United News of Bangladesh

At least 10 people were injured as residents of two villages clashed over a dispute stemming from a football match in Shibganj upazila on Thursday evening. Among the injured, two people — van driver Kawsar and Naim — were receiving treatment at Shibganj Upazila Health Complex. The clash broke out around 7:30pm in the Binodpur Khaserhat Bazar area, with two cocktail bombs exploding during the confrontation. The dispute reportedly began on Wednesday when two players got into a scuffle after colliding during a football match at Ismail Memorial High School ground in Kaliganj Bazar. The same dispute led to a young man being beaten at Eradatola Bazar on Thursday morning, locals said. Later in the evening, residents of Chandshikari village clashed with people from Eradatola and Pankatola villages, triggering the violence. Shibganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Motiur Rahman said cocktails were exploded during the incident. “Several people were injured in the clash. The situation is now under control,” he said. Legal action will be taken after assessing the situation, the OC added.

Two businesses were fined Tk 10,000 in total during a consumer rights monitoring drive in Feni city on Thursday for selling unauthorised fake Indian basmati rice and charging customers more than displayed prices. The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection conducted the drive at different kitchen markets in the city to monitor prices of essential commodities. Assistant Director of the Feni district office Md Asadul Islam led the drive in the afternoon. “Messrs Abul Khayer Traders” was fined Tk 5,000 for selling rice at prices higher than those displayed on its price list. Another Tk 5,000 fine was imposed on “Messrs Salam Store” for selling unauthorised and counterfeit Indian basmati rice. Officials also inspected stocks, supply and purchase and sales receipts of essential commodities, including eggs, green chillies and vegetables, at different markets to help keep prices stable. Assistant Director Asadul Islam said traders would not be allowed to engage in unfair practices in the essential commodities market. The consumer rights authority will continue monitoring markets in the public interest and to help control commodity prices, he added. A team of the district battalion Ansar provided security and assistance during the drive. Awareness leaflets were also distributed among buyers and sellers at the markets.

Allegations of politicization and nepotism have surfaced over the recruitment of supervisors and data collectors for the Family Card census in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur. Locals alleged that the wife of a local BNP leader, the upazila Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) president and relatives of BNP leaders and activists were given preference despite assurances that recruitment would be based on merit. The issue has also drawn criticism on social media. According to the Mithapukur Upazila Social Services Office, a notice was issued on July 25 for recruiting supervisors and data collectors in 17 unions. A total of 670 people applied for supervisor posts and around 3,243 for data collector positions. The selection was supposed to be based on practical skills, GPA, conduct and viva performance. The final results, published on Aug. 10, selected 214 data collectors and 21 supervisors. An investigation found that Tajmun Nahar, wife of Mithapukur upazila BNP Organizing Secretary Mojahidul Islam, was selected as supervisor in Ranipukur Union. Upazila JCD President Md Mahmudul Hasan was selected in Durgapur Union, while Md Miraj Ahmed, cousin of upazila BNP President Golam Rabbani, was selected in Bara Hazratpur Union. Other supervisors included journalist Bablur Rahman Bari in Kafrikhal Union; Rezwana Sharmin Prapti, daughter of Pairaband Union BNP President Abdur Rouf Sarker; Sumaiya Khatun, sister of anti-discrimination student movement leader Awlad; and Mojahidul Haque, former vice-president of the Rangpur metropolitan unit of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League, in Chengmari and Bhangni unions respectively. Several people linked to BNP and JCD were also selected as data collectors. They included Rangpur district JCD member Shafiul Islam Shimul and Fahmida Akter Mim, Mehedi Hasan Fuad and Fahima Akter Lima, nephew and niece of BNP leader Golam Rabbani. Nine people from Chithli Dakshinpara village alone were selected. Other selected data collectors included Nowrin Jahan Nizum, daughter of BNP leader Hazrat Ali; two nieces and a sister of Nilphamari Water Development Board office assistant Shafiqul Islam; and Alpana Begum, wife of an office assistant at the UNO’s office. Mahmudul Hasan denied political considerations, saying he was selected on merit. Shafiul Islam Shimul also said he qualified on merit and denied that Fahmida Akter Mim was his girlfriend, calling the allegation baseless. Golam Rabbani denied recommending relatives, saying Chithli Dakshinpara is a large, densely populated village and that the administration made the selections entirely on merit. Ordinary applicants alleged that they were deceived by assurances of merit-based recruitment and that the process was politicized. Abdul Hakim, member secretary of the selection committee and Upazila Social Services Officer, said the results were based entirely on merit. He said 34 officials conducted viva examinations through 17 boards. Attempts to contact UNO Md Parvez for comment were unsuccessful. He also did not respond to a WhatsApp message. Rangpur-5 MP Gholam Rabbani said the UNO had assured him that recruitment would be based entirely on merit. “I have heard that 11 people from a single village were selected. I will speak directly with the UNO to find out what happened,” he said.

