United News of Bangladesh

Interns at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital continued their work abstention for the second consecutive day on Monday, to press home their six-point demand including an increase in allowances and the withdrawal of recent decisions related to FCPS training. The protesting doctors staged a sit-in programme at the hospital’s administrative building around 10 am. Committee formed after attack on intern doctor at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, strike continues Leaders of the Intern Doctors’ Association said they would announce tougher programmes if their six-point demands were not met within a short time. They also said two representatives from Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College are currently in Dhaka to participate in discussions on the demands along with representatives from medical institutions across the country. A meeting between representatives of the intern doctors, the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Secretary of the Health Services Division is expected to be held in Dhaka. The outcome of the meeting will determine the next course of action, they said. The agitation began on Sunday in protest against several recent decisions taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding FCPS training. Under the new provisions, doctors will be required to serve in upazilas for two years, while allowances will be limited and awarded on a merit basis. Meanwhile, hospital authorities claimed that all emergency services remained operational during the work stoppage and that patient care in emergency departments had not been affected by the programme.

Police recovered the headless body of a missing businessman from a canal in Barguna Sadar upazila on Monday. The deceased was identified as Shamim, a businessman from Gaurichanna Union of the upazila. According to police and locals, Shamim had been missing for an unspecified period. His headless body was recovered around 11.00 am from the Bara Gaurichanna canal. 2 killed, three injured in truck-autorickshaw collision in Barguna Locals said they noticed blood stains on the bank of the canal in the morning. They then searched the area and eventually found the headless body submerged in the canal water. Family members and locals said Shamim was a local businessman who also lent money to people on interest. They claimed he was not affiliated with any political party and had no known disputes with anyone. They suspect the murder may have been linked to his money-lending activities. After being informed, Barguna Sadar Police Station, the District Detective Branch (DB) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) rushed to the spot. After completing the inquest, police sent the body to the morgue of Barguna Sadar Hospital for autopsy. Abdul Alim, Barguna Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge(OC), said police recovered the body shortly after receiving the information. “It is a brutal murder. Police have already started working to uncover the mystery behind the incident and identify those responsible,” he said.

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has taken back 11 people, including a sixth-grade student and her pregnant mother, after they remained stranded for nearly 48 hours at the zero line along the Mashalgaon border in Haripur upazila of Thakurgaon. The group was removed from the border area and taken back into India around 3 am on Monday, said Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Al Moin Hasan, commanding officer of Dinajpur Battalion (42 BGB). The group comprised three men, four women and four children. Among them were sixth-grader Rozina Akhter, her nine-month-pregnant mother and her younger brother, who has a disability. The group had been staying at the zero line in difficult conditions after an alleged attempt by the BSF to push them into Bangladesh through an area near border pillar 349/7-S under the Mashalgaon Border Outpost (BOP) in the early hours of June 6. After receiving information, a BGB patrol team rushed to the spot and prevented them from entering Bangladesh. During preliminary questioning, the individuals told BGB members that they had been living in Dum Dum area of West Bengal. They alleged that Indian law enforcement agencies detained them on May 26 and held them at a designated location along with hundreds of others. Later, they were divided into smaller groups and taken to different points along the border. They were subsequently taken to the Bohargaon camp of the 87 BSF Battalion where they stayed for a day before being transported to the border area on the night of June 6. Lt Col Abdullah Al Moin Hasan said the BGB has strengthened surveillance and intensified patrols in the area to prevent any unauthorised cross-border movement. “The BGB remains alert to prevent any form of illegal infiltration and push-ins along the border,” he said. Meanwhile, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Sunday said all important border-related issues including push-ins across the frontier will be discussed at the four-day director general level meeting between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India's Border Security Force (BSF). “The DG-level meeting is held alternately in Bangladesh and India. This time it is our turn to visit India. All relevant issues will be discussed there,” he said.

