District
Gopalganj: Students block Dhaka-Khulna highway to protest gang-rape
Students of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University (BSMRSTU) in Gopalganj have blocked the busy Dhaka-Khulna highway since Thursday morning in protest against the gang-rape of a fellow student.
Proctor of the university Rajiur Rahman said that the female student was allegedly raped by seven to eight people in Sadar upazila of the district on Wednesday night.
Read: Gang rape of Thakurgaon school girl: 2 arrested
According to a friend of the student, the accused abducted the student while she was returning home in a three-wheeler near Nabinbagh Helipad in Sadar upazila around 9.30pm. Later they took her to an under-construction school building and took turns to rape her.
“I have spoken with her and lodged a complaint at the Gopalganj Sadar Police Station,” said the proctor.
As soon as the news spread, the students of BSMRSTU staged a demonstration in front of the police station at night.
Read: Schoolgirl gang raped in Thakurgaon
Around 8 this morning, the students blocked the Dhaka-Khulna highway at Ghonapara in Sadar upazila, halting vehicular movement on the high-speed corridor.
Nihad Adnan Tahian, additional superintendent of police, said a police team had raided the area. "We hope to nab the accused soon."
BGB nabs smuggler with 7 gold bars in Rajshahi
Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) detained a smuggler with seven gold bars in Rajshahi on Thursday.
The detainee has been identified as Muktar Hossain, 40, son of late Sanaullah of Chapainawabganj district.
Read: 2 held with gold bars worth Tk 2.5 cr at Benapole
Godagari BGB Company Commander Subedar Ainuddin said that tipped off, they detained the accused from Bhagabantpur Kheya ghat in Godagari upazila at 7.30am with seven gold bars, weighing 116 grams.
"Legal processes are underway against the detainee," said the BGB official.
Fire guts six shops at Bagerhat market
Six shops were gutted in a fire that broke out at a market in the Dariala Bazar area of Bagerhat's Mollahat upazila in the early hours of Thursday.
The fire broke out at a shop in Nasir Super Market around 2am and soon engulfed five adjacent shops, said Golam Sarwar, deputy assistant director of Bagerhat Fire Service and Civil Defense.
On information, some fire tenders were rushed to the spot and it took them nearly an hour to bring the blaze under control.
Read: 3 die, 40 injured in Ashulia footwear factory fire
Fortunately, no casualties have been reported.
Fire service sources suspect that a leakage of gas from an oven or a cylinder triggered the blaze.
The affected shop owners claim that the extent of the loss caused by the fire is around Tk 30 lakh.
Madrasha student stabbed to death in Bogura
A 20-year-old student of a local madrasha was stabbed to death allegedly by some young men over an old enmity in Bogura's Taraf Sartaz village on Wednesday night.
The deceased was identified as Nazim Uddin, a second-year student of Tarafsartaz Senior Fazil Madrasha and son of Farid Uddin of the village.
Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gabtoli Model Police Station, said the murder was the fallout of a previous enmity Nazim had with the assailants.
READ: Man stabbed dead by muggers in city
"Nazim was attacked at Darail Bazar in Gabtoli upazila around 7pm, by the accused, leaving him injured. He was taken to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries a little later," the OC said.
"Efforts are on to nab the perpetrators of the crime," he added.
2 children killed in Munshiganj road crash
Two children were killed in separate road crashes in Munshiganj om Wednesday.
The deceased were identified as Apan, 10, son of Al Amin Hossain of Kanthaltala area and Imam Hossain, 7, son of Shafiq Miah of Abdullahpur village in Tongibari upazila.
Police said Apan was riding his bicycle on the road at Kanthaltala area when a speeding truck ran him over. His family members rushed him to Munshiganj General Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
At this the agitated people blocked Muktarpur-Mawa road. Later, local MP Adv Mrinal Kanti Das and Munshiganj municipality mayor Md Faisal Biplob calmed the people.
Munshiganj Sadar Police officer-in-charge (OC) Abu Bakar Siddique said the truck could not be seized.
Meanwhile, Imam was hit by a truck at Abdullahpur crossroads in Tongibari upazila of the district and died on the spot.
Tongibari Police officer-in-charge (OC) Mollah Ali Soyeb said that a sand-laden truck lost control and hit Imam while cycling at the crossroads from Abdullahpur Bazar. He died on the spot, the OC said.
Agitated people vandalized the truck and handed over the driver to the police.
Barishal ferry tragedy: Three drown, one missing
Three people drowned and one more went missing after a ferry carrying 30 passengers capsized in the Arial Kha river off the coast of Barishal in the early hours of Wednesday.
The identities of the deceased could not be known yet.
Khorshed Alam, station officer of the Barishal Naval Fire Service, said the vessel sank around 1am off the coast of Nalchar in Charmonai union.
Read: Five die in Chandpur road accident
"As soon as they were alerted, fire service officials rushed to the spot and started rescue operations," he said.