Power distribution authorities in Kushtia have requested the Superintendent of Police (SP) to bolster security at key electrical installations, citing fears of sabotage and public unrest due to severe load shedding. The West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDCO) and Kushtia Palli Bidyut Samity sent separate letters to the SP office on Monday and Tuesday . Additional SP (Crime and Ops) Faisal Mahmud confirmed the receipt of the letters on Thursday morning, noting that copies were also sent to the District Commissioner and other relevant departments. In its letter, WZPDCO expressed concern that the power production shortage—affecting the entire country—has created significant public discontent. The authority warned that "vested quarters" might exploit the situation to carry out sabotage at Key Point Installations (KPI) and other critical electrical sites. Amzad Hossain, Executive Engineer of WZPDCO Kushtia, emphasized that increased police deployment is necessary to ensure safety and maintain uninterrupted service. Meanwhile, the letter from Jahangir Alam, General Manager (Additional Charge) of Kushtia Palli Bidyut Samity, highlighted a nationwide production deficit of approximately 3,500 MW. This shortage has led to intense load shedding in Palli Bidyut areas, severely impacting students, farmers, businesses, and industrial units. The authority warned that the disruption of official activities and daily life is fueling public anger. Additional SP Faisal Mahmud stated that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have already been alerted to increase surveillance around these vital installations. "Police regularly monitor important facilities for security reasons, and we have now instructed increased vigilance to prevent any untoward incidents," he added. 

A Class-IX madrasah student was killed after being run over by a train in Chandpur town on Thursday afternoon. The deceased was identified as Tayeba Akter, 14, a student of Bishnudi Islamia Senior Alim Madrasah and daughter of Tajul Islam. According to locals, the Chattogram-bound Sagarika Express hit Tayeba near the Chhayabani level crossing around 3:00pm when she attempted to cross the railway track, leaving her dead on the spot. On information, police recovered the body. Rajib Kor, officer-in-charge of Chandpur Railway Police Station, said the victim’s parents reached the police station and the body was handed over to the family after completing the necessary legal formalities.

Three Bangladeshi women have returned home through a special travel permit after serving a jail term in India, where they had been trafficked with promises of well-paid jobs at beauty parlours. The women were handed over to Benapole immigration police by Indian immigration authorities at Petrapole on Wednesday evening. The returnees are Riya Khatun, 25, Shilpi Khatun, 26, and Shimla Khatun, 26. They are from Satkhira, Narail and Pabna districts respectively. Officer-in-Charge of Benapole Checkpost Immigration Police Saifur Rahman said the three women had illegally crossed the border and travelled to Mumbai about two years ago after being lured by brokers with promises of well-paying jobs at beauty parlours. They were later arrested by Indian police while working at beauty parlours and produced before a court. The court sentenced them to one year in prison for illegal entry into India. After completing their sentences, an Indian human rights organisation took responsibility for them and accommodated them in a shelter home. He said the women were handed over to Benapole Port Police Station after completing immigration formalities. Justice and Care, a human rights organisation, later took them into its custody and placed them in a shelter home after receiving them from Benapole Port Police Station. They will be handed over to their respective families on Thursday, said Muhit Hossain, senior programme officer of Justice and Care.

Police recovered the throat-slit body of a rickshaw garage owner from his establishment in Rangpur city on Thursday morning. The deceased was identified as Abdur Rahman, 65, who owned a garage in the Tajhat Ansari intersection area. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Tajhat Police Station Rafiqul Islam said Abdur Rahman lived alone in a house adjacent to the garage. Locals noticed bloodstains outside the closed shutter of the garage on Thursday morning and alerted the authorities. Upon arriving at the scene, police broke open the shutter and discovered the throat-slit body inside. The body was later sent to Rangpur Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy. Miscreants might have killed Abdur Rahman sometime at night for looting, the OC said, adding that they were investigating the incident.

