District
Export-import through Benapole land port halted
Export-import activities between Bangladesh and India through the Benapole land port have remained suspended since Sunday morning due to the municipal elections in West Bengal.
Karthik Chandra Chakraborty, general secretary of Indian Petrapole C&F Agent Staff Welfare Association, said elections are underway in 108 municipalities of West Bengal including Bangaon. There will be no import-export activities today as all CNDF owners, employees, handling workers, truck drivers involved in import-export activities will cast their votes in their respective constituencies.
Read: Revenue declined by Tk 26.75 cr due to covid restrictions on Benapole port
After the election, the trade activities will resume on Monday, he added.
However, the loading and unloading process at Benapole port is going on, said Benapole Land Port Deputy Director Abdul Jalil.
Housewife ‘gang-raped’ in Laxmipur
A housewife was allegedly raped by five people at her house in Sadar upazila of Laximpur district early Sunday.
Police said five thieves- Sumon, Nazim, Hossain, Yusuf and Harun- entered the rape survivor’s house at Charmotua village in Teoyariganj union in the early hours and tied up all members of the family.
Read: Schoolgirl gang-raped in Bagerhat
The family members alleged that the thieves raped the housewife and looted the gold ornaments and cash money.
Later, the rape survivor was admitted to Laxmipur Sadar Hospital in the morning.
Md Anwar Hossain, resident medical officer of the hospital, said her medical examinations and treatment are going on.
Police launched a drive to arrest the five rapists, said the Superintendent of Police AHM Kamruzzaman.
Stalked by teacher, woman ends life in Chuadanga
A 25-year-old woman in Chuadanga allegedly ended her life over constant stalking by a teacher.
The deceased was identified as Sonia Khatun, wife of Nazmul Islam, a Bangladeshi expatriate in Saudi Arabia.
Police said Sonia hanged herself from the ceiling of her house in Kamalpur village of the district's Alamdanga upazila on Friday.
Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge of Alamdanga Police Station, said that Sonia had been living with her five-year-old daughter in the house since her husband went to Saudi Arabia five months ago.
"The accused, Shakil Hossain, 45, an assistant teacher of Atharokhada Government Primary School and son of Mangal Ali of the village, was stalking Sonia taking advantage of the absence of her husband," he said.
The accused even allegedly tried to defame her by spreading rumours of an extra-marital affair. "Unable to bear the harassment, the woman took her own life," the OC said.
Based on a complaint from Sonia's father Sakir Uddin, an FIR was lodged against four people, including Shakil, at the Alamdanga Police Station.
"The body has been sent to the local hospital morgue for an autopsy," the OC said.
72-hour RTPCR Covid test no longer needed for India-bound passengers
Passengers travelling to India will no longer need to get an RT-PCR test done within 72 hours before departure, said Md Raju Ahmed, officer-in-Charge (OC) of Benapole Police Immigration on Saturday morning.According to the Benapole Immigration sources, passengers who have completed the two-dose vaccine and taken the booster dose will no longer need a 72-hour RTPCR Covid test certificate to travel to India. But passengers must show a 72-hour RTPCR Covid Test certificate when they return from India.Debul Kumar, an India returnee, said that if a booster dose was given to a Bangladeshi on his way to India, the Covid Test certificate would not be required. “On his return, he had to show the 72-hour Corona Test certificate at the Indian Immigration as before”.
Also read: Pre-departure Covid test no longer needed for UAE-bound passengers If the same rules were followed in both the countries then passengers would be exempted from the extra cost, he added.Dr. Zahidur Rahman, working in the Benapole Immigration Health Department said that both Indian and Bangladeshi passengers need to bring 72-hour RTPCR certificate while coming from India.
Also read:NTAC suggests axing post-arrival Covid test for fully vaccinated
Man beaten dead for 'involvement in extra-marital affair' in Gazipur
A 37-year old man was beaten to death by some locals at Kaliganj upazila in Gazipur for his suspected involvement in an extra-marital affair on Saturday.
The deceased was Sohel Bhuiyan, a resident of Dakshinbag village in the upazila.
Sohel, who suffered serious injuries after being beaten by locals, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning at Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex, said Mintu Mia, Officer-in-Charge of Kaliganj police station.
Sohel’s brother Sohag said around 9 pm Friday Jubayel Bhuiyan, his daughter Jemy bhuiyan, Shukur Ali and Mamun took Sohel from his own house alleging that he is involved in an extra-marital affair with a woman living in the neighborhood.
Read: Newly wed couple found hanging in Gazipur house
They took him to Mnjur’s house in the area and started beating him after tying him up with a tree, said Sohel.
Informed by the locals, Azad Parvez, Sub-Inspector of Kaliganj police station came with a team around 1 am and took Sohel to the hospital.
OC Mintu Mia said the body was sent for an autopsy and legal action in this regard will be taken after receiving a complaint.
Deceased’s brother Sohag said his brother had an affair with a local girl named Jerin and he got upset since her family married off Jerin to a man living in Jamalpur.
“My brother just used to go and sit beside Jerin’s father’s house. He was not involved in any extra-marital affair," said Sohag.
