District
Thakurgaon records 132 fresh Covid cases, 7 deaths
Thakurgaon logged 132 fresh Covid cases and seven deaths in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
The new cases of infections were detected after the test of 386 samples, said civil surgeon Dr Mahfuzar Rahman Sarkar.
"The new cases have pushed up the district’s positivity rate to 46.15%," he said.
Of the total infected people, 46 were from Sadar upazila, 15 from Baliadangi, 21 from Pirganj, 40 from Ranishankoil and nine from Haripur upazilas of the district.
So far, some 3735 people in Thakurgaon have been infected with the virus, while 94 have died of Covid.
Also read: Thakurgaon records highest single-day rise in Covid cases at 109
Some 2261 people have recovered from the deadly virus as of now.
Meanwhile, the local administration has filed 32 cases and fined people Tk 28,100 for flouting lockdown rules on Saturday.
Also read: Cattle markets in Thakurgaon closed for a week due to Covid-19
The government imposed a nationwide lockdown on July 1 for one week to break the chain of Covid transmission.
Read:Thakurgaon seals border areas to contain Covid
Missing Chattogram expat found dead after 3 days
The body of a 50-year-old expat, who went missing three days ago in Chattogram's Fatikchhari, was found Saturday, police said.
Abdus Salam returned home from Oman two months ago. As the expat could not go back to the Gulf country due to the pandemic, he got into a lot of debt while trying to meet his household expenditure, the locals said.
Also read: Missing expatriate found dead in Chandpur corn field
The debt burden took a toll on Salam's mental health and he had been ill for the last several days.
Datmara union parisahd member Abdul Hakim said, "Salam had left his house in the night three days ago. The expat's family could not find any trace of him after that. However, they did not file any general diary (GD) with police in connection with the incident."
Also read: Saudi man sentenced to death for killing Bangladeshi expat
Bhujpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge said, "The badly decomposed body of the expat was found today in the morning near his house. We recovered the body after being informed. Salam has been missing for the last three days. However, the cause of his death could not be confirmed immediately."
9 Indian cows recovered from smuggler's den in Panchagarh
Police on Saturday recovered nine Indian cows, each with an estimated worth of Tk 2 lakhs ahead of Eid ul Azha, from a smuggler's residence near the border in Panchagarh. The smuggler himself however managed to flee.
The cows were recovered from a smuggler named Mamun’s house in Abulpara village of Amarkhana border area in Sadar upazila.
Tipped off, a team of Panchagarh sadar police conducted a drive at the address and recovered the cows, but Mamun fled sensing the presence of police.
Also read: Panchagarh haats ordered shut following breach of Covid protocols
Officer-in-Charge of Panchagarh Sadar police station Abu Akkas Ahmed said the cows are currently being kept at the police station, but and will be auctioned later.
A case will be filed in this regard, he said.
Panchagarh haats ordered shut following breach of Covid protocols
Finding the pandemic-specific health guidelines being defied in most of the haats, or makeshift cattle markets, that were in operation in Panchagarh, the district authority on Saturday ordered all of them, including one at Rajnagar, shut till further notice.
The decision was taken at an urgent meeting held by the Sadar Upazila authority today. Earlier, they decided to keep the cattle markets open on a limited extent following the health rules amid the stringent lockdown.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 100+ daily deaths for one week
However, it was observed at many of the haats, including Rajnagar and Nagakumari, that making people follow the rules was proving impossible even for the police. Complaints from concerned citizens and locals regarding the dangerous situation in the haats also started gathering steam on Saturday.
Deputy Commissioner of Panchagarh, Jahurul Islam said all the UNO’s have been directed to implement the newly imposed restriction on setting up cattle markets.
Also read: Lockdown: Police arrest 621 for violations on Dhaka streets
“The decision of allowing cattle markets could’ve underminedgovernment’s effort of imposing stringent lockdown completely, said general secretary of district’s Sommilito Shamajik Andolon party, Ajharul Islam.