A 25-year-old man was hacked to death by a group of miscreants in front of the regional passport office in the Maskanda area of Mymensingh city on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Rabbi Ahmed Riyad, son of Mobarak Hossain Bhutto of Dakkhinpara on the Maskanda High School Road. Police and locals said Rabbi was standing in front of the regional passport office around noon when several youths carrying locally made weapons swooped on him. Rabbi ran into a nearby shop for shelter, but the attackers followed him inside and hacked him indiscriminately with sharp weapons before fleeing the scene, leaving him critically injured. Locals rescued him and took him to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Hossain Ali, an uncle of the deceased, said Rabbi went to a shop in front of the passport office. “He was hacked in broad daylight while hundreds of people were there. Nobody protested, and now people are afraid to speak. We want justice for this killing,” he said. Officer-in-Charge of Kotwali Model Police Station Shibirul Islam said police initially learned that Rabbi had a dispute with Khalek and Sabbir over the supply of rods, cement, sand and other construction materials for a house being built in Mistri Para. The two sides had reportedly agreed to share the supply of construction materials, but Khalek and Sabbir were unhappy with the arrangement. “Based on our preliminary findings, Khalek, Sabbir and their associates carried out the killing out of this resentment,” the OC said, adding that they were working to arrest those responsible.

Three-month-old conjoined twin sisters from Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia died while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Wednesday. The babies, Zainab and Umme Kulsum, died around 5:30 pm while doctors were treating them at the hospital, according to their family. The twins were born at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) on May 4 to Nahid Hasan, a shop employee, and his wife Sanjida Akter, residents of Bilgathua village under Pragpur Union in Daulatpur. The babies were joined from the chest to the abdomen. After their birth, doctors kept them under close observation and said they could potentially be separated through surgery. However, the procedure would require multiple tests, specialised medical teams and prolonged treatment. The family was advised to bring the babies back to Dhaka after three months for further treatment. But their severe financial hardship prevented them from continuing the treatment. The issue came to public attention after reports were published in the media, prompting the Prime Minister to intervene. Following the Prime Minister’s directive, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare took responsibility for covering all expenses related to the twins’ treatment and possible surgery. As part of the government’s initiative, Health Minister personally called the twins’ father on Sunday afternoon and advised him to bring the babies to Dhaka as soon as possible. With the government’s assurance of financial support, the family left for Dhaka on Monday morning and admitted the babies to Dhaka Medical College Hospital the same day. Doctors subsequently conducted several necessary medical examinations. However, despite the efforts of the medical team, the two babies died. “We had the support of the Prime Minister and the government, and the doctors were also trying their best. We came to Dhaka with hopes of giving our children a new life,” Nahid Hasan said. “But I could not take my two beautiful babies back home,” he said. The bodies were taken to their home in Daulatpur late Wednesday night. Following a janaza at 9 am Thursday, the twins were buried at a local graveyard. The deaths have cast a deep shadow of mourning over the area.

A woman who suffered severe burn injuries in a bomb blast in Bakerganj upazila of Barishal died at a hospital in Dhaka on Wednesday, nine days after the incident. The deceased was identified as Hanufa Begum, wife of Shah Alam Howlader of Dudholmou village in the upazila. Barishal Deputy Commissioner Mamun Khandaker, quoting Hanufa’s son-in-law Sujon, said a powerful explosion occurred at Shah Alam’s house around 6:00am on August 3, leaving Hanufa, her daughter Iti and her fifth-grade grandson Fahim seriously burned. Locals rescued the injured and took them to Bakerganj Upazila Health Complex. As their condition deteriorated, they were shifted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal. Later, they were sent to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka for better treatment. Iti and Fahim subsequently recovered, but Hanufa, who had suffered severe burns, died around 4:00pm on Wednesday, the DC said. Barishal Divisional Commissioner Khalil Ahmed said they were deeply saddened by Hanufa’s death. “We are truly shocked and saddened by the news of Hanufa Begum’s death. We visited them at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital on Monday evening and, after seeing their deteriorating condition, arranged for their immediate transfer to Dhaka for better treatment,” he said.