United News of Bangladesh

A young man was allegedly stabbed to death by his friend over a dispute involving Tk 450 in Rajshahi's Damkura area on Monday morning. Police arrested the accused, Faisal Ali Joy, within hours of the incident. According to police, the deceased Ashikur Rahman and the accused were close friends. Police recover unidentified body from Mahananda River in Chapainawabganj Police said Ashikur had borrowed Tk 450 from Joy on May 21. On Monday morning, Joy went to Ashikur's house to demand repayment of the money, which led to an argument between them. Joy later left the house. Joy allegedly stabbed Ashikur in the left side of his ribs and fled the scene. Locals rushed Ashikur to the emergency department of Rajshahi Medical Collage Hospital in critical condition, where the on-duty doctor declared him dead. Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police's Kashiadanga Zone said police launched a drive immediately after the incident and Arrested Faisal Ali Joy from the Alupatti area of ​​the city. A murder case is being processed with Damkura Police Station connection with the incident.

A couple and their six-year-old child were killed after a pickup hit their motorcycle in Mithamoin upazila of Kishoreganj on Monday evening. The accident occurred around 7:30pm in the Kastul area on the Itna-Mithamoin-Austagram  road. The deceased were identified as Monir Hossain, 35, his wife Munni Akter, 30, and their son Ayan, 6, residents of Mohisha Kandi village in Mithamoin upazila. Motorcyclist killed in Manikganj road crash According to police, the couple and their child were returning home on a motorcycle when a pickup coming from the opposite direction hit them in the Kastul area, leaving all three dead on the spot. After the accident, locals seized the pickup. Mithamoin Police Station Officer-in-Charge Liaqat Ali confirmed the incident. The dead bodies will be sent to the Kishoreganj Adunik Hospital tomorrow for autopsy.

A series of alleged rape and attempted rape incidents involving women and children have been reported from several districts across the country, triggering fresh concerns over rising sexual violence and the safety of vulnerable groups. Police arrested the accused in connection with incidents reported from Chuadanga, Jashore and Cumilla, while another allegation in Kushtia triggered controversy after local influential figures allegedly tried to settle the matter through village arbitration. Minor girl ‘raped’ in Jashore; youth arrested In Chuadanga, police have arrested a young man in connection with the alleged rape of a 71-year-old woman in Damurhuda upazila. The accused – Tarikul Islam, 20, son of Sirajul Islam of Ibrahimpur village – was arrested in a drive in the School Mor area of the village in the early hours of Monday. According to police, the incident took place on May 20 in the Mender Math area of Ibrahimpur village. The elderly woman had reportedly gone to visit her daughter at Kolabari village earlier that day. While returning home in the afternoon carrying fish and curry given by her daughter, she was allegedly approached by Tarikul near Ibrahimpur Park. Police said the accused offered to help carry her bag home and accompanied her. When they reached the Mender Math area, he allegedly raped the woman. Following the incident, the woman filed a case at Damurhuda Model Police Station. Officer-in-Charge of the police station Sheikh Mesbah Uddin said police launched an immediate operation after the case was filed and arrested the accused. In Jashore, police have arrested a youth in connection with the rape of a nine-year-old girl at Sagardari village in Keshabpur upazila. The accused was identified as Jayanta Biswas, 18, son of Shyamal Biswas of the village. According to police and locals, the incident occurred on Monday afternoon when the Class-IV girl went to Jayanta’s house to watch television. The accused allegedly lured the child and raped her. The girl returned home crying and informed her family members of the incident. The family immediately reported the matter to the police, who arrested Jayanta from the Sagardari area. Confirming the arrest, Sub-Inspector Shamim Hossain, In-Charge of Chingra Police Camp, said, “Jayanta Biswas has been arrested on charges of raping the minor girl. The child is now under police custody. Legal action is underway in this regard.” In Kushtia, a Class-IV schoolboy was allegedly raped by the caretaker of a mango orchard when he went to pick mangoes there in Kumarkhali upazila on Sunday morning. The accused is Md Wahed Ali, 55, son of late Rajab Ali Biswas of Tarapur village. According to locals, the boy went to the field with goats and later entered the orchard to collect mangoes. The accused allegedly raped him there. The boy later narrated the incident to his mother. The accused initially denied the allegation but later admitted it. Local influential figures pressured the family to settle the matter through a salish (village arbitration), which was scheduled for Monday evening. However, police foiled arbitration following information, said Inspector (Investigation) of Kumarkhali Police Station Md Amirul Islam. He said a team of police has gone to the spot. In Cumilla, a shopkeeper has allegedly tried to rape a 12-year-old boy inside his shop in Daudkandi upazila. A court on Monday sent the accused – Delwar Hossain, 43, a resident of Uttar Rainagar village in the upazila – to jail after police arrested him on Sunday in connection with the incident that took place on May 18. Police said the victim, a student of Class-VI, went to Delwar’s shop on May 18 to buy chips. However, he allegedly took the boy inside the shop, closed the shutters and attempted to rape him. As the boy started crying, locals rushed to the scene and rescued him. However, the accused managed to flee. The victim was taken to the One-Stop Crisis Centre of Cumilla Medical College Hospital on May 23 and the victim’s father filed a case at Daudkandi Model Police Station. Police arrested the accused from a cattle market at Kalasona Bazar on Sunday afternoon.

