United News of Bangladesh

Police have launched an investigation after the water supply at the Alinagar Police Outpost in Chattogram's Jungle Salimpur was suspected to have been contaminated with poison or another toxic chemical substance. The incident came to light on Sunday after three police personnel fell ill apparently after drinking water from the outpost. Chattogram Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Masud Alam said personnel on duty noticed unusual foam and a strong stench in the water being used at the joint forces camp. Similar signs were later found in the camp's water tank, while an empty container believed to have contained a poisonous substance was recovered from the area. "We cannot confirm yet whether it was poison, pesticide or any other chemical substance. The matter will be clear after receiving the laboratory report," he said. Mohammad Mohinul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sitakunda Police Station, said three camp members noticed white foam while pouring water into a glass but did not initially consider it suspicious and drank the water. They later detected a strong chemical smell and soon fell ill. The OC said the camp receives its drinking water through a pipeline connected to a nearby house. Investigators suspect someone may have tampered with the supply line and mixed a chemical substance into the water. Following the incident, water samples were collected and sent for laboratory testing, while the entire water tank was emptied and cleaned, he said, adding that the condition of the three affected police personnel is now stable and they are out of danger. "The matter is under investigation," the OC said. A temporary joint forces camp comprising personnel from the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has been established in the Salimpur jungle of Sitakunda, an area long regarded as a hideout for criminal and militant groups, to strengthen law and order. On March 9, law enforcement agencies took control of the Salimpur jungle during a joint operation involving around 3,200 members of the Bangladesh Army, RAB, police and BGB. Previous operations had failed to secure the area, with police and government officials coming under attack during earlier attempts. On May 25, unidentified attackers targeted the joint forces camp under construction in the Alinagar area of Salimpur jungle, damaging it with an explosive device. Later, a case was filed with Sitakunda Police Station over the incident, naming 242 people and accusing another 150 to 200 unidentified individuals. However, the prime accused, Yasin, the alleged leader of the Yasin group, remains at large.

A man died after his son allegedly hit him on the head with a heavy torchlight during an argument over money from the sale of a buffalo in Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia on Sunday night. The deceased was identified as Banez Uddin, 55, a village police member of Charuikuri area under Ramkrishnapur Union. His son Rajib, 28, was allegedly involved in the incident. According to police and locals, Banez had recently sold a buffalo. On Sunday night, Rajib demanded the money from the sale, but his father refused to give it to him. An argument followed, and at one point Rajib allegedly struck his father on the head with the torchlight. Banez fell to the ground with serious injuries. Locals took him towards Daulatpur Upazila Health Complex, but he died in the Mahishkundi area before reaching the hospital. Officer in Charge of Daulatpur Police Station Khalidur Rahman said police were sent to the spot after receiving the information. “The incident is being investigated and legal action is underway,” he said.

Police, with assistance from RAB-9, arrested a man in Sylhet’s Jaintapur upazila on Sunday evening in a case filed over an alleged attempt to rape a schoolgirl. The arrestee was identified as Jasim Mia, 35, of Naya Khel area in Jaintapur. He was arrested from Chandipul area of Sylhet city around 6pm, nearly 48 hours after the incident. According to police, Jasim allegedly attempted to sexually assault a Class VI student at her home in Naya Khel on Friday when she was alone. Hearing her screams, neighbours rushed to the spot and caught Jasim. Later, his relatives took him away, reportedly on the pretext of providing medical treatment. The girl’s mother filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act with Jaintapur Model Police Station later that day. Police said Jasim fled from a hospital in Sylhet city where he was receiving treatment after learning about the case. Officer in Charge Jaintapur Model Police Station Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman Molla said Jasim was brought to the police station and was being interrogated. “Legal action will be taken against him as per law, and he will be produced before a court under police escort on Monday,” he said.

