United News of Bangladesh

At least four people, including three followers of Baul Abul Sarkar Moharaj, were injured on Sunday after clashes broke out in Manikganj over rival programmes announced by two groups following the singer’s arrest on charges of hurting religious sentiment. The three injured followers are Abdul Alim of Sankrail village in Shibaloy, Zahurul of Jhitka in Harirampur, and Ariful Islam of Talebpur in Singair. Madrasa teacher Maulana Abdul Alim, aligned with the Towhidi Janata, was also injured during the confrontation. All four injured were rescued and provided first aid at a local hospital. The clash erupted around 9am in the town’s Dakkhin Seota area when a group rallying under the banner Allama-Olama O Towhidi Janata of Manikganj confronted Abul’s supporters, who had organised a human chain demanding his release. Md Abdullah Al Mamun, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops), said police were deployed promptly and the situation was brought under control. Legal proceedings are underway, he added. Earlier on November 4, during a programme at the Khala Pagli fair in the Jabra area of Manikganj’s Ghior upazila, baul artiste Abul Sarkar was accused of making remarks that allegedly insulted religion. A video of his comments later circulated on social media, triggering widespread criticism. In response, on the night of November 19, Abul Sarkar was detained by the Detective Branch (DB) of Manikganj police from a musical event in Madaripur. He was brought to the district DB office the next morning. That afternoon, Mufti Md Abdullah filed a case against him at Ghior Police Station.Later, Abul Sarkar was shown arrested in court and sent to jail.

Two people were killed and another one was injured when an unknown vehicle hit a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on Chattogram-Hathazari road at Laliarhat Mistrighata in Hathazari upazila of Chattogram district early Sunday. The deceased were identified as Iftekhar Rahat, 30, son of Yusuf and Abidul Hasan, 35, son of Nur Ahmed Chowdhury in Hathazari municipality area. Mohammad Ullah, officer-in-charge of Raozan Police Station, said the accident occurred when the unidentified vehicle hit the CNG-run auto-rickshaw carrying three people, leaving Rahat dead on the spot and two others injured. Later, Abidul died on way to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital. They met the tragic accident while returning home after receiving treatment from Chattogram Medical College and Hospital early Sunday. Police seized the CNG-run auto-rickshaw.    

Six workers sustained burn injuries following a boiler explosion at a cement factory in the Madanganj area under Bandar Police Station in Narayanganj on Saturday night. The victims are Nahid Hasan, 22, Taijul Islam, 35, Turab Ali, 55, Atiur Rahman, 42, Kamrul Hasan, 45, and Ferdous, 35. They were admitted to the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute around 8:15 pm, said Dr. Shawon Bin Rahman, resident surgeon at the hospital’s emergency department. Easybike driver beaten to death in Narayanganj Dr. Shawon said Nahid Hasan suffered burns over 40 percent of his body, Taijul Islam 12 percent, Turab Ali 16 percent, Atiur Rahman 27 percent, Kamrul Hasan 26 percent, and Ferdous 10 percent. All six victims are currently receiving treatment at the institute’s emergency department.  

Two siblings died from electrocution at Galachipa village in Hossainpur upazila of Kishoreganj district on Saturday. The deceased were identified as Nurul Islam alias Nuru Khan, 60 and Shamsul Islam alias Fazlu Khan, 55—two sons of Abul Hossain Khan of the village. Nahid Eva, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Hossainpur upazila, said Nurul Islam died on the spot when he came in contact with a snapped electric wire while bringing straw for the cattle near his house in the morning. Later Fazlu also met the same fate as he came to the rescue of Nurul.    

A farmer was shot dead and a local tea seller injured by armed attackers in Bheramara upazila of Kushtia on Friday night. The incident occurred around 8pm at Rayta Pathorghata area in Bahadurpur union. The deceased was identified as Refajul Islam, 40, son of Jamaat Ali of the area. According to police and locals, Refajul was standing outside a shop when several armed men fired at him. He died on the spot. During the attack, Lalon Mondal, 50, a nearby tea seller, was also attacked with a sharp weapon and later admitted to Bheramara Upazila Health Complex. Anik, the elder son-in-law of the injured man, said his father-in-law was selling tea at the site while his son was nearby fishing. "While attempting to fetch his son, he was attacked with a sharp weapon by the assailants and sustained injuries," he added. Ekramul Haque, residential medical officer at Bheramara Health Complex, said, “Lalon Mondal suffered multiple cut injuries on his head and body, but no bullet wounds were found. He is out of danger.” Father, son die in row over money in Kushtia village Delwar Hossain, additional superintendent of police of Bheramara circle, said that one person was shot dead. “We suspect this was a pre-planned attack. The identities of the attackers are not confirmed yet. Police are investigating the case,” he added.  