Another child has died showing symptoms of measles at MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet in last 24 hours till Monday morning, health officials said. The deceased was a 17-month-old child from Madhabpur upazila of Habiganj district. With this, the total number of deaths linked to measles and symptoms in Sylhet division has risen to 66. Of them, four deaths were confirmed as measles, while the rest were recorded as suspected cases, the Sylhet Divisional Office of the Directorate General of Health said on Monday. According to Sylhet Divisional Office, 55 new patients with measles-like symptoms were admitted to hospitals in the division during the same period, bringing total patients to 270. Besides, laboratory tests confirmed three new measles cases in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, across Bangladesh, seven more children with measles-like symptoms died in the 24 hours until 8:00 am on Sunday. This brings the total number of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths in the country to 620, according to health authorities.

A man was killed in a lynch-mob attack over theft allegation in Bandail (Jianagar) village in Singair upazila of Manikganj early Monday. The victim was identified as Rajib, 40, a resident of Dattakhand village in Nawabganj upazila of Dhaka district. Locals said a theft allegedly took place at the house of Mohammad Hakim Ali at around 2 am. Locals alleged that Rajib entered the house by cutting through a window grill, while several of his associates remained outside. Cash and gold ornaments were looted from the house and passed to the accomplices, who fled the scene, they claimed. When the homeowner became aware of the incident, he confronted the suspected thief, leading to a scuffle. Hakim Ali sustained head injuries during the scuffle and was later admitted to Singair Upazila Health Complex. Following the incident, locals caught Rajib and beat him, leaving him dead on the spot, said witnesses. Md Mazharul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Singair Police Station, said police recovered the body after receiving information about the incident. "The process of sending the body to the morgue for an autopsy is underway. The incident is being investigated and legal action will be taken accordingly," he said. Police are preparing to file a case in connection with the incident, the OC added.

An eight-year-old boy and a motorcyclist who tried to save him were killed in a road accident in Kolikandi Battala area on Pabna-Kushtia highway in Ishwardi upazila on Sunday night. The deceased child was identified as Alif, 8, son of Zahid Hossain of Koladi village in Pabna Sadar upazila. The identity of the motorcyclist could not be determined immediately. Md Nannu Khan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Pakshi Highway Police Station, said Alif had gone to Pakshi with his mother and was returning home in a CNG-powered auto-rickshaw. The vehicle was carrying several passengers. As it reached the Kolikandi Battala area, it swerved slightly, causing Alif to slip from his mother’s lap and fall onto the road. Seeing her son fall, the mother jumped from the moving auto-rickshaw to save him, said police . At that moment, the unidentified motorcyclist travelling along the highway tried to rescue the child but before he could do so, a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction struck both the child and the motorcyclist, leaving them dead on the spot. Police recovered the bodies and seized the motorcycle involved in the accident. The truck and the auto-rickshaw drivers, however, managed to escape. Alif’s injured mother was taken to Ishwardi Upazila Health Complex for treatment. Police said efforts are underway to trace the vehicles and those responsible.

A businessman has filed a case with a court in Jashore accusing a member of the Tourist Police and four others of assaulting him and snatching cash over an alleged previous enmity. The case was filed by Pintu Rahman, a businessman from Shyamlagachhi village in Sharsha upazila. The accused include Tourist Police member Mamun Hasan Jewel, along with Abdul Barek, Shafiar Rahman, Towhidul Islam and Moshiar Rahman, all residents of the same village. Taking cognisance of the complaint, the court directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the allegations and submit a report. According to the complaint, a dispute developed between the plaintiff and the accused after he protested against what he described as their involvement in various criminal activities. The complainant alleged that around 3:30pm on May 29, the accused intercepted him at Shyamlagachhi Gate intersection in Sharsha. Armed with bamboo sticks, iron rods and steel pipes, they allegedly surrounded him and verbally abused him. When he protested, the accused allegedly beat him indiscriminately, causing injuries. At one stage, they forcibly took Tk 14,000 from his pocket and attempted to strangle him to death, the complaint said. The plaintiff further alleged that the accused had previously been involved in filing false cases against local residents and extortion during the tenure of the former Awami League government. He also claimed that they had harassed local people through false cases due to their alleged political connections. The complaint additionally alleged that, because one of the accused is a police officer, local residents continue to face harassment through the police. Meanwhile, the case comes amid a separate legal dispute involving the same Tourist Police member. On June 4, a case was filed in Sharsha accusing six named individuals and five to six unidentified persons of assaulting Tourist Police member Mamun Hasan Jewel. The case named Advocate Mostafa Kamal Mintu, joint general secretary of Sharsha Upazila BNP, as the principal accused and was filed by Mamun’s younger brother, Royel. According to the complainant, two days earlier, on June 2, BNP leader Mintu’s brother, Pintu Rahman, had submitted a complaint regarding the alleged assault against him. However, he claimed that Sharsha Police Station did not take action on the complaint. The allegations brought by both sides are yet to be independently verified. Authorities have not yet commented on the matter.

