United News of Bangladesh

Police have arrested three young men on charges of allegedly gang-raping a 15-year-old girl in Thakurgaon’s Sadar upazila. The incident took place in the Kalitala Bazar area under Jagannathpur Union, where the victim was rescued in an ill and distressed condition from a warehouse early Sunday. The arrested were identified as Tamim Islam, 22, son of Anarul; Rony, 21, son of Mintu; and Masud, 22, son of Rahman Majedur, all of Kalitala Bazar area. Teenage girl ‘gang-raped’ in Brahmanbaria Police said a patrol team noticed suspicious movement of motorcycles near a warehouse owned by Rony’s father in the Kalitala Bazar area. Acting on suspicion, police immediately conducted a raid on the warehouse. During the raid, police rescued the 15-year-old girl from inside the warehouse in an unconscious and critical condition. She was rushed to the Thakurgaon 250-bed General Hospital for treatment and the three youths were detained from the spot. While undergoing treatment, the victim alleged that she met Tamim about a week earlier through a friend. She said Tamim later offered to take her out for a visit. After visiting several places, she was allegedly taken to a secluded warehouse at Kalitala Bazar, where Tamim called his two friends and raped her. Later, the victim’s father filed a case at Thakurgaon Sadar Police Station against the three accused. They were subsequently shown arrested and produced before a court, which ordered them to be sent to jail.

Jisan Ahmed, a central leader of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student front of Jamaat e Islami, was shown arrested on Saturday morning in a rape case filed by a woman from Daudkandi upazila of Cumilla. Jisan is currently admitted to the prison ward of Cumilla Medical College Hospital - even though police claim that no complications have been detected in his physical condition so far. However, as his actual health condition has not yet been confirmed, he could not be produced before a court. Police pour cold water over claims of Shibir leader's 'abduction' Jisan serves as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs of the central committee of Chhatra Shibir . Meanwhile, the authorities of Cumilla Medical College Hospital have formed an investigation committee to determine his actual physical condition. The four-member committee was formed on Sunday afternoon with Prof Md Helalur Rahman, head of the hospital’s Medicine Department, appointed as its chief. The committee has been requested to submit its report within one day.  Acting director of the hospital Dr Md Shahjahan, said initially, no evidence of any serious physical complication has been found in his body. "We will be able to reach a more definite conclusion once the investigation report is submitted," he said. Shamsul Alam Shah, Officer-in-Charge(OC) of Cumilla Detective Branch (DB) Police, said further steps would be taken after the hospital authorities submit their final report. Md Anisuzzaman, Cumilla Superintendent of Police, alleged that Jisan had staged an abduction drama to avoid marrying the woman who later filed the case. On the other hand, Chhatra Shibir claimed that both parties are currently in police custody and it had not been possible to directly communicate with the parties concerned and therefore it could not independently verify the actual situation. However, the organisation said preliminary information suggesting a romantic relationship between Jisan and the woman had been found, and on that basis he had been expelled from the organisation.

Police have arrested Md Sohag Mridha, 35, of Patuakhali's Mirzaganj upazila, who came into the spotlight for gifting a cow named ‘Kala Manik’ to BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia during last year's Eid ul Azha. He was arrested in connection with a case filed under charges including assault, attempted murder, outraging the modesty of women and other offences. Following his arrest on Sunday, he was sent to jail by a court. Sohag Mirdha, son of the late Belayet Hossain Mridha, is a resident of Uttar Jhatibunia village under Amragachhia in the upazila. According to police, a clash occurred on June 10 over a family dispute. When  his cousin Sarmin Sultana, her husband Shahriar Ahmed and her sister-in-law Mahinur Begum were discussing family matters at their residence at 4.30pm, Sohag Mridha and several others allegedly entered the house and attacked them due to a prior dispute. When Sarmin Sultana and Mahinur Begum tried to rescue him, they were also assaulted. The case statement alleges that the attackers snatched a gold chain weighing about one bhori from Mahinur Begum. It also mentions incidents of molestation involving the two women during the attack. Hearing the victims’ screams, local residents rushed to the scene and rescued the injured. Following the incident, a case was filed with Mirzaganj Police Station. Tohiduzzaman, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mirzaganj Police Station, said Sohag Mridha was produced before a court on Sunday, which ordered that he be sent to jail. Police operations are continuing to arrest the other accused in the case.

A businessman sustained severe burn injuries after two mobile phones reportedly exploded while being charged in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, early Sunday. The victim, identified as Mizanur Rahman, was rescued and admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. He is a resident of the Siddique Vendor area under Chhagalnaiya upazila in Feni district. He operates a stock-lot business at Sonia Market in Ashulia. The explosion occurred at around 12:30 am on Sunday in a rented room at Alim's house in the Rashid Market area of Ashulia. Locals said Mizanur had placed two mobile phones close together while charging when the explosion occurred. The blast left about 50 percent of his body burned, they said. Tarikul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Ashulia Police Station, said he had heard about the incident, but no formal complaint had been lodged with the police.

