United News of Bangladesh

A tribunal in Chattogram on Monday sentenced a man to death for killing a child after failing to rape her in the port city in 2023. Judge of the Chattogram Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 Saifur Rahman handed down the punishment. The convict is identified as Rubel, 35, a vegetable vendor of the Pahartali area in the city. According to the prosecution, Abida Sultana Ayoni, 10, a Class IV student, went missing from Sagorika Bylane in the Pahartali area on March 21, 2023. A general diary was lodged with Pahartali Police Station on the same day, and later, an abduction case was filed on March 28. Police arrested Rubel in connection with the incident, and following interrogation, they recovered the body of the girl from a water body on March 29. During interrogation, Rubel said he lured the girl into going to a house in the Kazir Dighi area with the promise of giving her a kitten. Later, he tried to violate the girl, but as she raised hue and cry, he strangled her and dumped the body into a water body in the Alamtara Pukur Par on the night of March 21.

Police recovered the hanging body of a young man from his house in Bheramara upazila of Kushtia on Monday morning after he reportedly had an argument with his wife following his return home late at night after watching the World Cup final. The deceased was identified as Sumon Hossain, 30, son of Afzal Hossain  of Bahirchar Union. According to police and local sources, as Sumon returned home early Monday after watching the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain his wife got into an argument with him because he returned home late. Sumon's wife said he returned home after watching the match and she just asked him, "Is this the time to come home?" Later, Sumon left the house again, and she fell asleep. She woke up in the early hours of the morning and found him hanging inside the house. Local resident Abdul Jalil said he heard screams coming from Sumon's house after returning from Fajr prayers at around 5:30 am. He rushed there and, along with another person, brought Sumon down. Later, a local doctor declared him dead. Muhammad Jahedur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Bheramara Police Station, said apparently Sumon died by suicide but the exact reason could not yet be confirmed.

Three more children have died of measles symptoms in Sylhet division in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll from the disease and related symptoms in the division to 103. The  children died while undergoing treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Sylhet divisional office of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said on Monday morning. Two of the deceased children, both under the age of two, were from Sunamganj, while the other was from Habiganj. Of the 103 victims who have died so far in Sylhet division, one was an adult and the rest were children. Sunamganj has recorded the highest number of deaths in the division, with 47 children losing their lives so far. Besides, 35 deaths were reported in Sylhet district, 12 in Moulvibazar and nine in Habiganj. Meanwhile, 265 patients with measles symptoms are currently undergoing treatment at different hospitals across Sylhet division. According to the health department, a total of 534 laboratory-confirmed measles cases have been identified in the division since January 1, 2026. In the last 24 hours, 57 more patients with measles symptoms have been admitted to hospitals in Sylhet. Authorities at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital said all-out efforts are being made to ensure proper treatment for patients. A total of 20 ICU beds have been set up at Osmani Medical College Hospital and 14 at Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital.

Two eight-year-old second-grade students drowned in a pond in Mehendiganj upazila of Barishal on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Nahian, son of Jahangir Sardar of Kharki area, and Yakub, son of Yusuf Talukdar of the same area. Both were students of Kharki Government Primary School. The tragic incident occurred in the Kharki area of the municipality on Sunday afternoon, said Mehendiganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Momin Uddin. According to local residents and the victims' families, Nahian and Yakub went to school together on Sunday morning as usual. The school was dismissed around 12:45 pm., but they did not return home. As they remained missing for several hours, family members began searching for them. After about five hours, locals found their shoes near a pond ghat on the southern side of Kharki Government Primary School around 5pm. Later, some residents entered the pond and recovered the bodies. The loss of the two boys who were clearly close friends has plunged the area around Kharki into sorrow. OC Momin Uddin said no one had yet filed a report with the police station. Further action would be taken after an investigation into the incident.

Two farmers were killed after being electrocuted while planting paddy seedlings in a waterlogged field in Fatikchhari upazila of Chattogram on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Md Yunus, 35, son of late Mahabubul Alam, and Md Hasem, 50, son of late Abul Kashem. Both were residents of Mirerkhil Kargipara under Ward No. 8 of Bhujpur Union. The incident occurred in a paddy field south of Jannat Brick Field in the Joginighata area in the afternoon. Motorcycle collision leaves 2 dead in Bagerhat Locals said Yunus and Hasem were planting paddy seedlings with several others when an electric wire suddenly snapped from a nearby pole and fell into the waterlogged field. The two men were electrocuted and died on the spot, while other workers could not approach them immediately due to the live wire. Family members of the deceased alleged that the bodies remained in the water for nearly two hours because no officials from the police or the power distribution authorities reached the scene immediately. Rejecting the allegations of negligence, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Fatikchhari Police Station Rabiul Alam Khan said police rushed to the scene after receiving information about the incident. "Although the accident occurred within the jurisdiction of Fatikchhari Police Station, the victims were residents of the Bhujpur Police Station area. After the power supply was disconnected, local people recovered the bodies and took them home. The allegations of negligence by the administration are not correct," he said. The bodies were handed over to the families after due procedures, the OC added.

