United News of Bangladesh

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo on Saturday said the government would soon initiate talks with India under an existing protocol to establish a cross-border corridor for wild elephants roaming the Garo Hills in Sherpur. Around 130 to 135 wild elephants that came from India's Meghalaya have become stranded in the Garo Hills of Sherpur as border fencing has prevented them from returning to their habitat, he said. The minister said the government would request the Indian authorities to open gates in the fencing to allow the elephants to return, although previous requests had not received a positive response. At the same time, initiatives would be taken to develop forest areas in Sherpur into safe habitats for the elephants, he added.

A bag containing a laptop, a DSLR camera and other valuables belonging to a German national at Natore Railway Station, is yet to be recovered. Police and a special team of the SRB-5 Natore Camp are continuing their investigations to recover the bag and arrest the suspect, said Sub-Inspector Palash of Special Response Battalion (SRB)-5 of Natore camp. The suspect had been identified after reviewing CCTV footage from the railway station, he said. The team is now conducting intelligence operations and making efforts to arrest the suspect, he added. Several teams of Natore district police are also working on the case with the help of technology, said Additional Superintendent of Natore Police, Iftekhar Alam. Tracing the suspect has been more difficult because the missing bag contained a laptop rather than a mobile phone, whose location could have been tracked more easily, he said. Teams from the district police, SRB, railway police and Rajshahi Metropolitan Police are using their respective technological resources to arrest the suspect and recover the missing belongings, said the police. He also alleged that various misleading reports were being circulated on social media about the incident. According to officials, Krill Lander Weber, a German national of Ukrainian origin, visited several heritage sites in Bogura on October 7. He travelled by train to Santahar Railway Station in the afternoon before boarding another train for Natore. At Natore Railway Station, he met an unidentified young man who gained his trust through conversation. Kiril left his bag containing a laptop, a DSLR camera and other essential items in the young man's custody in the station's waiting room while he went to an ATM booth to withdraw money and purchase a ticket for a train bound for Darshana. He planned to enter India through the Gede border crossing after reaching Darshana. However, when he returned to the waiting room after purchasing the ticket, he found that both the young man and his bag were missing. He searched different parts of the station in distress and eventually broke down in tears after failing to recover his belongings. Fellow passengers later directed him to Natore Sadar Police Station. After speaking with the tourist police and collecting the necessary information, Sadar police promptly sent a team to the railway station. The team collected CCTV footage and identified the suspect, after which efforts to apprehend him began. However, the absence of a trackable device made it difficult for investigators to establish the suspect's location, officials said. Natore police later recorded a general diary (GD) over the incident and sent the tourist to the Rajshahi railway police authorities on the night of October 7. He returned to Dhaka the following day.

Two women were killed on Saturday morning after being run over by a cement-laden truck while out for a morning walk along the Tista-Borobari highway in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila. The deceased were identified as Fojila Begum and Jomila Begum, residents of Mostofi Dhumerkuti area in Panchagram union under Sadar upazila. According to sources, the two women went out for a morning walk after performing their Fajr prayers when a cement-laden truck coming from Rangpur lost control and crushed them, killing both on the spot. Following the crash, local residents detained the truck and alerted the police. Police arrived at the scene, recovered the bodies, and later handed them over to their families without an autopsy following formal requests from the relatives. Sad Ahmed, Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC), said legal procedures regarding the accident are underway.

Police and Fire Service personnel recovered the body of a private car driver from a pond in Chauddagram upazila of Cumilla on Saturday afternoon. The deceased was identified as Iqbal Hossain Sohag, 38, son of the late Abdul Manik of West Shahinagar area under Bayezid Bostami Police Station in Chattogram city. Sohag worked as the personal driver for businessman Kazi Naderuzzaman of Chiora Kazi Bari. According to local sources, Sohag went for a bath in the Chiora Kazi Bari pond along with others on Friday before Jummah prayers. While the others exited the pond, Sohag stayed behind in the water to pick water lilies. When he failed to return by Friday afternoon, a GD was filed with Chauddagram Police Station. On Saturday morning, a diving team from Chandpur joined two units of the Chauddagram Fire Service to search the pond. After an operation lasting over three hours, divers recovered his body from the pond around noon. Chauddagram Fire Service In-charge Mehdi Hasan confirmed the recovery, said that Sohag might have suffered a stroke while in the water, though the exact cause of death will be confirmed following an autopsy. Chauddagram Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Arefin said that police recovered the body with the assistance of the fire service and brought it to the station. Further legal details will be confirmed after receiving the autopsy report.