AKM Anwarul Islam Khayer, member of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) said, “Indian cows were being brought by cattle smugglers to the market which could spike up Covid cases in the region.”
Lockdown: Mobile courts collect fines of Tk 76,300 in Sylhet, 1 held
Mobile courts in Sylhet Tk 76,300 as fines from individuals and businesses for violating lockdown restrictions on Saturday
Meanwhile, one person was held during this time.
Besides, 119 vehicles were sued and 218 were seized on the third day of lockdown.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 100+ daily deaths for one week
Law enforcers were tough on those violating the curbs during the weeklong stringent lockdown.
Thirty three mobile courts were active in the city throughout the day .
Army personnel were seen patrolling Sylhet city alongside police, RAB and BGB.
Also read: Lockdown: Police arrest 621 for violations on Dhaka streets
Earlier on Friday, mobile courts in the city sued 187 individuals and collected fines amounting to Tk 2,25,500 .
Also on Friday 94 vehicles were sued and 116 were seized.
Covid patient ‘commits suicide’ in Satkhira
A Covid-19 positive person reportedly committed suicide in Satkhira on Saturday.
The man was identified as Azgar Ali, 55, a resident of Ilishpur village at Kalaroa upazila in Satkhira.
Officer -in Charge of the upazila Meer Khairul Kabir confirmed the information to UNB.
READ: Chuadanga cattle trader 'commits suicide' over Covid stigma
He said that police recovered the hanging body from his home after being informed by his family members on Saturday afternoon.
Police suspect that the man hanged himself to death.
The law enforcers also found a note beside the body which says that no one was responsible behind the death.
READ: One in 100 deaths is by suicide: WHO
The man was in isolation at his own home after being tested positive for Covid-19 a week ago.
According to local sources, quarrels and disputes between the deceased on one side and his sons and their wives on the other were a common scenario in their household, which only got worse after the man caught Coronavirus.
So the locals pressed forward a theory that the man committed suicide as he was sad and tired of all the chaos .
Patient in Natore flees clinic, dies on street gasping for air
A primary school employee, who fled a private clinic after being told of giving samples for coronavirus test, died on the road, gasping for air and his plea to take him to hospital refused by an easy bike driver.
Monirul Islam, an employee of a local primary school, died at Gurudaspur of Natore town on Saturday morning, Officer-in charge of Gurudaspur police station confirmed it to UNB.
Islam was admitted to the clinic on Friday afternoon initially with complaints of stomach pain, but later developed breathing difficulties. At this stage the clinic decided to do a Covid sample test.
Also read: Covid-19 patient flees after getting test report in Jashore
“The deceased was admitted to a private clinic in Natore on Friday afternoon. He sneaked out of the facility on Saturday morning ,” the OC said.
“He tried getting on an easy bike at the station market area of Gurudaspur when he felt sick again, but was refused by the driver. At one stage, the man fell onto the street and died gasping for air,” the officer added.
Also read: Covid-19: Positivity rate now 62% in Natore sadar, municipality
There has been no clear explanation why the man, who went to the clinic with stomach pain and later developed breathing problem, fled and why the bike driver refused to carry him.Whether the person was actually Covid-19 positive for Covid-19 could not be confirmed.
The OC said that the body was handed over to Monirul’s family.
Missing woman, daughter found dead in Barguna, husband absconding
Police recovered the bodies of a woman and her nine-month-old baby dumped underground at East Hatempur in Patharghata upazila of Barguna district on Saturday, four days into their missing.
The deceased were identified as Sumaiya, wife of Shaheen Munshi and her nine-month-old daughter.
Mohammad Abul Bashar, officer-in-charge of Patharghata Police Station, said local people spotted a new grave near the house of Shaheen and informed police.
Also read: Woman goes missing in Meghna trawler capsize
On information, police unearthed the body of Sumaiya and her daughter, their hands and legs tied with rope.
Quoting local people, police said Saheen marrid Sumaiya after a village arbitration over his relationship with her led to the birth of the baby.