Electricity supply will be temporarily cut in many areas of Sylhet city on Friday and Saturday for trimming trees and development work. This was confirmed in a notice signed by the Executive Engineer of Sales and Distribution Division-2 (BPDB) on November 20. The Sylhet-4 Sales and Distribution Division of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said the power outage on Friday, November 21, will be from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. Affected areas under the 11 kV Kalighat feeder include Amjad Ali Road, Kalighat, Chararpar, Mashimpur, Mohajanpotri, Harkers Market, Laldighirpar, Dak Bangla Road, and nearby localities. Areas under the 11 kV Dhopadighirpar feeder, including Rose View Point and Upashahar D-Block Main Road, will also experience outages. On Saturday, November 22, power will be cut from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm in several parts of the city. New gas reserve found in old well at Kailashtila field in Sylhet Areas affected include Pathantula, Surma Gate, BGB Camp, Ansar Camp, Tarapur, Shraboni, Nikunja Latif Manzil, Pallabi Residential Area, Madina Market, University Gate, Osmani Medical College and Hospital, Sylhet Nursing College and Hostel, Lovely Road, Tapoban Residential Area, Bornomala School, Madina Tower, Bagbari, Surma Residential Area, Lake City, Kumargaon, Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College and Hospital, Noapara, Akhalia, Kalibari, Ponitula, Londoni Road, Norsingtila, Orphanage School Road, Akhaliaghat, ACC office, Social Services Department, Karipara, Borobari, Dhamalipara, Natunbazar Brahmanshason, Sonali Residential Area, Khadra Model Town, Mohammadi Residential Area, Durski, Bhata Bazar, Uporpara, and Korbar Tila. The BPDB said electricity will be restored sooner if the work is completed earlier than scheduled. The authority also apologized for the temporary inconvenience caused to residents.

New gas reserves have been found by Petrobangla, through a workover of Well No. 1 at the Kailashtila gas field in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet. The well is expected to supply five million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid, said project director of the Kailashtila-1 workover, Shafiqul Islam. The Kailashtila gas field, operated by Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL), has nine wells. Gas was first discovered in Well No. 1 in 1961 and production continued — with a brief pause — until 2019. In 2023, workover operations began on several old wells across the country. Under SGFL, workover activities are underway at 14 wells. Seven of these — including Kailashtila-1 — have already been completed and all seven have yielded new gas reserves. “Once the remaining tasks are completed, the managing director of Sylhet Gas Fields Limited will formally announce the discovery,” he said. According to SGFL sources, the newly discovered gas could be added to the national grid within two to three days, once all procedures are completed. Bapex began the workover at Kailashtila-1 about four months ago. Gas was detected at a depth of around 22,000 feet during the process. Earlier, on September 15, eight million cubic feet of gas per day was added to the national grid from Well No. 3 of the Rashidpur gas field — another old well revived under SGFL. With the latest additions, SGFL-operated wells are currently supplying an average of 110 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid. On October 22, last year, gas was discovered at Well No. 7 of the Haripur gas field after drilling work was completed. The well is producing 7–8 million cubic feet of gas daily on a trial basis from a depth of 1,200 meters. On May 24 of the same year, Well No. 8 of the Kailashtila gas field yielded 21 million cubic feet of gas per day during exploration, with reserves found between depths of 3,440 and 5,500 feet. According to official sources, several ongoing SGFL projects — including exploratory drilling and workovers — are nearing completion. If the expected amount of gas is found in the remaining wells, SGFL alone could supply up to 250 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid. The ongoing exploration and workover projects are costing around Tk 600 crore. On January 27, last year, a new gas layer was found in Well No. 2 at the Rashidpur field, with reserves estimated at 157 billion cubic feet. Earlier, on November 26, 2023, gas was discovered at Well No. 10 of the country’s oldest gas field in Haripur. SGFL confirmed the find upon completion of drilling. PetroBangla accelerates oil and gas exploration to mitigate energy crisis On November 22 that year, gas supply to the national grid began from the previously abandoned Well No. 2 at Kailashtila, adding 7 million cubic feet of gas per day. Sylhet’s Haripur field was the first in Bangladesh where gas was discovered, in 1955. Since then, multiple fields have been found. SGFL currently operates five gas fields: Haripur, Rashidpur, Chhatak, Kailashtila and Beanibazar. Among them, the Chhatak field remains abandoned.    

A local BNP leader was killed after being struck on the head with a brick during an argument in the Pirerbazar area under Shahparan police station in Sylhet, police said. Abdur Rahman, 65, served as the general secretary of Kadirpara Union BNP and was a khadem of Shah Sundar Mazar. According to local sources, the incident began when a young man, Sumon Ahmed, urinating by the roadside on Wednesday evening. Abdur Rahman objected to the young man's indiscretion, leading to an argument, during which Rahman struck Sumon. In retaliation, Sumon hit Rahman on the head with a brick, leaving him seriously injured. Both were admitted to Osmani Medical College Hospital, but Rahman succumbed to his injuries on Thursday morning. BNP withdraws expulsion orders against 40 Sylhet city leaders Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Mohammad Saiful Islam said Sumon managed to escape from the hospital during treatment. The body has been handed over to the family after an autopsy. No case has been filed yet, though senior police officials have visited the scene. Police are trying to apprehend Sumon.    

A Chhatra Dal leader was attacked while arriving at Narsingdi Judge Court on Thursday. Siam Bhuiyan Abir, 28, joint convener of Chhatra Dal in Ghorashal Municipality and son of Emran Mia of Darihaolapara in Palash Upazila, sustained injuries in the incident. Siam’s father Emran Mia said his son had gone to appear in court in a robbery case filed in December 2024 in the Paiksa area of Ghorashal. As he exited the court and approached the restroom, he was allegedly assaulted with an iron pipe by unidentified attackers. Siam ran to the court’s CDR room for safety, and the attackers fled when bystanders intervened. Siam was taken to Narsingdi District Hospital, where he received four stitches on his head and treatment for multiple injuries on his body. Sairul Islam, inspector of Narsingdi Court Police, said the injured leader was rescued with the help of court police and sent to the hospital for treatment.

A man died and five others injured as a private car skidded off the Chattogram Elevated Expressway in Nimtala Bishwa Road area on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Md Shafik, 43, a resident of Fakirhat area. The private car skidded off the expressway and fell on a road around 4:45 pm, leaving Shafik dead on the spot and five others injured, said Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Port Police Station. The injured were taken to Islami Bank hospital and Maa O Shishu Hospital.