A group of armed men attacked and vandalised a businessman’s under-construction 10-storey building and exploded cocktails in the South Pahartali area of Chattogram on Sunday, allegedly after failing to extort him to the tune Tk 20 lakh. No one has been arrested in connection with the incident so far, which has sparked panic among residents. The incident occurred in a residential area near the Boro Dighirpar-Bhatiari Link Road under Ward No. 1 of Chattogram City Corporation. According to locals and police, around 8-10 masked armed men arrived at the site in a tempo in the morning and entered the under-construction building while workers were busy there. The attackers allegedly beat up several workers and vandalised doors, windows and other parts of the building. At one time, they attacked construction worker Hasan Saki with a kirich, injuring him. Several other workers, including the building’s security guard, were also assaulted. Before leaving, the attackers exploded three cocktails and fled the area. The businessman, Mohammad Jasim Uddin, said he runs a wholesale rice and sugar business in the Boro Dighirpar area of Hathazari and recently started constructing the 10-storey building there. He said he had been receiving calls from foreign numbers demanding Tk 20 lakh in extortion over the past month. “The callers remained silent for a few days after people protested against an attack on an internet company in the city. But they started demanding the money again over the past week,” he said. Jasim said he had informed police about the extortion threats and would file a case over Sunday’s attack. However, he could not identify who was making the extortion demands. Kazi Md Tarek Aziz, additional superintendent of police (Hathazari Circle), said the attack was captured on CCTV footage. “Police are analysing the footage to identify the attackers. Drives are underway to arrest them,” he said.

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Sunday foiled an alleged attempt by India's Border Security Force (BSF) to push four people, including a woman and three children, into Bangladesh through the Ketaranga border in Feni. The incident took place around 3:30 pm at the Ketaranga border under Boxmahmud Union in Parshuram upazila. According to BGB sources, the BSF allegedly attempted to push the four people into Bangladesh through the border under the jurisdiction of the Ketaranga Border Outpost (BOP). BGB personnel from the Ketaranga BOP, with assistance from local residents, prevented the group from entering Bangladesh, the sources said. The four individuals are believed to be Indian nationals, according to the BGB. Lt. Col. M M Zillur Rahman, commanding officer of the 4 BGB Battalion in Feni, said the battalion had lodged a strong protest with the BSF over the incident. "Illegal push-ins through the Feni border will not be allowed under any circumstances," he said. He added that the BGB remains on high alert to prevent any untoward situation along the border and is continuing enhanced operational and intelligence activities to prevent illegal infiltration, strengthen border security, curb cross-border smuggling, including drugs, and reduce border killings to zero. Earlier on Saturday, BGB said it had prevented six women and a child from entering Bangladesh through the Sreepur border in the same upazila.

Police recovered the bodies of four people from different parts of Naogaon within a span of six hours on Sunday. Three of them died after drowning, while the body of another youth was recovered from his home. In Badalgachhi upazila, Nur Islam, 22, and Sumaiya Akter, 18, drowned in a canal near Kartikahar village while bathing around noon. Locals rescued them and took them to Badalgachhi Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared them dead. Nur was from Gangni upazila of Meherpur, while Sumaiya was the daughter of Shahin Hossain of Kartikahar village. Badalgachhi Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Muhammad Ruhul Amin said the bodies were handed over to the families without autopsies following their applications. In Raninagar, farmer Abdul Mondal, 55, drowned after falling from a boat in a waterbody in Belbari village while returning home after cutting grass for cattle. His body was recovered after about three and a half hours of search by locals and a Fire Service diving team. Raninagar Police Station OC Md Zakaria Mondal said the body was handed over to the family without an autopsy following their request. Meanwhile, police recovered the body of Limon Hasan, 28, from his room in Bandhaikhara Sardarpara area of Atrai upazila in the morning. Police said Limon’s family found him dead after breaking open the door when he did not respond in the morning. His body was sent to Naogaon Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. Atrai Police Station OC Mahbub Alam said police recovered the body and sent it to Naogaon Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. “An unnatural death case has been filed and the incident is being investigated,” he said.

Police recovered the hanging body of a young man from a tree in Mikirpara village of Kanaighat upazila in Sylhet on Sunday morning. The deceased was identified as Syed Ahmed Sharif, 22, son of late Monir of Mikirpara village under Lakshmiprasad Purba Union. According to locals, Sharif’s mother spotted him hanging from a tree near their house in the morning and informed local ward member Nazim Uddin. On information, police from Kanaighat Police Station rushed to the spot and recovered the body from the tree with the help of local residents. Officer-in-Charge of Kanaighat Police Station Md Aminul Islam said the body of a young man was recovered and initially suspect it to be a case of suicide. However, the exact cause of death will be known after receiving the autopsy report, he added.

