United News of Bangladesh

A 45-year-old woman died after being electrocuted in Baraigram upazila of Natore on Friday morning. The deceased was identified as Maleka, wife of Didar Hossain of the Agran area of the upazila. Read: Bus-truck collision leaves 2 dead in Gopalganj  Kamruzzaman, sub-inspector of Baraigram Police Station, confirmed the matter. Maleka was electrocuted while connecting a water pump on the electric line in the morning, said the SI. Read: 1 crushed under wheels of train in Jashore  She was taken to the Upazila Health Complex, where the duty doctor declared her dead.  

A 52-year-old man died after being crushed under the wheels of a speeding train at Nawapara rail station of Jashore on Thursday afternoon, said a railway police official. The deceased--Sheikh Faruq Hossain--was an accounts manager of Sidlu Jute Mill in Jashore’s Nowapara and son of Sheikh Golam Hossain of Tutpara of Khulna city. Anamul Haq, in-charge of Government Railway Police (GRP) in the Nowapara station, said the accident happened around 4 pm when the victim went under the wheels of the Khulna-bound Sundarbans Express train while trying to get on the running train in the station.    The accident left him dead on the spot, he said, adding that the body was sent to Jashore Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Legal action will be taken after getting the autopsy report in this connection, he added.  

Though the authorities have so far retrieved three sunken trucks from the Padma River, the ferry ‘Rajanigandha’ carrying nine vehicles capsized in the river is yet to be salvaged. Shah Jahan, director of the Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said that the rescue vessel ‘Pratya’ is yet to come to the spot to recover the ferry. The rescue operation will start upon arrival of the vessel ‘Pratya’, he said.    Shahporan Emon, head of the naval diver team, said they detected a sunken truck around two kilometers off the spot and retrieved it around 3 pm. So far one covered van and two pickup vans have been recovered with the help of rescue ships ‘Hamza and Rustom’ in this connection, he said, adding that six more trucks and covered vans are still missing.   Rescue ship Rustom reached the spot around 11 am on Thursday and conducted the rescue operation, he said. Meanwhile, the transport workers expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the salvage operation. Earlier on Wednesday, the ferry with pick-up trucks and covered vans sank in the river. Two separate probe bodies were formed over the ferry capsize on Wednesday. Manikganj District Commissioner Rehana Akhter formed one of the committees while another was formed by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).

A four-member probe body has been formed to investigate the rape incident that reportedly happened on a running Lalmonirhat-bound inter-city train 'Lalmoni Express' on Wednesday. The committee was headed by Lalmonirhat Divisional Transportation Officer (DTO) Abdullah Al Mamun, said divisional Machine Engineer (Carriage and Wagon) Tasruzzaman Babu. The other three members are Tasruzzaman Babu, Railway Hospital Doctor Mahfuzur Rahman Bhuiya and Railway Security Force Commandant (RMD) Shafiqur Rahman. The committee was asked to submit its report within three working days. The railway department also suspended accused Akkas Ali,32, immediately after the incident. Meanwhile, in the afternoon, the victim— a schoolgirl—was sent to the court for recording the statement under section 22, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Lalmonirhat Railway GRP Police Station Ferdous Ali said. The girl will be handed over to her family through the court. Divisional Machine Engineer (Carriage and Wagon) Babu said: “We are shocked by such a shameful incident. We are investigating it and the rapist won’t be spared. Strict measures will be taken from the railway department,” he added. Earlier on Wednesday morning, a sixth-grader was allegedly raped in an empty cabin of the Lalmoni Express train by railway attendant Akkas Ali. Lalmonirhat Railway GRP Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ferdous Ali said the Lalmoni Express train left Kamalapur Rail Station in Dhaka for Lalmonirhat after 12:00 am on Wednesday. After midnight, the sixth grader girl, who was waiting at Joydebpur Railway Station to go to Mymensingh, mistakenly boarded the 'Lalmoni Express'. At the time of ticket checking, the attendant asked the girl to be seated on a seat as she could not show any ticket. At about 8:30 am, the attendant took the girl to an empty cabin of the train and raped her there. Later, hearing the girl's screaming, policemen on board the train rushed to the cabin and rescued her. Later, police detained the accused attendant Akkas Ali.

Censuring Transparency International Bangladesh’s (TIB) research report on the recently held national election, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat said on Thursday that the TIB’s report does not meet international standards, and its statement is illogical. He made the remarks while talking to reporters in the conference room of the secretariat in the capital. “Those who conducted this research have no research experiences. They have no research work published in international journals,” he said. Brick Kiln Tracker' to be used to detect polluting brick kilns: Minister The state minister said the TIB's report has exceeded “scientific misconduct” and they are trying to mislead people with lies. "I believe the civil society of Bangladesh will conduct research following international standards with honesty and sincerity and present its findings before the people," he said. Calling the TIB’s report as its own opinion, Arafat said the Election Commission took action against those who violated electoral code of conduct and even cases have been filed against them. Environment Minister stops burning wastes at Osmani Udyan “In the report the EC’s strict position against irregularities was not highlighted, rather efforts were made to weaken the mindset by spreading lies,” he said. "I can challenge the TIB, I want to challenge it; Let them send research to an international standard journal, they won’t publish it. If they publish, I will accept that they have researched it,” the state minister said. "I can say with certainty that any journal of international standard won’t accept it as a research, let alone publish it. As it did not follow any method of international standards,” Arafat asserted. Bangladesh, India to work jointly to ensure cyber security: Palak The state minister also said that the report was prepared with absolutely misinformation and it is very sad but true that it has been done. Questioning the experience of the researchers, he said l. He said that the people who are involved with the so-called research have no experiences in the fields of elections and political science.  Most of them do not have any publications in international journals.