A 14-year-old boy died after being struck by lightning in Bhaluka Municipality on Sunday afternoon. The victim, Faisal Ahmed, was the son of Nizam Uddin of Benipur village in Muktagachha Upazila. He lived with his family in a rented house in Ward No. 7 of Bhaluka Municipality. He was also involved in a small scrap metal business with his father. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon in the Meghar Maidan area while he was returning home. Locals said Faisal was suddenly struck by lightning and became critically injured. He was rushed to Bhaluka Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Rafiqul Islam, sub-inspector (SI) of Bhaluka Model Police Station, said they had heard about the death but had not yet received an official report at the police station

Four people were injured after a sand-laden truck fell into a canal when a Bailey bridge collapsed in Gopalganj. Eyewitnesses said the bridge suddenly gave way while the truck was crossing it, causing the vehicle to plunge into the canal. An easy bike and a bicycle also fell into the water, leaving four people, including the truck driver, his helper and the easy bike driver injured. The incident has caused severe disruption, as all vehicle movement on the main road connecting Gopalganj district town has been suspended. The injured received first aid. However, efforts to recover the truck from the canal had not begun at the time of reporting. Samar Bain, a resident of the Pachuria area, said that neither the construction company nor the Roads and Highways Department had placed warning signs or informed the public that the bridge was unsafe. He added that the overloaded truck attempted to cross despite warnings from local residents, leading to the collapse and causing hardship for the public. Another resident said, “We use this bridge every day to travel to the town for business. Its collapse will cause significant difficulties. We now have to travel an extra 1.5 kilometres to reach the town. I believe this happened because of negligence by the Roads and Highways Department.” A local student said, “I cross this bridge every day to attend school and private tuition classes. The collapse has created major difficulties, as I now have to take a much longer route.” Resident Rezaul Islam said, “The Roads and Highways Department removed one of the two Bailey bridges without providing an alternative route or transport arrangements. This increased pressure on the remaining bridge. If the authorities had carried out their responsibilities properly, this accident could have been avoided. The bridge had been a safety risk for a long time.” Jahangir Alam, Executive Engineer of the Gopalganj Roads and Highways Department, said the authorities were aware of the situation and had already started work. He said the collapsed Bailey bridge would be reinstalled at the same location and the work could be completed within two to three days. Responding to questions about why bridge construction began without an alternative diversion road, he explained that there was insufficient space at the site and therefore no diversion road was included in the project tender. He added that efforts were being made to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

An attempt by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) to push 11 individuals into Bangladesh through the Darshana border in Chuadanga was foiled by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) early Sunday. According to locals, BSF personnel attempted to push 11 people – eight men and three women – into Bangladesh territory through the border near main pillars 76-77 of the Darshana-Gede border under Damurhuda upazila around 5:00am. However, BGB personnel stationed in the area swiftly intervened after noticing the movement and blocked the attempted push-in. Lt Col Nazmul Hasan, commanding officer of BGB-6 Battalion in Chuadanga, said routine patrols, intelligence surveillance, and operational activities are continuing to prevent any illegal cross-border activities, including push-in attempts. “BGB remains alert round the clock to prevent any such activities along the border,” he said.  

A planned work abstention by handling workers at Benapole land port demanding fair wages and improved working conditions was suspended on Sunday morning shortly before its enforcement. Workers of Handling Labour Unions 891 and 925, engaged in cargo loading and unloading activities, were supposed to go on the work stoppage in the morning to press for their demands that also include action against alleged irregularities by contractors. However, they announced the suspension of their programme around 9:00am in front of the main gate of the port after receiving assurances at a meeting with port authorities that their demands will be addressed within one month. Workers said the decision to suspend the agitation was also made considering the ongoing national budget period.  

A woman and her teenage daughter were hacked to death, and five-year-old son was injured in an attack by unidentified assailants inside their house in Anwara upazila of Chattogram on Saturday night. The deceased were identified as Eni Barua, 40, wife of Sujan Barua, and their daughter Priyonti Barua, 16, of Chenamati Barua Para. The couple’s injured child Piyas Barua was admitted to Anwara Upazila Health Complex for treatment. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Anwara Police Station Md Junayet Chowdhury said they recovered the bodies and sent those to hospital morgue for autopsy. Neighbour Suravi Barua said locals rushed to the house around 10:30pm after hearing screams. They found Eni Barua and her son Piyas lying injured near the entrance of the house, while Priyonti was found lying inside a room. The victims were taken to the upazila health complex, where doctors declared Eni and Priyonti dead. Sujan Barua, who works as a security guard at a residential building in the Khatunganj area of Chattogram city, alleged that he had financial dealings with a neighbour, Limon Barua Tejpriya, and suspected the attack could be linked to documents related to those transactions. He claimed that before her death, his wife identified Limon Barua as one of the attackers. The OC said an investigation is underway to determine the motive behind the killings and identify those responsible.

A 65-year-old man who had been missing since June 8 has been found dead in a residential hotel in Hajiganj upazila of Chandpur district. The deceased was identified as Md Ilias Kazi, son of late Adam Ali Kazi of Kazi Bari in Faridganj upazila. Police recovered the body from a room at Matrimaya Residential Hotel after breaking open the door on Saturday afternoon. According to family members, Ilias Kazi had been missing since June 8. The family filed a general diary at Faridganj Police Station on June 12 in this regard. Vitim’s son Mahdi Hasan Kazi said they learned through social media on Saturday that an unidentified body was recovered in Hajiganj. The family later went to the police station and identified the deceased as Ilias Kazi. Faruk Hossain Liton, owner of Matrimaya Residential Hotel, said Ilias checked in at the hotel on the evening of June 12. When repeated knocks on the door his room went unanswered until around 2:30pm the following day, hotel authorities informed the police. Police and Fire Service personnel arrived at the scene and broke open the door only to find him dead. Officer-in-Charge of Hajiganj Police Station Mohammad Abdul Mannan said police initially suspect that Ilias Kazi may have died after consuming pesticide, though the exact cause of death will be determined following an autopsy.