United News of Bangladesh

Forest officials detained nine people along with a cargo vessel carrying 230 tonnes of coal from the Bhola River in the eastern Sundarbans on Monday night over illegal transportation and smuggling. The cargo vessel, named Hasan Bhandari, was carrying the coal from Joymoni in Mongla to Patharghata through the Sundarbans, according to forest officials. During a patrol, officials intercepted the vessel on charges of illegal entry into the forest area. The crew members said they were heading towards the Amua area of Patharghata. The nine detainees were held after failing to produce valid documents for the purchase of the coal. The detainees were Md Tarikul Islam, 34, Dulal Hawlader, 34, Md Sumon Talukder, 21, Md Nur Nabi Hossain, 42, Md Enayet Karim, 40, Md Obaidul, 22, Md Mamun, 22, Md Layek Mia, 50, and Md Kabir Hossain, 45. They hail from Mongla and Morelgonj in Bagerhat, Bhandaria in Pirojpur and Brahmanbaria. The seized coal is estimated to be worth around Tk 50 lakh. Forest officials suspect that the coal was illegally unloaded from a mother vessel anchored in  Joymoni area of Mongla, although they could not confirm the source. Two separate cases have been filed with Sarankhola Police Station under charges of illegal entry and smuggling, said Md Shariful Islam, assistant conservator of forests at Sarankhola Range of Sundarbans East Division. He said forest official Shyama Prasad Roy filed the two cases as the complainant and that the seized coal and the detainees have been handed over to Sarankhola Police Station.

At least 14 people including two members of a family were killed and around 30 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a sand-laden truck at Sarkarpara in Baraigram upazila of Natore early Tuesday. Police have so far confirmed the identities of 11 of the deceased including the drivers of the bus and the truck, said Natore Deputy Commissioner Shumoni Akter. The deceased were identified as bus driver Sohel Rana, 40, son of Abdul Hakim of in Godagari upazila Rajshahi; Anwar Haque, 30, son of Babar Ali of Bagmara upazila of Rajshahi; truck driver Kalam, 50 of Jhenaidah; Salal Molla, 45, of  Zajira upazila of Shariatpur; Md Shahin, 35, son of Razzak of Kazirhat in Zajira, Shariatpur; and Sohag, 30, son of Yunus, from Dubi Sahabur village in the same upazila. Abdus Samad, 70, son of Arab Ali Fakir, from Dubi Sahabur village in Zajira upazila of  Shariatpur; and Rashel, 35, of Kalamudanga village in Sapahar, Naogaon.   Two other deceased are Shahidul Islam, 45, of East Subidkhali village in Mirzaganj upazila of Patuakhali and his eight year old daughter Tasfia. Sub-Inspector Alamgir Hossain of Banpara Highway Police Station said the accident occurred when a bus operated by RP Paribahan, travelling from Barishal to Rajshahi, collided head-on with a sand-laden truck coming from the opposite direction, leaving nine people dead on the spot. Among the injured, five victims died at different hospitals and clinics, said the DC The injured were rescued and taken to Natore Sadar Hospital,  Rajshahi Medical College Hospital and other local clinics and hospitals for treatment. Several of them were reported to be in critical condition. Road crashes remain a major cause of deaths and injuries in Bangladesh, with 7,359 people killed and 16,476 injured in 7,584 road accidents across the country in 2025, according to the Road Safety Foundation (RSF). In September alone, 442 road crashes claimed 423 lives and injured 674 others, averaging 14 deaths a day. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam at a workshop in Dhaka on September 7 said nearly 5,000 people die in road crashes in Bangladesh every year, as the government aims to halve road crash deaths by 2030 and formulate a comprehensive Road Safety Act by December 2027.

Two siblings were killed and four others injured when a cattle-laden locally made motorised vehicle (Nasimon) overturned onto a passenger van in Jhikargacha upazila of Jashore on Monday evening, police said. The deceased were identified as Shovon, 10, and Disha, 3, the son and daughter of Sadhon Kumar, a resident of Mishrideara village in the upazila. Sadhon Kumar is a teacher at Jashore Cantonment College. Golam Kibria Hasan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Jhikargacha Police Station, confirmed the incident. Locals said Sadhon Kumar was travelling with his wife and two children to celebrate puja in their locality. The accident occurred around 6:15pm on Council Road in the Phultala area of Magura Union when their van collided with a cattle-laden nasimon. The nasimon overturned onto the van, leaving Shovon and Disha dead on the spot. Sadhon Kumar, his wife, the driver of the nasimon and one of its passengers were also injured in the accident. The driver was taken to Jashore General Hospital for treatment. The bodies of the two children were kept at Jhikargacha Upazila Health Complex.

A motorcyclist was killed when a truck hit his motorcycle on the Dhaka-Pabna-Rajshahi Bypass Highway in the Singa Bypass area of Pabna district town on Monday. The deceased was identified as Abul Kalam Azad, 50, son of Toaz Uddin of Shalaipur village in Sadar upazila. The accident occurred around 2:00pm when the truck hit the motorcycle carrying Azad while returning to his home, leaving him dead on the spot, said Tariqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to the local hospital morgue. Police are trying to arrest the truck driver, the OC said.

