United News of Bangladesh

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) pushed 13 Bangladeshis into the country through the Motua border in Chhagalnaiya upazila of Feni in the early hours of Friday without following due process, according to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). A patrol team of BGB’s Chhagalnaiya Border Outpost (BOP) under Battalion-4 found the group [four men, three women, and six children] inside an abandoned house near the Motua area around 9am and detained them, BGB said.  BSF 'push-ins' continue: 14 more sent through Matiranga border The detained individuals were identified as Md Altaf, 39, his wife Momina Begum, 32; Md Aminul Islam, 38, his wife Urmi Begum, 29; Mominul Haque, 35, his wife Shefali Begum, 30; and Ishraq Hossain, 40. The remaining six are children. Quoting the detainees, BGB said they were brought to the border with their hands and eyes tied. Taking advantage of bad weather, the BSF untied them and forced them across the border into Bangladesh. Lt Col Md Mosharraf Hossain, commanding officer of BGB Battalion-4 in Feni, said the BGB company commander lodged a verbal protest with his BSF counterpart over the incident. BGB said the 13 individuals were handed over to Chhagalnaiya Police Station. The local administration will take further action regarding them. Chhagalnaiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nazrul Islam said the detainees are currently being sheltered at a room in Motua Government Primary School and are receiving food and necessary assistance. “A formal protest note will be sent over the incident,” said Lt Col Mosharraf. BSF pushes 19 people into Bangladesh: BGB Since May 7, the BSF has illegally pushed almost a thousand individuals into Bangladesh - not all of them Bangladeshis -through various points of the border.

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has illegally pushed in 14 more people through the Matiranga border in Khagrachhari district. The BGB detained them, after they were transferred across the Mango Garden border area of Taindong union around 5am on Friday, without following due process. The detained individuals are in Taindong DP Para Govt Primary School under the supervision of the 23rd BGB Jamini Para Battalion. They said that they worked in a brick kiln in Haryana, India. They were arrested from there and taken by plane to Agartala in Tripura. From there, they were taken to south Tripura and forcibly sent across the international border to Bangladesh early Friday. BSF pushes 19 people into Bangladesh: BGB Khagrachhari Deputy Commissioner ABM Iftekharul Islam Khandaker said that the citizenship status of the detainees are being verified. Since May 7, the BSF has illegally pushed almost a thousand individuals into Bangladesh through various points of the border.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has taken into custody 19 people from two separate border areas in Kamalganj, Moulvibazar after they were pushed into Bangladesh from India. Five people were detained from Bagichhara and 14 from Champachhara area of Islampur union border of the upazila at around 4 am on Friday. Among those arrested are children and women. The detainees are being kept at BGB's Bagichara BOP and Champachhara BOP, and their information is being verified. Border Guard Bangladesh 46 Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Md. Zakaria said that 19 people were pushed into Bangladesh on Friday. BGB patrols detained 5 people from the Bagichara border area of Kamalganj at around 4 am and 14 people from the Champachhara border area around 7 am. The first 5 people are being handed over to Kamalganj Police Station. These 5 are residents of Kurigram. The information of the rest is being verified. Two injured in BSF gunfire along Kasba Border The BGB said that the process of handing over the detained Bangladeshi nationals to Kamalganj Police Station is under process. Kamalganj Police Station OC (Investigation) Shamim Akonji confirmed the incident and said that the 19 people detained by the BGB have not yet been handed over to the police station.

Bandarban district administration has taken necessary measures to prevent any rain-related incidents, including landslide, as the district has been experiencing downpour intermittently since Thursday night under the influence of the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal.    Meanwhile, 220 shelter centres have been opened to accommodate people, said District Disaster and Relief Officer Asif Raihan.   Heavy rainfall, landslides, waterlogging likely parts of country in 48 hrs: BMD Of them, there are 46 in Bandarban Sadar, 28 in Ruma, 19 in Rowangchhari, 15 in Thanchi, 55 in Lama, 15 in Alikadam and 42 in Naikhongchhari. The district administration has opened a control room to help people with the mobile number 01309744923. Those living in hilly pockets have been advised to take shelter at the centers as the administration made publicity through miking in the morning.   Prolonged rainfall causes severe waterlogging in Kurigram A police team led by an additional superintendent of police has been formed to extend support to the people. District police also formed a control room and the mobile phone number 0 1320-110898 to contact them. Meanwhile, vehicular movement on Lama-Alikadam road remained suspended for a while in the morning as a tree fell on it.  

Passenger launch services on Daulatdia-Paturia and Aricha-Kazirhat remain suspended for the second consecutive day on Friday due to adverse weather. The authorities halted all launch movements from 9am on Thursday to avoid accidents caused by the turbulent Padma and Jamuna rivers. However, ferry services on both routes worked  as usual. Md. Shimul Islam, traffic supervisor at Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority- BIWTA's Aricha regional office, said launch services on Daulatdia-Paturia route will remain suspended until weather conditions improve. He informed that all launches have been anchored safely at the Daulatdia ghat pontoon. Moreover, the launch service on the Aricha-Kazirhat route were also suspended from 9am on Thursday and if the weather improves the service will resume later, the supervisor said.   Rampant hilsa catching continues in Rajbari defying govt ban Meanwhile, ferry operations on Daulatdia-Paturia route remained halted from 3:30 pm to 7:30pm on Thursday due to high risk but the service on Aricha-Kazirhat remained normal. Since 7:30pm on Thursday, the ferry services on the both routes remained as usual, he informed. Md. Salahuddin, assistant general manager of BIWTC’s Daulatdia office, said that ferry services are currently running with seven large and three small ferries in operation. Rajbari-bound commuter train held over by protesters at Faridpur station The number of passengers has increased compared to normal time due to suspension of the launch service, he said. If needed, more ferries will be added to the fleet, Salahuddin added.    