Three people, including a woman, were killed and four others injured in separate lightning strike incidents in different parts of Habiganj district on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Rahela Begum, 45, wife of Altaf Ali of Kazirgaon village under Shaistaganj municipality; Rinku Debnath, 30, son of Suresh Debnath of Mirpur Chakfazil village in Bahubal upazila; and Sujon Mia, 16, son of Joydor Ali of Srimangalkandi village in Baniachang upazila. According to police and local sources, Rahela Begum was struck by lightning while working beside her house in Kazirgaon village of Shaistaganj in the afternoon and died on the spot. In another incident, Rinku Debnath had come to Chunarughat to visit his sister’s house. In the afternoon, he and his nephew Piyush Debnath were cleaning a water tank on the rooftop of a house when a thunderstorm began. A lightning strike hit the area, throwing both of them off the roof and leaving them seriously injured. Family members rescued them and took them to Chunarughat Upazila Health Complex, where the on-duty doctor declared Rinku dead. Piyush is currently undergoing treatment. Meanwhile, four youths were struck by lightning while watching a football match in a field at Srimangalkandi village in Baniachang upazila at around the same time. They were taken to Habiganj Sadar Modern Hospital, where doctors declared Sujon Mia dead. The injured Siam Mia, 17, Hafiz Uddin, 22, and Parvez Mia, 25, are receiving treatment at the hospital. The deaths were confirmed by Habiganj Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Zahidul Haque, Shaistaganj Police Station OC Md Abul Kalam, and Baniachang Police Station OC Sheikh Nazmul Haque.

An 18-year-old youth who was critically injured in a stabbing attack by suspected robbers in Narayanganj's Bandar upazila has died. Md Jobayer, son of Md Jahangir of Rajapur area in Pabna Sadar upazila, died while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) early Sunday, four days after the incident. He had been living in a rented house in Enayetnagar and worked for a local organisation. According to police and local sources, the incident occurred on Wednesday night when Jobayer was returning home from work. Three suspected robbers allegedly intercepted him near the northern approach to the Bhanga bridge in Enayetnagar. When he resisted, the assailants stabbed him repeatedly, leaving him seriously injured before snatching his mobile phone and fleeing the scene. Locals rescued him and took him to the 300-bed Khanpur Hospital in Narayanganj. As his condition deteriorated, he was later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Doctors declared him dead at around 5:30am on Sunday while he was undergoing treatment, hospital sources said. His body has been kept at the DMCH morgue for an autopsy. Sub-Inspector Monir Hossain, second officer of Bandar Police Station, said police had been working to trace the suspects since the incident. “We are trying to identify and arrest those responsible. Whoever is involved will be brought to justice. The operation will continue until the culprits are arrested and the stolen items are recovered,” he said.

Kurigram Deputy Commissioner Annapurna Debnath recently visited the Dhaldanga area of Shilkhuri Union in Bhurungamari upazila, which has been severely affected by erosion caused by the Kaljani River. During the visit, she spoke with affected residents and observed the damage caused by the river erosion. Expressing concern over the suffering of local people, the Deputy Commissioner assured them that immediate steps would be taken to protect their homes and property. “Immediate measures are being taken so that the Kaljani River cannot wash away people's homes,” she said. Her visit has brought a sense of hope among the affected residents, who are expecting prompt and effective action to curb the erosion and safeguard their homesteads. Local people urged the authorities to implement sustainable erosion-control measures to prevent further losses in the area.