On Wednesday, Sumaiya along with her daughter went to her parents’ home for lunch. But Shaheen did not go.
Sumaiya and her daughter returned home and since then they remained missing.
Shaheen also went into hiding since Wednesday.
Also read: 3 missing children rescued from Sylhet's Jaflong
Police arrested three people including Sumaiya’s mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law and brother-in-law—over the issue.
Five, including three women, killed in Tangail road accident
Five people, including a cancer patient, her daughter and sister, were killed in a head-on collision between an ambulance ferrying them to a hospital and a speeding truck in Kalihati upazila of Tangail on Saturday.
Five others injured from the accident are currently being treated at the Tangail General Hospital.
Local police couldn’t immediately identify all of the three deceased women.
But a relative of the family in Chattogram confirmed that the three women were Mabia,15, her mother Farida Begum, 30, and her aunt Ferdousi Begum, 34 all hailing from Chattogram’s Freeport area under EPZ police station.
Saifur Rahman, a close relative of the three confirmed their identities to UNB’s Chattogram correspondent.
READ: Narsingdi road crash leaves five dead
“They left for Sirajganj Cancer Hospital by an ambulance from Chattogram around 12 am for cancer patient Farida Begum’s scheduled chemotherapy session”, he said.
However, all the victims boarded the northern district-bound ambulance supposedly in the absence of any public transport due to the Covid-induced stricter lockdown, said Bangabandhu-Bridge East police station’s Sub-Inspector Nazmul earlier to UNB’s Tangail correspondent.
The accident occurred around 7.30am when the fish laden truck crashed into the ambulance that was coming from the opposite direction on the east side of Bangabandhu bridge in the Hatia area, police said.
The impact of the collision was such that three occupants of the ambulance including the driver died on the spot. The seven other injured occupants were rushed to Tangail General Hospital, where two of them were declared dead on arrival.
A probe has been ordered into the accident, a police official said.
READ: 4 killed in Cumilla road crash
Road accidents in Bangladesh
Road accidents are common in Bangladesh and have been a major cause of deaths.
During the last Eid-ul-Fitr holiday rush, road accidents claimed 323 lives in just 15 days, said Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Shamiti, a human rights body.
Besides, 513 people, including 63 children, were killed and 598 injured in 409 road accidents across the country in March, said the Road Safety Foundation on April 5.
According to the NGO, 147 lives were lost in 138 motorcycle accidents, which is 28.65% of the total deaths.
In a report released in February 2020, the World Bank pointed out that Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated $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.
21-yr-old visiting maternal home raped in Sylhet
A 21-year-old woman visiting her maternal home in Sylhet city was allegedly gagged and raped by a man on Thursday night.
In her complaint to the police, the woman claimed that she was alone when Aminur Rahman Amir, the accused, barged into the house, tied her mouth with a scarf and forced himself on her.
At the time, the rape survivor's parents had gone out for dinner with her three-year-old child, according to the complaint.
When her parents returned home around 9 am, they found the door of the house locked from inside. However, the accused managed to escape.
Also read: 5-year old murdered after rape in CTG; 4 held
Based on the complaint, an FIR for rape has been lodged at Airport Police Station, said Ashrafullah Taher, deputy commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police.
Bangladesh's rape epidemic
Sexual assaults on women continue unabated in Bangladesh, despite the government introducing death penalty for rapes last year.
A police headquarters report, released recently, said that 26,695 rape cases were filed across the country in the past five years.
Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data shows that 1,018 children were raped last year 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 last year and 53 of the women were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, as per the data.
Read: Rajshahi child rape & murder case accused shot dead
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.
In October 2020, the country was rocked by protests after a woman was allegedly attacked and raped in Noakhali.
Read: Out on joyride, woman raped by six on moving bus in Chattogram
In November last year, Bangladesh introduced capital punishment for rape, following days of protests against sexual violence against women in several cities across the country.
But human rights organisations say the move will not solve the country's rape crisis, as the survivors of the heinous crime are often stigmatised in the society.