United News of Bangladesh

At least 10 people were injured in a clash between two groups of people over an unpaid tea bill in Shailkupa municipality of Jhenaidah on Friday morning. The injured include Nayeb Ali, son of Kamal Sheikh; Ripon Hossain, son of Murad Ali; Rubel Hossain, son of Jamal Uddin; Tamal Hossain, son of Abdur Rahim; Abdur Razzak, son of Abul Hossain; and Ripon Hossain. They were admitted to Shailkupa Upazila Health Complex. Officer-in-Charge of Shailkupa Police Station Humayun Kabir Mollah said Ripon Hossain went to a tea stall owned by Shahjahan in the Khaldharpara area of the municipality in the morning. When the shopkeeper refused to serve him tea on credit due to previous unpaid dues, an argument broke out between them, which later turned into a scuffle, he said. The OC said locals from both sides later joined the altercation with locally made weapons, triggering a clash that left at least 10 people injured.

The Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCCI) has expressed deep condolence at the death of Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman. In a Facebook post, BCCCI President Mohd Khorshed Alam said the business community has lost a wise, competent and compassionate guardian whose guidance and integrity will be deeply missed. He expressed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. “May Almighty Allah grant him eternal peace in Jannah and give strength to his family to bear this irreparable loss,” he added. Mahbubur Rahman breathed his last around 6:25am on Friday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the capital. He was 58. He was admitted to the hospital on April 13 following a sharp drop in blood platelet levels. He was later diagnosed with malaria. Mahbubur Rahman was an officer of the 13th BCS (Customs and Excise) cadre.

A worsening fuel crisis has gripped Rangpur, leaving motorcyclists and private car owners stranded in long queues for hours as petrol pumps struggle with limited supply across the district. According to local sources, around 350 petrol pumps operate in the city and eight upazilas of the district, but more than half of them are not supplying fuel regularly. A visit to several petrol pumps on Friday morning found severe shortages of petrol and octane, with many displaying “no fuel” signs. At the pumps still operating, customers were being rationed to a maximum of Tk 200 worth of fuel each. A similar situation has been seen across eight upazilas, including Mithapukur, Pirganj, Pirgachha, Kaunia, Badarganj, Taraganj and Gangachara, where many people said they waited 10 to 12 hours without receiving fuel. Affected drivers said the shortage is disrupting urgent work, with office-goers, businesspeople and ambulance services among the worst affected. Motorcyclist Sohel Mia said he waited for two hours at a pump in the morning but was later told that fuel had run out, forcing him to look for another station. Private car owners reported similar experiences. Pump managers said each station is currently receiving only 3,000 to 4,000 litres of petrol-octane per day, which is far below the demand, forcing them to ration supply. Authorities said the crisis has arisen due to a mismatch between supply and demand triggered by the Middle East conflict, adding that efforts are underway to stabilise the situation.

Two people were killed and three others injured when a pickup van crashed into a stationary truck in Sadar upazila of Kushtia on Friday morning. The deceased were identified as Sifayet, 35, son of Abdul Haque of Bangalipara area under Sadar upazila of Narail district, and Bikash, 45, son of Bimal of Sadhukhali area. Three horses being transported on the pickup also died in the accident, said Abu Obaid, Officer-in-Charge of Kushtia Highway Police Station. The injured are pickup driver Nazmul, 37, and passengers Tamim, 14, and Zia, 45. They were admitted to Kushtia General Hospital. Police said the pickup van, carrying horses and heading towards Narail, hit the rear of the truck parked by the roadside at Bittipara around 6:30am. Sifayet died on the spot, while Bikash succumbed to his injuries at hospital.

Bus workers enforced an indefinite strike on short-distance routes in Kushtia on Friday morning to press home a two-point demand, causing suffering for passengers. Bus services on all short-distance routes from the district remained suspended since 5:00am, forcing passengers to rely on alternative modes of transport and pay higher fares to reach their destinations. Services on the Kushtia-Meherpur and Kushtia-Pragpur routes were halted. Buses on several other routes, including Kushtia-Khulna-Jashore, Kushtia-Rajbari, Kushtia-Barishal, Kushtia-Rajshahi and Kushtia-Pabna-Sirajganj, also remained off the road. However, long-distance buses to Dhaka are operating as usual. Earlier, Kushtia District Motor Workers Union announced the strike on Thursday evening. Its President Mahabul Haque said both bus and minibus owners’ and workers’ associations operate vehicles on the Kushtia-Khulna-Jashore route, but workers’ association was not receiving certain facilities. He said meetings were held with the owners’ group over two demands and an ultimatum was issued to meet them by April 15. The demands are ensuring equal facilities for workers as enjoyed by owners in the transport sector and allowing a bus operated under the workers’ association to run on the Kushtia-Khulna route. As the demands went unheeded, bus and minibus operations were halted indefinitely from Friday morning, Mahabul said, adding that workers of buses from the owners’ association also joined them in the strike. Around 10:30am, Kushtia District Bus-Minibus Owners’ Group General Secretary Rafiqul Islam said transport workers had placed the demands one week ago. He said as the demands were not met, bus operations on all routes were suspended from Friday morning.