A motorcyclist was killed and another rider seriously injured in a head-on collision between a motorcycle and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on the Manikganj-Hemayetpur regional road in Manikganj on Monday afternoon. The accident occurred in the Kitingchar area of the road. The deceased was identified as Md Kawsar Ahmed, 18, son of Md Shahidul Islam Momen of Athalia area in Singair upazila. They chose a cheaper ride, but never made it home According to police and locals, the accident took place when a Singair-bound CNG-run auto-rickshaw from Hemayetpur collided head-on with a Hemayetpur-bound motorcycle coming from the opposite direction. Another motorcycle rider, Md Arafat, 18, son of Md Kohinur Biswas of the same area, sustained serious injuries in the accident. Locals rescued him and sent him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment. Singair Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Mazharul Islam, said the body was recovered and sent to Manikganj Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. Legal action in this regard is underway, the OC added.

Police have arrested a young man in connection with the alleged rape of a 71-year-old woman in Damurhuda upazila of Chuadanga district. The accused – Tarikul Islam, 20, son of Sirajul Islam of Ibrahimpur village – was arrested in a drive in the School Mor area of the village in the early hours of Monday. According to police, the incident took place on May 20 in the Mender Math area of Ibrahimpur village. Minor girl ‘raped’ in Jashore; youth arrested The elderly woman had reportedly gone to visit her daughter at Kolabari village earlier that day. While returning home in the afternoon carrying fish and curry given by her daughter, she was allegedly approached by Tarikul near Ibrahimpur Park. Police said the accused offered to help carry her bag home and accompanied her. When they reached the Mender Math area, he allegedly raped the woman. Following the incident, the woman filed a case at Damurhuda Model Police Station. Officer-in-Charge of the police station Sheikh Mesbah Uddin said police launched an immediate operation after the case was filed and arrested the accused.

Police have arrested a youth in connection with the rape of a nine-year-old girl at Sagardari village in Keshabpur upazila of Jashore. The accused was identified as Jayanta Biswas, 18, son of Shyamal Biswas of the village. According to police and locals, the incident occurred on Monday afternoon when the Class-IV girl went to Jayanta’s house to watch television. The accused allegedly lured the child and raped her. The girl returned home crying and informed her family members of the incident. The family immediately reported the matter to the police, who arrested Jayanta from the Sagardari area. Confirming the arrest, Sub-Inspector Shamim Hossain, In-Charge of Chingra Police Camp, said, “Jayanta Biswas has been arrested on charges of raping the minor girl. The child is now under police custody. Legal action is underway in this regard.”

Police recovered the half-decomposed body of an unidentified man from the Mahananda River in Gomostapur upazila of Chapainawabganj on Monday. The body was recovered around 3pm from beneath water hyacinths near a river ghat in the Gouripur Kawavasha area under Boalia Union of the upazila. The identity of the deceased could not be known immediately. They chose a cheaper ride, but never made it home Nure Alam, Gomostapur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC), said locals spotted the body floating among water hyacinths in the river and informed police. Police later recovered the half-decomposed body from the spot, he said. Police suspect that miscreants may have killed the man five to six days ago and dumped the body in the river. The body was sent to Chapainawabganj District Hospital morgue for autopsy and legal action in this regard is underway, the OC added.

A shopkeeper has allegedly tried to rape a 12-year-old boy inside his shop in Daudkandi upazila of Cumilla district. A court on Monday sent the accused – Delwar Hossain, 43, a resident of Uttar Rainagar village in the upazila – to jail after police arrested him on Sunday in connection with the incident that took place on May 18. Police said the victim, a student of Class-VI, went to Delwar’s shop on May 18 to buy chips. However, he allegedly took the boy inside the shop, closed the shutters and attempted to rape him. As the boy started crying, locals rushed to the scene and rescued him. However, the accused managed to flee. The victim was taken to the One-Stop Crisis Centre of Cumilla Medical College Hospital on May 23 and the victim’s father filed a case at Daudkandi Model Police Station. Police arrested the accused from a cattle market at Kalasona Bazar on Sunday afternoon.

