United News of Bangladesh

A young man died after being electrocuted in Sreepur upazila of Magura on Monday. The deceased was identified as Russel, 30, son of Md Wadud Molla of Baraichara village in the upazila. According to locals, Russel was lifting water using an electric irrigation pump installed in a pond beside his house. At one stage, when the motor developed a mechanical fault, he entered the water to check it. He was electrocuted during the process and sustained serious injuries. Unidentified man found dead in Magura He was rescued and taken to Sreepur Upazila Health Complex. Later, he was referred to Faridpur Medical College Hospital where on-duty doctors declared him dead after examination. A case of unnatural death has been filed with Sreepur Police Station in this connection.

Courts in Satkhira and Chuadanga on Monday sentenced two individuals to life imprisonment in separate rape cases. In Satkhira, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal awarded life in prison to Md Ibrahim Gazi, also known as Ibra, 50, for raping a 10-year-old orphan girl in Kalaroa upazila in 2025. The court also fined him Tk 50,000, with an additional six months' simple imprisonment in case of default. Judge Abu Bakar Siddique pronounced the verdict in a crowded courtroom. According to the prosecution, on March 27, 2025, the victim was returning home after washing utensils for Iftar when the accused lured her with the promise of buying biscuits, took her to his house at Parikhupi village and violated her. The girl's grandmother filed the case at Kalaroa Police Station the same day. Sub-Inspector Md Sekendar Ali submitted a charge sheet on June 20, 2025 and charges were framed on January 7, 2026. In Chuadanga, the tribunal awarded life imprisonment to Md Salam, 21 for abducting and raping a Class 10 schoolgirl. Judge (District and Sessions Judge) Md Mostagir Alam delivered the verdict. The convict was also given 14 years’ imprisonment on another count. However, the sentences will run concurrently. According to the prosecution, on March 13, 2024, Salam abducted the 15-year-old girl from Karpasdanga area in Damurhuda upazila while she was going for private tuition. He kept her in various places and raped her against her will. The girl's mother filed a case over the incident. Four other accused Al Amin Biswas, Bazlur Rashid Maju, Monowara Begum and Shahjalal – were acquitted of charges.

The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has detained two drug dealers with 11 kilograms of hemp in an anti-drug operation in Faridpur on Sunday. Sagor Hossen, 30, and Sajib Molla, 32, were detained from the toll plaza area of Bhanga Upazila in the district. During the operation, 11 kilograms of hemp were recovered from their possession, said Shirin Akhtar, Deputy Director of the Narcotics Control Directorate in Faridpur. Two separate cases were filed at Bhanga Police Station in this incident. The ongoing operation against drugs will continue, and the directorate is in a strict position to eliminate drugs, said the official.

A man and his wife were killed as their house caught fire from a suspected gas cylinder leak in Ashrampara area of Dinajpur city early Monday. The deceased were identified as Tapan Sarker, 45, and his wife Lota Sarker, 37. The incident took place around 1am while the couple was sleeping in a small room of a two-storey house, said Obaidul Islam, senior station officer of Dinajpur Fire Service. Locals informed the Fire Service after noticing flames and smoke coming from the room. On receiving the information, Fire Service personnel rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire. They later recovered the charred bodies, he added. Officials suspected that the fire might have originated from a gas cylinder leak. As there were no objections from family members, Kotwali Police Station allowed the bodies to be cremated without an autopsy.

Little Fahim Ahmed once filled his home with laughter, bringing light and joy to his family. But that happiness faded abruptly when the five-year-old was diagnosed with blood cancer, turning his early childhood into a long battle for survival. Fahim is the only child of Mizanur Rahman, a mobile mechanic, and Fancy Akhter of Taluk Asaru village in Chakirpashar union under Rajarhat upazila in Kurigram. About a year ago, tests at the capital’s Bangladesh Medical University (PG Hospital) confirmed that Fahim was suffering from blood cancer. From that moment, the family’s life changed completely. In a desperate attempt to save their only child, Mizanur Rahman sold his small shop and all household belongings. He also took a loan of Tk 5 lakh from an NGO and later mortgaged his house to raise another Tk 6 lakh.