 A United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) leader was killed and his two sisters were injured in a gun attack on their house in Kutukchhari area under Sadar upazila of Rangamati on Friday morning. The deceased, Dharmasingh Chakma, was the vice president of the central unit of Democratic Youth Forum, the youth wing of UPDF. His two sisters – Kripasona Chakma and Bhagya Sona Chakma – also sustained bullet injuries in the attack. According to UPDF sources, Dharmasingh Chakma was staying at his home in Kutukchhari when an armed group of 19-20 people allegedly from the Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS) surrounded the house around 6:00am. As he attempted to flee, the attackers opened fire, leaving him dead on the spot. His sisters were also injured in the incident, the UPDF claimed. However, there was no statement from the JSS regarding the allegation. Superintendent of Police of the district Muhammad Abdur Rakib said law enforcement teams were sent to the spot immediately after the incident. He added that legal action will be taken after the investigation. Following the attack, activists of the Democratic Youth Forum blocked the Rangamati-Khagrachhari road at Kutukchhari by placing tree trunks and tyres, disrupting vehicular movement. A tense situation was prevailing in the area following the incident.        

Boro crops across 13 unions in four upazilas of Habiganj have been damaged by hailstorms over the past three days, local agriculture officials said. The affected unions include Badalpur in Ajmiriganj upazila, Pukra, Lakhai, Subidpur and North-East union No. 1 in Baniachong, Lukra, Richi, Nijampur, Laskarpur, Gopaya and Poil in Sadar, and Shanbila and Devanhata in Chunarughat upazila. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), hailstorms accompanied by strong winds hit the district on the night of April 14 and again on April 15 and 16, causing widespread damages to crops. Preliminary estimates suggest that about 15 hectares of Boro fields in Ajmiriganj, 30 hectares in Baniachong, 90 hectares in Sadar, and 11 hectares in Chunarughat upazila were damaged. Additionally, around 8 hectares of seasonal vegetables in Chunarughat upazila were affected. Abdul Mannan, a farmer from Uttar Gorang village under Shanbila union, said the storm, which struck between 10:30pm and 11pm on April 15, destroyed nearly half of his paddy on one and half bighas. He also said vast areas of Boro fields in villages, including Gorangi Dighirpar, Mohimabad, Lalchan, Shanbila, and nearby Devanhata union were badly hit by the hailstorm. Officials said a target had been set to cultivate Boro paddy on 123,848 hectares of land across nine upazilas in the district in the current season. Against the target, 123,644 hectares have been brought under cultivation. They also noted that excessive rainfall has caused waterlogging in some areas, submerging around 281 hectares of Boro fields.  

A young man has been stabbed to death and another injured in an attack reportedly by their friends in Khulna’s Phultala upazila. The incident took place around 10:30pm on Thursday in Damodar union of the upazila. The deceased was identified as Sabbir, 23, son of Mostafa, while the injured is Nirob, both residents of ward No. 8 of the union. Khulna Additional Superintendent of Police Abir Siddique Shuvro said preliminary investigation suggests that the attackers and victims were friends. He added that a dispute took place between them 4-5 days ago. As a sequel to the brawl, Sabbir and Nirob came under attack near a school of the area on Thursday night, leaving both of them injured. They were taken to Khulna Medical College Hospital where the on-duty doctor declared the former dead.

A housewife on Wednesday was allegedly abducted and raped after miscreants intercepted an auto-rickshaw carrying her and her husband and held the man captive in Homna upazila of Cumilla. The incident occurred on a village road in the upazila, and the victim filed a case with Homna Police Station on Thursday, naming Ashikur Rahman as the prime accused, said Officer-in-Charge (OC) Thomas Barua. According to the case statement, the victim and her husband, who live in a rented house in Homna municipality, were travelling by auto-rickshaw to her father’s home in Titas upazila around 9:30pm on Wednesday. After crossing the Agriculture College area, Ashikur Rahman, 24, along with six to seven associates, allegedly intercepted their vehicle using two motorcycles. The assailants then took the couple and the auto-rickshaw to a quiet brick-paved road. There, some of the accused took the husband and the driver away, while Ashikur and two others allegedly confined the woman. Ashikur Rahman is accused of raping her. Resident Medical Officer of Homna Upazila Health Complex, Dr Md Shahid Ullah, said the victim and her husband arrived at the hospital around 3am and later sought police assistance. She was subsequently referred to the One-Stop Crisis Centre at Cumilla Medical College Hospital for further examination and treatment. OC Thomas Barua said police took legal action immediately after receiving the complaint. The victim has filed a case, and her medical examination has been completed at Cumilla Medical College Hospital, he said. Police have formed multiple teams to arrest the prime accused and others involved, the OC added.

Several areas in Sylhet city will face electricity outages on Saturday due to transformer repair and maintenance, transmission line development, and tree pruning work, according to the Power Development Board. Abdur Razzak, Executive Engineer of Sales and Distribution Division-2 of the Sylhet Power Development Board, shared the information in a press release on Thursday. According to the statement, power supply will remain suspended from 9 am to 5 pm in areas under the 11 kV feeders of Power Development and Distribution Division-2, including Chalibandar, Kastghar, Sobanighat, Bishwa Road, Jail Road, Bandar Road, and adjacent areas. On the same day, electricity will also remain cut from 9 am to 5 pm in several other areas under the same 11 kV feeder network, including Amjad Ali Road, Kalighat, Chararpar, Masimpur, Mahajanpatri, Hakar’s Market, Laldighirpar, Dak Bangla Road, Burhan Uddin Mazar, Shaplabagh, Kushighat, Mendibag, Mirapara, Nowagaon, Sadatikor, Mirror Chowk, Muktirchowk Muradpur, Tooltikor, Pir Chowk, and surrounding localities. The authorities said the power line will remain operational during the maintenance period, and supply will be restored immediately if the work is completed earlier than scheduled. Executive Engineer Abdur Razzak expressed regret for the temporary inconvenience and sought cooperation from consumers.