Merchant Club in Sherpur town has set up an exceptional eco-friendly Durga Puja pandal crafted from nearly 4,000 discarded plastic bottles to raise public awareness against plastic pollution, organizers said Monday. The recycling-themed pandal, set up at the Natmandir of Kalibazar Ma Bhabatara Kalimandir, drew crowds of devotees during Maha Ashtami celebrations on Monday morning. Organizers said Merchant Club has built themed Puja pandals for 53 years, prioritizing environmental protection in recent years. Artist brothers Nitai Malakar and Gour Malakar, along with their team, collected approximately 4,000 discarded plastic bottles over one and a half months to build the pandal at a cost of around Tk 6 lakh. Merchant Club President Mukul Datta and General Secretary Suman Datta explained that plastic waste clogs drainage systems and degrades ecosystems, prompting the club to use major festivals to promote recycling and environmental conservation. Praising the initiative, Jotty Poddar, General Secretary of Sherpur District Prokriti O Jibon Club, said spreading nature conservation messages during religious festivals inspires social responsibility.

Police recovered a bomb-like object wrapped in a white bag and two litres of petrol from the premises of the shrine of Baul Samrat Fakir Lalon Shah at  Chheuriya, Kushtia. The suspicious object was spotted around 2am on Monday, said police. A police bomb disposal team from Dhaka arrived at the site on Monday morning and examined the object. Following the recovery of the bomb-like object and two litres of petrol, security was further tightened at the shrine and surrounding areas. Additional police have been deployed at the shrine and nearby areas to prevent any untoward incident. Officer-in-Charge of Kumarkhali Police Station Jamal Uddin said the miscreants might have placed the bomb-like object to create panic.

Two children drowned in a pond while playing in Ujani village of Kachua upazila in Chandpur on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Sadia, 10, daughter of local resident Rahim Hossain, and Samira, 8, daughter of Billal Hossain. Family members said the two children were playing in the courtyard around 1:00pm. Suddenly they went missing and then relatives found their bodies floating in a pond beside the house. They were taken to Kachua Upazila Health Complex where on-duty physician Dr Mohammad Zahirul Islam declared them dead at around 3:00pm. Samira had come from Chattogram to visit her grandfather’s house during the Puja holidays. Azizul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kachua Police Station, said no case was filed over the deaths so far. The tragic incident has cast a pall of grief over the area.

Police recovered the bodies of a woman and a teenager from separate locations in Kaunia and Mithapukur upazilas of Rangpur on Sunday morning. The deceased were identified as Aminul Islam Akash, 16, a ninth-grade student, and Tahmina Khatun, a resident of Sardarpara in the Fatangtari area of Haragach. Ruhul Amin, officer-in-charge of Mithapukur Police Station, said Akash’s body was found beside a road in Mithapukur. Later, the body was sent to Rangpur Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. In Kaunia, locals spotted Tahmina’s body floating in a pond near a local Jame Mosque and informed police. Officers later recovered the body. According to local sources, Tahmina had been suffering from mental health problems for a long time. Her family had also made public announcements in the area seeking help to find her. Sub-Inspector Ramzan Ali of Kaunia Police Station said police had contacted the woman’s family. Since the family has no complaints, the body will be handed over following due procedure, he said.

Four members of a family from Jashore have remained missing following the fire at Tuptup Resto & Resort in Ukhiya of Cox’s Bazar on Saturday. The missing family members are Nahidur Rahman, 41, son of Matiar Rahman of Mohonpur village under Manirampur Municipality in Jashore; his wife, Afsana Matin Tanji, 36; and their two children, Ruzaina Inaya, 7, and Sunaina Ihana, 3. Family sources said Nahidur worked at an organisation called Grand Power Limited in Shyamoli, Dhaka. He used to live with his wife and children in Shewrapara, Mirpur. Nahidur’s elder brother, Zahidur Rahman Prince, said they learned from the resort booking bill that Nahidur had reserved a room at Tuptup Resto & Resort from October 16 to 18. He made the booking on October 11 and was scheduled to check out at 1pm on October 18. Zahidur said Nahidur told the family that he would travel to Cox’s Bazar on Friday. After learning about the fire on Saturday, he repeatedly called his younger brother but could not reach him or any other family member. “We still cannot confirm whether they are alive or dead. We are extremely worried about them,” he said. Zahidur said Additional Superintendent of Police in Cox’s Bazar Ahidur Rahman informed him that a person named Nahid has been reported missing. The police official also said DNA samples are being collected to identify the bodies and the remaining four could possibly be Nahidur’s family members, he said.  

A case was filed against 23 people including the owner of Tuptup Resto & Resort in Cox’s Bazar over the fire that claimed lives of 10  people. Sub-Inspector Ashis Sutradhar of Ukhiya Police Station filed the case on Saturday night, said Atikur Rahman Majumder, Officer-in-Charge of the police station. Four people including resort owners Md Tanvir and Nawaz Morshed were named in the case, the OC said. Resort manager Zahidul Islam Sumon was arrested from the scene on Saturday afternoon and later shown arrested in the case, he added. ANM Sajedur Rahman, Superintendent of Cox’s Bazar Police said it would not be possible to confirm the cause of the fire until the investigation is completed. Ten bodies were recovered as a fire ripped through the resort in Patuertek area near Inani Beach in Ukhiya upazila on Saturday morning. Six of the deceased were identified as Ishrat Jahan Maliha, 30, and Milita Mehejabin Alvi, 23, from Banasree in Dhaka, Laila Jahan Nabila, 27, and Nafista Mim, 27, from Khilgaon area in the capital and  Fariha Kabir 33, and Faizan Ahmed, 5, from Chuadanga. The identities of the remaining four victims including two women and a child could not be known yet.