A newlywed couple drowned in a canal in Badalgachhi upazila of Naogaon district on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Nur Islam, 22, of Bedbariya village in Gangni upazila of Meherpur district and his wife Sumaiya Akter, 18, daughter of Shahin of Kartikahar village in Badalgachhi upazila. The couple had been married for only seven months. Witnesses said Nur Islam and Sumaiya had come to the house of Sumaiya on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday noon, Nur Islam jumped into a canal beside Kartikahar village to take a bath. As he remained disappeared for long, Sumaiya jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue him but both of them subsequently drowned. Later, local people rescued the couple from the canal and rushed them to Badalgachhi Upazila Health Complex where the doctors declared both dead on arrival. Dr Tahrima Akter Munni, a physician at the hospital, said “They had died long before they were brought to the hospital.” A pall of gloom descended in the area following the incident. Mohammad Ruhul Amin, Officer-in-Charge of Badalgachhi Police Station said legal steps would be taken after discussions with the victims' family members.

A 39-year-old woman has been rescued alive nearly four hours after she jumped into the Padma River from a ferry operating on the Paturia-Daulatdia route. The woman, identified as Mst Layju, wife of Forkan Mia of Ashrafabad Jhauchar of Kamrangirchar in the capital, was rescued from Kabirpur Char in Faridpur Sadar upazila around 10:45pm on Saturday by local fishermen. She was handed over to her family on Sunday morning after legal formalities. According to police and ferry authorities, the ferry left Paturia Ferry Ghat for Daulatdia around 7:00pm on Saturday. When the ferry reached the middle of the Padma River, the burqa-clad woman suddenly jumped into the river from the lower deck. After being informed, the ferry master alerted officials of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at both Daulatdia and Paturia ferry terminals, as well as the river police. Members of the Daulatdia and Paturia river police outposts, along with the Fire Service, launched a search operation but failed to locate her until late at night. Inspector Trinath Saha, in-charge of Daulatdia River Police Outpost, said they recovered the woman's vanity bag with the help of the ferry master and a snack vendor. Her National Identity Card (NID) and mobile phone found inside the bag enabled police to identify her and contact her family. Later, around 11:30pm, police were informed that the woman was rescued alive from Kabirpur Char, about 30 kilometres downstream from Daulatdia Ferry Ghat. Sarwar Hossain, a member of ward No. 3 of North Channel Union Parishad in Faridpur Sadar upazila, said four fishermen spotted the woman clinging to water hyacinths while fishing in the river around 10:45pm and rescued her before informing local authorities. Sub-Inspector Tapan Nandi of Kotwali River Police Outpost said police reached the spot after receiving the information, completed the necessary legal procedures and handed the woman over to her family around 6:30am on Sunday. The reason behind the woman jumping into the river could not be known immediately.

Two people were killed after a passenger bus collided with a Nosimon in Sreenagar upazila of Munshiganj on Saturday afternoon. The accident occurred around 5:36pm in the Laskarpur area of the upazila. The deceased were identified as Dulal Chandra, 45, son of Sadhan Chandra of Khara Munipara area in Sreenagar, and Majnu Mia, 30, son of Ayub Mia of Baraikhali area. Majnu was driving the Nosimon, while Dulal was travelling as a passenger in the vehicle. Deputy Assistant Director of Munshiganj Fire Service Mohammad Shafiqul Islam said a Baishakhi Paribahan passenger bus, which was travelling from Baraikhali to Gulistan, collided with the Nosimon coming from the opposite direction when it reached Laskarpur. The bus fled the scene immediately after the accident. Local residents, police and fire service personnel rescued the injured Nosimon driver and passenger and took them to Sreenagar Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared both dead. Police are trying to seize the bus involved in the accident. The wrecked Nosimon has been taken into police custody.