Newly wed couple found hanging in Gazipur house
A newly wed couple was found hanging from the ceiling of their house in the Safipur area of Gazipur's Kaliakoir upazila on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Akash Hossain, 21, son of Rahidul Islam, and his wife Salma Akter, 18, of Safipur Dakkhinpara area of the upazila.
According to locals, Akash and Salma got married two months back and had been living in the house since then.
Also read: Teenager's body found hanging at Jashore Juvenile Centre
In fact, the locals peeped through the window of the house and found the two hanging, said Saiful Alam, sub-inspector at Kaliakoir Police Station.
On information, police recovered the bodies after breaking open the house door and sent the same to Shaheed Tajuddin Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.
“The couple might have committed suicide. Their autopsy reports are awaited,” he said.
Also read: Man, woman’s hanging body recovered from Gazipur
At least 40 houses damaged in nor’wester in Kurigram
A nor’wester wrought havoc in large parts of Kurigram on Friday afternoon, damaging at least 40 houses.
The impact of the storm was severely felt in Nageshwari, Phulbari and Bhurungamari upazilas of Kurigram, officials said.
Tin sheds of many houses in the affected areas were carried aloft in the whirlwind, according to the officials.
Abdur Rashid, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Kurigram, said the farmers of the district feared a major loss.
Also read: Nor’wester destroys 250 houses in Bhola
“Anyway, efforts are on to ascertain the extent of the damage,” said Ayub Ali Sarkar, chairman of Jatrapur union in Sadar upazila of the district.
Schoolgirl gang-raped in Bagerhat
A 9th-grader has allegedly been gang-raped by four youths at a village of Kachua Upazila in Bagerhat District on Thursday night.
The alleged rapists are- Sohel Sheikh, Ezajul Mollah, Sojib Mollah, and Tipu Sheikh of the same area.
According to the girl’s father, the incident occurred on Thursday night as they were not at home.On Thursday night, “the miscreants entered the girl’s room and raped her showing knife and mouth covered with a cloth”.The seriously injured survivor was admitted to Bagerhat Sadar hospital on Friday night.On information, Bagerhat’s additional police super Asaduzzaman visited the girl at the hospital.Tulshi Rani Biswas, senior staff nurse of Bagerhat Sadar Hospital said several injury marks were spotted on the girl's body and now she is seriously sick.Her sample collected for medical examination, she added."If a complaint is lodged with the police station, a case will be filed in connection with the incident and efforts are being made to arrest the accused,” said additional police super Asaduzzaman.Sexual assaults on women continue unabated in Bangladesh, despite the government introducing the death penalty for rapes in 2020.Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data shows that 1,018 children were raped in 2020 alone, but only 683 police cases had been filed. Also, 116 survivors were six years old or below.Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported in 2020 and 53 of the women were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, as per the data.However, ASK's data is just the tip of the iceberg, according to aid agencies, who report that most women are too afraid to report rape.
30 shacks, 15 shops gutted in Rohingya camp fire
A fire broke out at Rohingya camp-7 in Ukhia upazila of Cox’s Bazar on Friday noon.
The fire started at 12 pm at a house beside Ukhiya TV Tower of camp-7.
Four units of Ukhia and Cox’s Bazar fire service doused the fire around 4pm, said Sahadat Hossain, senior station officer of Cox’s Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defence office.
No casualties were reported in the fire and the damage could not be estimated immediately, said the fire service official.
How the fire started can be determined after an investigation, he added.
However, Rohingyas in the camp claimed that 30 makeshift houses and 15 shops were gutted in the fire.
Fires in Rohingya camps are not uncommon in the district. On January 9, as many as 600 makeshift houses were gutted in a fire that broke out at Rohingya Camp-16 in the Palangkhali Shafuillakata area of Ukhia.
Another massive fire broke out at a Covid isolation centre in extension-20 of Ukhia Rohingya camp on January 2. Fortunately no casualties were reported in that fire but some 70 hospital beds were charred.
On March 22 last year, as many as 15 people were killed and more than two lakh Rohingya refugees incurred damages as a massive fire broke out at three Rohingya camps in Ukhia, destroying 10,000 houses.
2 sisters killed as van strikes motorcycle in Narayanganj
Two cousin sisters riding pillion on a motorcycle were killed after the bike was hit by a covered van at Araihazar upazila in Narayanganj, police said on Friday.
The deceased were identified as Brishty Bardhan,4, and her four-year-old cousin Icche Bardhan.
Read: 2 children killed in Munshiganj road crash
Brishty’s father Suman Bardhan, a jeweller from Monohardi village in the upazila and grandfather Kartik Bardhan suffered injuries in the accident on Thursday.
They are being treated at National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in Dhaka.
The accident occurred at 8:30 am in front of Badrunnesa College near Lengurdi area.
According to locals, Sumon was driving the motorcycle and his father, daughter and niece were pillion riding as they headed toward Loknath Brahmachari Ashram and Temple at Sonargaon.
Near Lengurdi area a speeding covered van from the opposite direction hit the motorcycle leaving four of them severely injured.
Read: Five die in Chandpur road accident
Locals rushed them to Araihazar upazila health complex where the doctors announced Brishty dead on arrival and Icche died on the way to Dhaka hospital, said Anisur Rahman Molla, Officer-in-Charge of Araihazar police station.
The OC said the van was seized but its driver managed to flee.
Legal actions are underway in this regard, said the OC.