Divers from Bangladesh Navy have started operation to salvage the sunken trucks from the Padma River, a day after a ferry capsize near Paturia ferry ghat in Manikganj district. Rescue ship Rustom reached the spot around 11 am on Thursday but rescue vessel Pratya did not reach till noon. As a result, the authorities failed to conduct operation to salvage sunken ferry Rajanigandha. Shah Jahan, director (river preservation and Management department) of Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said the operation to rescue the ferry will start when rescue vessel Prarya will arrive here. Dense fog: Ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia route resume after 6 hours But the divers from Bangladesh Navy are conducting drives to salvage the sunken trucks from the river, he said. Already a truck was salvaged from the spot, said Shah Paran, head of the divers’ team. They are also trying to rescue the other sunken trucks, he added. Meanwhile, the transport workers expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the salvage operation. Two probe bodies formed over ferry capsize in Padma River Earlier on Wednesday, the ferry named ‘Rajanigandha’ with pick-up trucks and covered vans sank in the river. Two separate probe bodies were formed over ferry capsize on Wednesday. Manikganj District Commissioner Rehana Akhter formed one of the committees while another was formed by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).  

Two people were killed and 15 were injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck on Dhaka-Khulna highway at Sonashur in Sadar upazila of Gopalganj district early Thursday. The deceased were identified as Mizan Sheikh, son of Alimuddin Sheikh of Rupsha upazila, and Saima Begum, wife of Raju Ahmed of Dumuria upazila in Khulna district. Abul Hasem, officer-in-charge of Kashiani Bhatipara Highway Police, said the accident occurred around 2 am when the Satkhira-bound ‘Tungipara Express’ from Dhaka collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leaving two people dead on the spot and 15 injured. BRTA's number of deaths from road accidents in 2023 shows significant departure from JKS On information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies. Of the injured, five were taken to Gopalganj 250-bed hospital while the others were given first aid. 2 people killed in separate road accidents in Chattogram  

Chuadanga district experienced a significant disruption in daily life today (January 18, 2024), as heavy rainfall amidst an ongoing cold wave affected the area. The unexpected weather conditions intensified the hardships already faced by residents due to the cold. The district witnessed heavy rains this morning, which lasted for approximately two and a half hours, exacerbating the impact of the cold wave and paralyzing normal activities. Weather Update: Will it rain in Dhaka? Tahmina Nasrin Anny, a first-class officer at the Chuadanga Observatory Center, reported that the temperature dropped to 11.5 degrees Celsius between 6 am and 9 am, with humidity levels reaching 92 percent.

Ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route resumed after a six-hour suspension due to dense fog. Bangladesh Inland Water Transportation Corporation’s (BIWTC) Aricha terminal assistant manager Abdus Salam said they suspended the ferry services around 1 am after visibility was severely hampered because of dense fog. Two ferries had to anchor mid-river while nine ferries at both Paturia and Daulatdia ghats remained stranded. Daulatdia-Paturia ferry services resume after 7 hours Over 300 vehicles, including buses, were waiting at both ghats to cross the river, he added.  Later, ferry services resumed around 9 am as fog started to dissipate. Fog halts Daulatdia-Paturia ferry services

A Joypurhat court on Wednesday sentenced two brothers to life term imprisonment for killing a man in Kalandpur village under Panchbibi upazila of the district in 2005. They are - Md. Anisur Rahman and Md. Nazrul Islam, sons of Ofir Uddin of Kalandpur village of the upazila. Sugarcane threshing begins in Joypurhat Sugar Mills Additional District and Sessions Judge-second court, judge Md. Abbas Uddin pronounced the judgement this afternoon. The court also fined them Taka 10,000 each. Police arrest three over sabotage incidents targeting trains in Joypurhat According to the prosecution, Quddus was married to Sheola Khatun, daughter of Sirajul Islam of Atul village of Panchbibi upazila. On the night of November 20, 2005, Sheola Khatun got into a quarrel with Quddus and she called the accused. At one stage, the accused hit Quddus with sticks and local weapons, leaving Quddus dead on the spot. Later, a case was filed at Panchbibi Police Station following a complaint lodged by the victim's elder brother Lutfar Rahman. 2 die as oil tanker hits three-wheeler in Joypurhat Police submitted the chargesheet against them in court. After examining the records and witnesses, the court found them guilty.