A Bangladeshi farmer was injured when the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) opened fire along Jamalpur border in Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia on Saturday morning. The injured farmer is Sajul Hossain, 30, son of Sabaj Hossain of Jamalpur village. The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. near main border pillar 152/10-S along the Jamalpur border. According to locals, Sajul was cutting grass near the zero line when a patrol team from BSF's 146 Battalion opened fire, leaving him injured. A regular BGB patrol from Jamalpur BOP swiftly took position and returned fire in self-defense and to safeguard local residents, said a press release from 47 BGB Battalion. Patrols and surveillance have been intensified, with high alert declared along the border. Kushtia Battalion (47 BGB) Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Rashed Kamal Roni said the injured farmer was rescued and sent to a hospital while BGB personnel are monitoring the situation on site. Daulatpur Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr. Touhid Hasan Tuhin said, Sajul received primary treatment at Daulatpur Upazila Health Complex before being transferred to Kushtia General Hospital. Meanwhile, local residents claimed to have detained an Indian citizen following the incident, though BGB officials have not confirmed the claim, stating details will be provided after investigation.

The 32nd death anniversary of internationally acclaimed Bangladeshi artist SM Sultan is being observed in his hometown Narail with various programmes. The programmes were organised by the district administration on Sultan Memorial Museum premises, beginning at 9am. Representatives of the district administration, SM Sultan Bengal Institute of Fine Arts, SM Sultan Foundation, SM Sultan Memorial Museum, Narail Press Club, District Shilpakala Academy, SM Sultan Children’s Fine Arts and Crafts Foundation, Murchhana Sangeet Niketan and various political and social organisations paid tribute to the artist by placing wreaths at his grave. The observance included the recitation of the Quran, special prayers, an art competition for children and adolescents, a discussion meeting and a prize distribution ceremony. SM Sultan died at the Combined Military Hospital in Jashore on October 10, 1994. He was born on August 10, 1924, in Machimdia village of Narail. In recognition of his contribution to the arts, Sultan received the Ekushey Padak in 1982 and the Independence Award in 1993. He was also recognised as a resident artist in 1984 and received an honour from the Bangladesh Charushilpi Sangsad in 1986. His other international accolades included the ‘Man of the Year’ recognition from Cambridge University, ‘Man of Achievement’ from the Biographical Centre in New York and ‘Man of Asia’ from Asiaweek magazine. Since 2001, the SM Sultan Foundation has awarded the Sultan Gold Medal to an outstanding artist in recognition of their contribution to the field of fine arts.

Students of Sylhet Engineering College have announced the withdrawal of their demonstrations following assurances from Industries, Commerce, and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir regarding their demands, including the transformation of the institution into a full-fledged engineering university. The decision was announced at a meeting between the minister and protesting students at the conference room of Sylhet Circuit House on Friday. According to a press release signed by Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun on Friday night, the students expressed satisfaction with the minister’s assurances and pledged to return to regular classes from Sunday. During the meeting, Muktadir listened to the students’ demands and assured them that initiatives would be taken to transform Sylhet Engineering College into a full-fledged engineering university. He also pledged to discuss the long-standing teacher shortage and the proposed transfer of the institution from the Directorate of Technical Education to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) with the relevant authorities at the highest level. Sylhet City Corporation Administrator Abdul Kayum Chowdhury separately assured the students that a playground would be constructed on the college campus. The students raised several demands aimed at improving the quality of education, strengthening the institution’s administrative and academic structure, and ensuring a student-friendly learning environment. Muktadir said the government was positive about the students’ reasonable demands and remained attentive to their needs, according to the press release. The latest development came after earlier attempts by Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, the deputy commissioner and the city corporation administrator to persuade the students to end their agitation failed. The students had been demonstrating for nearly two weeks, demanding that the college be brought out of the jurisdiction of the Directorate of Technical Education. They began their programme by confining 14 teachers to the administrative building. Established in 2007, Sylhet Engineering College offers undergraduate engineering programmes in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering. Around 1,000 students are enrolled across five batches in the three departments, with most of them participating in the protest. The students argued that remaining under the Directorate of Technical Education could undermine the status of their higher engineering degrees, including the BSc in Engineering. Their principal demand was immediate release from the directorate’s administrative control. They had announced an indefinite suspension of classes, examinations, laboratory activities and all academic and administrative operations until the Ministry of Education issued an official notification addressing their demand. During the protest, the ministry’s Technical and Madrasah Education Division issued a notification regarding changes to the college’s leadership. As per the, Associate Professor Md Asaduzzaman, who had been serving as acting principal, was transferred to Faridpur Engineering College. Associate Professor Md Shahid Iqbal of Mymensingh Engineering College was assigned the additional responsibility of principal at Sylhet Engineering College. The students had also opposed the leadership changes, further contributing to the ongoing dispute.