Two women were killed and three others injured in a head-on collision between a CNG-run autorickshaw and a locally made three-wheeler, commonly known as a "Bhotbhoti", in Melandah upazila of Jamalpur on Sunday. The identities of the two deceased could not be confirmed immediately. The injured were identified as Mojibor, 55, Jibon Mia, 35, and Tushar, 38, all residents of the Katharbil area in Dewanganj upazila. According to police, the CNG-run autorickshaw was travelling from Dewanganj to Jamalpur when it collided head-on with the Bhotbhoti coming from the opposite direction near Betmari village at around 1:30pm. All five passengers of the autorickshaw sustained serious injuries in the crash. Local people rescued the victims and took them to Jamalpur General Hospital. Dr Ujjwal Kumar Sarkar, medical officer at the hospital's emergency department, said five injured people were brought to the hospital from the accident site. "Two women were dead before being brought to the hospital, while the remaining three are undergoing treatment," he said. The bodies have been kept at the hospital morgue, he added. ATM Mahmudul Haque, officer-in-charge of Melandah Police Station, said police rushed to the hospital after receiving information about the accident. Efforts are underway to identify the two deceased women and determine the cause of the crash, he added.

State-owned Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL) has taken an initiative to drill three new gas and oil wells as part of efforts to ease the country's gas shortage and reduce dependence on costly imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The wells – Rashidpur-13, Dupitila-1 and Kailashtila-9 – are expected to add 3 crore cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid once drilling is completed, officials said. At present, SGFL supplies around 14.20 crore cubic feet of gas daily to the national grid from its 17 functioning wells. SGFL Managing Director Engr Md Faruque Hossain said, “SGFL is currently supplying 14.2 crore cubic feet of gas to the national grid every day. Once drilling of the three wells is completed, an additional 3 crore cubic feet of gas can be added to the grid," he said. Energy experts stressed the need to intensify domestic gas and oil exploration instead of relying heavily on LNG imports, which require substantial foreign currency expenditure each year. They said Bangladesh has significant untapped hydrocarbon potential both onshore and offshore and called for expanding exploration activities through faster coordination with local and international companies. Prof Dr Muhammad Farhad Howladar of the Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology said accelerating exploration activities is essential to ensuring the country's long-term energy security. Established under Petrobangla, SGFL discovered Bangladesh's first natural gas field in 1955. Apart from natural gas, the company's production currently meets around 30-35 percent of the country's petrol demand, 12-15 percent of octane demand, about 9 percent of diesel demand and nearly 2 percent of kerosene demand.

One person was killed and at least 10 others were injured when a bus fell into a canal in Shibaloy upazila of Manikganj on Sunday morning. The deceased was identified as Delwar Hossain, 50. The Dhaka-bound “Selfie Paribahan” bus from Paturia lost control after one of its tyres deflated while trying to overtake another vehicle in the Barongail Bus Stand area around 8:00am, said Harun-or-Rashid, officer-in-charge (OC) of Barongail Highway Police Station. Later, it fell into a canal between two bridges on the Dhaka-Aricha highway, he said, adding that some 10-12 passengers were injured in the accident. The injured were taken to hospital where Delwar succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment, the OC said. He added that efforts were underway to recover the damaged bus and legal action will be taken after completion of necessary procedures.

Two people, who went missing after a trawler sank in the Buriganga River following a collision with a launch at Shyambazar Ghat in the capital's Sadarghat area on Sunday morning, were later found alive. The Cumilla-bound trawler was hit by Sundarban-12 launch around 9:30am, according to Warehouse Inspector Anwarul Islam of the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters media cell. Two people onboard the trawler were initially reported missing, prompting a rescue operation by a unit from the Sadarghat River Fire Station, which reached the scene around 9:50am, he said. The rescue operation was later called off after the trawler owner informed the fire service that the two safely swam across the river and returned home. Anwarul said the information was provided by the trawler owner, who confirmed that the missing passengers survived the accident.  

A group of miscreants looted a battery-run rickshaw after hacking its driver to death in Mymensingh Sadar upazila early Sunday. The deceased was identified as Rajib Islam, 25, son of Ebadul Islam of Chhaitan Kanda area under ward No. 31 of Mymensingh city. According to police and witnesses, the assailants reportedly hired Rajib's auto-rickshaw from Shambhuganj, saying they wanted to travel to Joy Bangla Bazar. When the vehicle reached a secluded spot at Char Haripur near the Charishwardia Union Parishad Complex shortly after 12:00am, attackers allegedly hacked the driver to death and made off with the auto-rickshaw. Drivers and passengers of another auto-rickshaw travelling behind reportedly realised something was wrong and raised an alarm, prompting local residents to rush to the scene. However, the attackers already fled after leaving Rajib's body by the roadside. Police recovered the body and sent it to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy. Officer-in-Charge of Mymensingh Kotwali Model Police Station Shibirul Islam said the victim was believed to have been killed for snatching his auto-rickshaw. He also said efforts were underway to identify and arrest those involved and recover the stolen vehicle.