangsal Police Station, said the incident reportedly occurred on January 15.

The victim’s mother filed a case on Friday, he said.

Police later arrested the body and sent him to Tongi Juvenile Correction Centre, the IO said.

“We’re investing the incident,” he said.

Five women, including three members of a family, were killed and 13 others were injured in separate road accidents in Jashore and Gopalganj districts on Saturday.

In Jashore, three members of a family were killed and three others were injured in a private car accident in the district town shortly after midnight.

The deceased were identified as sisters Tonima Yeasmin Piyasha, 25, wife of Shafiqul Islam, and Tanjila Yeasmin Easha, 30, wife of Sumon and their sister-in-law Tithi, 35, wife of Monjur Hossain.

Md Touhidul Islam, assistant superintendent of Jashore police, said the accident took place around 1am when the car hit an electric pole, leaving the trio dead on the spot.

Among the injured, the condition of three-year-old Monirul deteriorated. He was sent to Dhaka for better treatment.

It is unclear what caused the accident.

In Gopalganj, two women were killed and 10 others were injured after a bus hit a roadside tree in Dhennabari area of Sadar upazila around 10:30am, said Sajedur Rahman, inspector of Boiltoli Highway police.

One of the deceased was identified as Romesa Begum, 50.

A young girl was diagnosed with Nipah virus at Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) on Thursday – the first reported case at the hospital in three years.

The patient was identified as Rashida, 20, daughter of Md Babul Hossain of Gopalganj district. Babul said his daughter had been suffering from severe fever for the last few days. Sometimes, she used to faint.  

Her family took her to KMCH on January 11, where a medical board formed to treat her confirmed that she had been infected with Nipah, he added.

Dr SM Kamal Hossain, head of KMCH medicine department, said they are treating the young girl separately as the contagious disease poses high risk to its surroundings.    

No vaccine has been discovered for Nipah yet. Bat is the main carrier of the deadly virus. People mainly get infected while drinking raw date sap, he said.

Doctors have suggested people to avoid raw date sap.

Civil Surgeon Dr Sujat Ahmed said no Nipah infection was reported in the district in recent months.

Dr Rashida Khanam, director of the Divisional Health Office, said awareness is the only way to avoid Nipah.  

In 2016, two people were diagnosed with Nipah at KMCH but both died within a few days.

Nipah virus is transmitted from animals to humans and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people, according to World Health Organisation.

There is no vaccine for the virus, which is spread through body fluids and can cause inflammation of the brain.

In 2001, Nipah virus was identified as the causative agent in an outbreak of human disease occurring in Bangladesh. Genetic sequencing confirmed this virus as Nipah virus, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Six people were injured in a collision between two launches on the Meghna River in Alubazar area early Friday.

The injured were identified as—Tarikul Islam, 14, Faizur Rahman, 12, Saykul Karim, Abu Taher, 16, Mamun, 16, and Russel, 12.

Abu Taher, officer-in-charge of Chandpur River Police Station, said MV Prince Awlad-4 from Barishal’s Hizla and MV Tipu-12 from Dhaka collided at 12am in a place between Alubazar and Ishanbala in the river, leaving six people injured.

All of the injured were admitted to Chandpur General Hospital at 3am, he added.

Earlier on Monday, a woman and her son were killed and 10 others injured after a passenger launch hit another on the Meghna River in Majherchar area.