An elderly woman and her daughter-in-law were killed when a bus knocked them down on Dhaka-Bakshiganj road in Nilakkhia Thakurpara village of Bakshiganj upazila in Jamalpur district early Saturday. The deceased were identified as Ufeza Bewa, 65, and Farida Begum, 40, wife of Nur Islam, a resident of the village. The accident occurred around 6 am when a Dhaka-bound bus hit them while they were standing beside the road, leaving them dead on the spot, said Makbul Hossain, officer-in-charge of Bakshiganj Police Station. Police seized the bus and arrested its driver and helper from the spot.

Seventh grader Jannatul Tazmin, whose body was recovered from a paddy field in Lalmai upazila of Cumilla, was strangled to death after rape, said Additional Superintendent of Cumilla Police (crime) Pankaj Barua. Tazmin boarded a CNG-run auto-rickshaw from in front of Hotel Nurjahan at Paduar Bazar in Cumilla city on Wednesday to go to her Racecourse residence in the city, said ASP Pankaj at a press briefing held at its office on Saturday. But autorickshaw driver Sumon took her to Jagatpur in Lalmai Upazila instead of taking her to the city. “Around 2:58 am, while still inside the moving auto-rickshaw, Tazmin sent her live location to her father’s WhatsApp number, desperately pleading with him to come. However, her father was asleep at the time and did not see the message,” said the police. Later, he managed to flee the scene leaving behind his auto-rickshaw. Later on Friday, police arrested driver Sumon from Chattogram. Police said the iPhone of Tazmin was recovered from the possession of Sumon. On Thursday morning, police recovered the body of Tazmin, daughter of Abdul Alim of Churamankati in Jashore Sadar and a seventh-grade student of Farida Vidyayatan in Cumilla city, from a paddy field in Jagatpur of Lalmai upazila. Locals spotted the vehicle and later found the girl’s body about 50 yards from the road, lying beside a field ridge with the gamcha wrapped around her neck. Abdul Alim, said she left their rented home in Cumilla on October 4, saying she was going to a friend’s house, and later travelled to Cox’s Bazar with the friend. He last spoke to her around 2:00am on Thursday after she returned to Cumilla. After losing contact with her, he traced her mobile phone location to Lalmai area and later learned that her body had been recovered from Jagatpur. Later, he filed a murder case with Lalmai police station against unidentified people over his daughter’s death.

Armed robbers shot an accounts manager and looted approximately Tk 3 crore from a private car transporting cash for a mobile financial service distributor in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur on Friday evening. The incident occurred around 6:30pm at the Karnapur area along the Sreepur-Gosinga regional road. The injured were identified as Accounts Manager Himel, who sustained a gunshot wound; private car driver Lal Mia and Area Manager Farhad was injured. Himel was initially treated at Sreepur Hospital before being transferred to Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital due to the severity of his injuries. Mostafizur Rahman, manager of Bhaluka Channel Enterprise Limited Sreepur-a bKash distributor operating in Maona Chowrasta-the firm faced an acute cash shortage due to Friday bank closures and heavy demand for ready cash to pay garment workers' salaries. To meet the demand, the firm transferred bKash balance to "Hazrat Ali Munshi," a bKash distributor in Narsingdi Sadar, and was bringing back Tk 4 crore in cash packed inside three plastic sacks in a private car. As the car reached Karnapur, 10 to 12 assailants riding on motorcycles intercepted the vehicle. The attackers smashed the car windows with local weapons including Chinese axes, shot Accounts Manager Himel with a pistol, and fled with the three plastic sacks containing around Tk 3 crore. Mohammad Shahinur Alam, Sreepur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC), said police arrived at the scene and launched a thorough investigation. Evidence and statements are being collected from the spot and injured victims to identify the perpetrators, recover the looted cash, and initiate legal proceedings.