Life in Chandpur was severely disrupted on Thursday due to continuous heavy rainfall under the influence of a low-pressure system.  Meteorologist Md Shoaeb of the district’s weather officer said Chandpur recorded 132 millimetres of rainfall from 5am to 6pm—making it the highest rainfall recorded in the district this season. The downpour began early in the morning and continued throughout the day, sometimes easing slightly before intensifying again.  Launch services suspended in Barishal amid incessant rains Most shops including those at the town’s Modern Market remained closed. Even pharmacies were shuttered in several areas. The inclement weather kept street vendors and beggars off the roads.  Very few rickshaws or vehicles were seen on the streets . The Meghna River, already swelling, added to the concerns of residents living along its banks and near the town’s protective embankment.  Several residents, including Mostafa, Shahjahan Chowkidar, Shah Alam Sarkar, Sukharanjan Das, and Moran Dali said they were spending anxious days and sleepless nights fearing river erosion or flooding. A run down road is a bane for Nabinagar people  Launch services from Chandpur to Narayanganj were suspended due to the bad weather, while Dhaka-bound launches could not maintain schedules because of a shortage of passengers.  Long-route buses from the district’s main terminal also missed their scheduled departures due to poor passenger turnout, said Md Shoaibur Rahman, secretary of the Chandpur Bus Owners' Association. Most kitchen markets—including Biponibagh, the century-old Pal Bazar, and Wireless Bazar—remained largely closed.  Low-lying area of Sirajganj flooded due to rise in water level of Jamuna

Launch operations in Barishal district remained suspended since Thursday morning due to the incessant rainfall triggered by the low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal.The Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) authorities suspended the launch services from early Thursday.The continuous rain since early Thursday morning has disrupted normal life in Barishal. Comfort in the rain, discomfort in the streetsThe river ports have been asked to hoist warning signal no 2 due to the bay depression.Low-lying areas of the Barishal city were submerged, forcing many residents to stay indoors and adding to their distress.The suspension of launch services has effectively cut off Barishal’s river connectivity with nearby island district Bhola and other areas.Masud Rana Rubel, a meteorologist at the Barishal Meteorological Office, said Barishal recorded 27 millimeters of rainfall since Thursday morning.Rain is expected to continue throughout the day, he added.

Three young men had been killed after a motorcycle was hit by a truck in the Bhadraghat Bazar area on the Sirajganj-Nalka regional highway in Kamarkhand upazila, police said on Thursday. The deadly clash occurred on Wednesday night. The deceased were identified as Mohammad Zahidul Islam, 21, son of Joynal Sheikh; Md Abdul Gaffar, 20, son of Abdul Hai – both from Sengati village in Raiganj upazila – and Shoeb Ali, 21, son of Abdul Wadud from Teghori village in Tarash upazila. Kamarkhand Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Abdul Latif said the three youths were heading towards Sirajganj town from the Nalka area on a motorcycle around 8pm when a truck loaded with poultry coming from the opposite direction hit them and fled the scene. Motorbike-truck collision leaves two youths dead in Pabna All three died on the spot, the OC said. He added that by the time police arrived, family members of the victims had already taken the bodies. “Efforts are underway to trace and seize the truck,” said the OC.

Two youths were killed in a head-on collision between a motorcycle and an onion-laden truck in Bera upazila of Pabna district on Wednesday evening, police said. The deceased were identified as Md. Moon Hossain, 22, son of Alam Hossain, and Sourav, 20, son of Abul Kashem, both hailed from Krishnapur and Sannyasi Badh villages respectively of the upazila. Quoting locals, police said the duo was traveling from Kazirhat Ferry Ghat toward Nagarbari on the bike when it collided with the truck coming from the opposite direction on Kazirhat-Kashinathpur road in Chhoto Naogaon area at around 6:30pm. Unidentified woman killed in road accident in city's Banani The accident left Moon killed on the spot and Sourav critically injured, police said. Sourav was rushed to Pabna General Hospital where physicians declared him dead upon arrival. Officer-in-charge of Aminpur police station Golam Mostafa said the bodies were handed over to the families and no complaint was filed yet. Though the trucker managed to flee the scene with the vehicle and efforts to identify and detain him were underway, he added.

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard in a drive arrested two deer poachers along with 45 kgs of venison from a launch anchored at Ilisha Launch ghat in Bhola district early Wednesday. The arrestees were identified as Md Rafez, 41 and Md Maksudur Rahman, 35 of Bhola district. Four arrested in Mohammadpur including top criminal Excel Babu Tipped off, a team of Coast Guard conducted a drive at around 2 am and arrested two men along with 45 kgs of venison, said media personnel of Coast Guard, Lieutenant Commandar Harun-or-Rashid. Later, they were handed over to Bhola Forest Department.