Two years after a woman and her minor son went missing in  Sonaimuri upazila of Noakhali district, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has uncovered a chilling case of double murder allegedly driven by a property dispute. Kamala Khatun and her son Noman were killed and their bodies secretly buried in a bid to grab property, said CID officials while speaking at a press briefing on Monday. Two charred bodies recovered from chips factory in Badda According to CID sources, Kamala Khatun went missing on March 10, 2024. Later her stepson Ziaur Rahman Sagar filed a general diary (GD) with Sonaimuri Police Station. Kamala’s sister Rahima Begum filed a petition case in court, prompting an investigation into the disappearance. The case was initially handled by the district Detective Branch (DB) before being transferred to CID. Investigators found that around 30 decimals of land had been registered in the names of Kamala Khatun and her son by the late Abul Kalam Azad, Kamala’s second husband. A long-standing family dispute had been ongoing over the property. CID said that on February 25, 2024, the victims were assaulted and threatened, after which they went missing. During the investigation, CID recovered a mobile phone belonging to Kamala Khatun, which helped advance the probe. Based on the information, accused Saiful Islam, also known as Rajon or Raju, was arrested from Mymensingh on May 21, this year. Based on his statement, police later arrested Ziaur Rahman Sagar and Ashiqur Rahman Tipu. Rajon, Sagar and Tipu are the sons of Abul Kalam Azad from his previous marriage, and stepsons of the victim Kamala Khatun.   During interrogation, the accused confessed that they had planned the murder in advance to seize the property. On the night of March 1, 2024, sleeping pills were mixed into food and water given to Kamala Khatun and her son. After they became unconscious, they were strangled using a towel, suffocated with pillows, and killed. CID said the bodies were then buried in a pre-dug pit near a pond adjacent to the house. The perpetrators also burned clothing and other evidence to destroy traces of the crime. Based on their confession, the remains of Kamala Khatun and her son were recovered on Saturday through excavation in the presence of local representatives, village police, and residents. The remains were sent to Noakhali General Hospital morgue for autopsy. CID officials said the three arrested suspects have given confessional statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a court. DNA testing of collected samples is underway. Investigations are ongoing to identify and arrest other individuals involved in the crime, CID added.

There are no joyful conversations, no excitement over new clothes, no laughter of sons returning home after months away at the villages of Varsho union in Manda upazila. Instead, grief hangs heavy in the air, with families and relatives mourning young men whose final journey ended on a highway in Tangail. What was meant to be a joyful homecoming became a tragedy that wiped out dreams, shattered families and plunged an entire community into mourning. Ten people from Naogaon, including nine youths from the same union in Manda, are among those who were killed in a horrific road accident on the east side of the Jamuna Bridge in Tangail early Monday after boarding a rod-laden truck to return home from Noakhali, where they used to work as hawkers, buying human hair and selling used mobile phones, scrap materials and plastic toys. They chose the truck for one simple reason: they could not afford the soaring Eid bus fares. According to locals, transport fares had increased by Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,000 ahead of Eid. For low-income workers struggling to survive, that amount was enormous. So, like many others do during festive seasons, they took the riskier option. But little did they know that it would cost them their lives. The rod-laden truck plunged into the roadside and overturned, leaving 15 people killed and eight others injured. Of the deceased, nine were residents of different villages under Varsho union in Manda upazila, while another victim hailed from Malancha village in Niamatpur upazila of the district. The nine deceased from Manda were identified as Mohammad Tarek, son of Sultan Hossain, Abdur Rashid, son of Abdul Barek, Mohammad Badshah, son of Abdur Rahim, Sohagh Hossain, son of Ekabbar Hossain, Mohammad Rabiul, son of Shahidul, Mohammad Sagar, son of Mohammad Sakim of Rajendrabati village, Moinur Islam, son of Jafor Ali of Murshidpur village, and Mohammad Mainul and Mohammad Gias – two sons of Abdur Rashid of Pakuria village. Shariful hailed from Malancha village in Niamatpur. Firoz Hossain, a resident of Rajendrabati village, said over a hundred people from Uttar Najirpur Colony of Naogaon work in different trades in Noakhali throughout the year. “During Eid, bus operators charge an extra Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,000. To avoid the higher fares, many people travel by goods-laden trucks. They also returned home that way,” he said. Sultan Hossain, father victim Tarek, said the youths had started their journey from Feni by truck after failing to afford the higher bus fare. “They were all coming home together for Eid. None of us imagined this would be their last journey,” he said, breaking down in tears. The sudden deaths of the youths triggered scenes of mourning across Manda and Niamatpur upazilas, leaving the victims’ families devastated. Sabina Khatun, wife of deceased Badshah Mia, has been left devastated after suddenly losing her husband in the accident. She repeatedly broke down in tears while holding their only daughter Rahi Moni. Relatives trying to console her also could not hold back their tears. In a choked voice, Sabina said, “I spoke to my husband several times while he was returning home. He said he would buy a new dress and mehendi for our daughter. I last spoke to him around 10:00pm on Sunday. In the morning, I received the news of his death.” Manda Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Akhter Zahan Shathi said Deputy Commissioner of Naogaon Muhammad Saiful Islam and Tangail DC Sharifa Haque were jointly working to bring the bodies back home. She also said they will provide necessary assistance for burial.