Hasnat Zaman, officer-in-charge of Barishal Naval Sadar Police Station, said that some people were coming from Sirajganj in the ferry to attend Charmonai Mahfil when it sank.
Minor boy charred to death in B’baria
A six-year-old boy was charred to death while three others of the family sustained burn injuries in a fire that broke out at their house in Ashuganj Bazar of Brahmanbaria district.
The deceased was identified as Zubair, son of Makbul Hossain of the area.
Station officer of Ashuganj Fire Service and Civil Defense control room, Mizanur Rahman, said the fire broke out at the ground floor of the house and soon spread to other parts.
Read: Minor boy charred to death in Gazipur fire
Makbul Hossain, his wife Rekha and their elder son Joy sustained burn injuries in the fire. Though they managed to come out of the house, Makbul’s younger son Zubair was charred to death.
"The body was recovered by firemen. An electrical short-circuit seemed to have triggered the fire," the official said.
Five die in Chandpur road accident
Five young men returning from a wedding died after their car veered off the road and plunged into a pond in Shahrasti upazila of Chandpur district in the small hours of Wednesday.
The deceased were identified as Shah Poran Tushar, 22, son of Siddiqur Rahman, Shakil, 23, son of Rafiqul Islam, Rezaul Karim, 23, son of Babul Mia of Cumilla district, Nayan, 24, son of Abdul Khalek of Jashore district and Sagar Hossain, 24, son of Babul Hossain of Gazipur district.
The accident occurred around 12.45am when the five were returning to their homes in Cumilla from Chatkhil, where they had gone to attend a marriage ceremony.
Read: Mother, daughter killed in Munshiganj truck-auto-rickshaw collision
"The one at the wheel lost control of the vehicle, leading to the accident, killing all the occupants," Morshedul Alam Bhuiya, officer-in-charge of Shahrasti Model Police Station, said.
On information, a fire tender rushed to the spot and fished out the bodies as well as the ill-fated car.
Road accidents in Bangladesh
Road accidents in Bangladesh continue to claim hundreds of lives every year.
As many as 413 people were killed while 532 people sustained injuries in 379 road accidents across the country in November last alone, according to a report published in 2021.
Read: Customs officials recover firearms, ammo hidden in household goods at Ctg port
In another report released in February 2020, the World Bank said that Bangladesh needed to invest an estimated extra $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.
The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh's roads to lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.
Mother, daughter killed in Munshiganj truck-auto-rickshaw collision
A woman and her daughter were killed on Tuesday as a truck and auto-rickshaw collided in Tongibari upazila of Munshiganj.
The deceased were identified as Sheuli Begum,40, and her daughter Putul Aktar,20, from Vadrasan village in Madaripur district.
Read:Cox's Bazar road tragedy: Another brother dies of injuries at Ctg hospital
Putul’s two-year old daughter Anisa Aktar survived the accident and received primary medications.
The accident occurred around 10:30 am near Tulakai area on Baligaon-Tongibari-Dhaka road when they were heading towards their village home in Madaripur from Naryanganj by the auto-rickshaw, said Molla Ali Soeb, Officer-in-Charge of Tongibari police station.
Locals caught truck driver Bablu Mia, 38 and handed him over to police but the auto-rickshaw driver managed to flee, he said.
Read: 2 killed in Bagerhat road crash
The accident disrupted vehicular movement on the road for half an hour which returned to normalcy when police came.
The bodies were sent for autopsy after recovery from the spot, said OC Molla Ali.
Cox's Bazar road tragedy: Another brother dies of injuries at Ctg hospital
After fighting for his life for nearly a fortnight, another victim of the Cox's Bazar horrific road tragedy died at a hospital on Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Raktim Shil, 33. Five of his brothers died two weeks back when a pick-up van ploughed into a group of nine siblings walking back home from a temple in Cox's Bazar last week.
Read: 4 brothers killed in Cox’s Bazar road crash, 5 injured
Raktim breathed his last at 10.30am in the intensive care unit of Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH).
"He was shifted to this government facility five days ago from a private hospital where he was initially admitted. This was after his condition worsened," said Harunur Rashid, a doctor at CMCH.
The other deceased were Anupam Shil, 47, Nirupam Shil, 45, Dipak Shil, 40 Champak Shil, 30, and Smaran Sushil, 32, sons of late Suresh Chandra Shil of Dulahazra union in Chakaria upazila.
The fatal accident occurred around 5am on February 8 near Memorial Christian Hospital in the Malumghat area of Chakaria when the nine siblings were crossing a road, according to eye-witnesses.
Read: RAB detains driver of pick-up van that killed 5 brothers in Cox's Bazar
The nine, all Hindus, had gone to a nearby temple to offer prayers for their father who was killed a day before.
On February 11, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained the driver of the pick-up van from Dhaka's Mohammadpur area.