The local administration in Tahirpur upazila has decided to suspend sand extraction and transportation from the Jadukata River for ten days, from April 20 to April 30, to free up labour for the ongoing Boro paddy harvest in the haor areas. All sand lifting and transport activities from the Jadukata River will remain closed from April 20 to April 30, announced revenue officer Ruhul Amin over loudspeaker in the area on Saturday. The decision was taken considering the need of farmers for labour during the peak harvesting season. Legal action will be taken against anyone violating the restriction during this period. Officials said that every year, labour shortages occur in haor areas during the Boro harvesting season, and similar steps are taken to ensure farmers can harvest their crops on time. The move was taken following directives from MP Kamruzzaman Kamrul of Sunamganj-1 constituency. Shahrukh Alam Shantanu, assistant commissioner of Tahirpur Upazila (land) said the suspension aims to ensure that the farmers from haor areas can harvest, thresh and safely bring home their hard-earned Boro paddy without facing labour shortages.

A mobile court on Sunday fined a filling station Tk 20,000 for selling previously stocked fuel at higher prices defying instructions from the district administration. Locals said filling stations in the district began selling fuel at increased rates. When concerned tag officers intervened, station owners suspended fuel sales for about an hour before resuming sales at the higher prices. Abikhan Filling Station was fined Tk 20,000 when the district administration launched a drive in the town. Fuel ‘looted’ from Rangpur filling station after attack; complaint lodged Assistant Commissioner Shahed Hossain said the station was fined and warned over allegations of selling stocked fuel at higher prices. Such drives will continue across the district, he said. According to the daily fuel report of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, a total of 101,432 litres of diesel, 54,485 litres of petrol and 22,683 litres of octane are currently in stock at 29 filling stations in the district. Following the government’s announcement, Deputy Commissioner Afroza Akhter instructed all filling stations in the district to sell existing stock at the previous rates. She also directed that newly supplied fuel from depots be sold at the revised government-fixed prices.

Unidentified miscreants shot a 30-year-old man in the abdomen after reportedly blindfolding him in the Sonadanga area of Khulna city. The victim is Md Imrul, son of late Kamal Sheikh of Bhober Chaka in Sonadanga. He is a sanitary worker by profession. Family members said a group of miscreants arrived in three motorcycles and intercepted Imrul around 12:00pm on Saturday while he was heading to work. They allegedly blindfolded him and shot him on the right side of his abdomen before fleeing the scene. He was first taken to Khulna Medical College Hospital and later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 1:30am on Sunday for advanced treatment. Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of the DMCH police camp, said the victim was brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound early Sunday. “We have informed the police station concerned, and necessary steps are being taken,” he said. Police are working to identify the attackers and determine the motive behind the incident.

Four people were injured when an ambulance – carrying the body of a heart patient – crashed into a roadside tree in Sadar upazila of Natore on Sunday morning. Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mozammel Haque of Poba Highway Police Station said a man from Sidhuli village in Gurudaspur upazila of Natore died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital of heart diseases. When relatives were returning home with the body in an ambulance, it lost control over the steering and hit the tree at Sultanpur around 9:15am, leaving four people injured. The injured were taken to hospital, the OC said.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has seized a large consignment of narcotic syrup from a stone-laden truck that entered the country from India through the Sonamasjid land port in Chapainawabganj. The recovery was confirmed in a press release issued by the 59 BGB Battalion on Sunday morning. According to the statement, acting on a tip-off, a patrol team of the BGB battalion, led by Assistant Director Sheikh Monowarul Islam, conducted a drive around 11:00pm on Saturday in the Sonamasjid BOP area. It searched an Indian truck parked at a stone yard owned by Alam Traders near the port. During the search, BGB members recovered 20 sacks wrapped in tarpaulin inside stones. Later, they found a total of 5,935 bottles of Indian narcotic syrup in the sacks, often used as an alternative to Phensedyl. However, the truck driver was not present at the scene during the operation and could not be detained. BGB officials said the truck, along with the stones and seized contraband, has been taken into custody.