United News of Bangladesh

A 48-year-old woman was stabbed to death allegedly by miscreants at Nauali village in Jhikargacha upazila of Jashore district early Sunday. The deceased was identified as Ferdousi Khatun, wife of Altab Hossain, a Bangladeshi expatriate in Spain of the village. Miscreants stab man to death in Dhaka’s Kadamtali Quoting local people, Kamal Hossain Bhuiya, officer-in-charge of Jhikargacha Police Station, said miscreants swooped into the house after cutting the grill of the windowpane of the kitchen room and stabbed Ferdousi indiscriminately, leaving her dead. Jannati Khatun, daughter of Ferdousi was also injured as the miscreants also stabbed her. Jubo League leader hacked to death in Khulna Later, Jannati informed the matter to her paternal uncle who found Ferdousi dead. However, it is not clear whether the miscreants entered the house in a bid to steal valuables and killed the woman. Minor boy beaten to death by father in Dhaka Police are investigating to unearth the reason behind the  death, said OC.

A 47-year-old former councillor, who remained missing since Friday, was found dead at a water body at Patichara in Patnitala upazila of Naogaon district on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Mizanur Rahman Mitu, former councilor of No 9 ward of Najipur municipality and son of Afsar Ali. Mozaffar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Patnitala Police Station, said farmers spotted the floated body of Mizanur at Saligram Buridah water body in the morning and informed police. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Naogaon Sadar hospital morgue for autopsy. Mizanur remained missing since he went out of home on Friday afternoon, said family members of the deceased. Later, a general diary was lodged with Patnitala Police Station in this connection, said OC.

Two individuals were killed in separate attacks in the Anwara and Satkania upazilas of Chattogram. Police have arrested one suspect in connection with the killings. The victims have been identified as Jalal Uddin (45) from Anwara and Ibrahim Khalil (40) from Chandanaish. According to police and local sources, around 6:30 am on Sunday, fish trader Jalal Uddin was hacked to death at Manumia Dighirpar in Sholkata, Anwara, due to a long-standing enmity. Police have arrested one suspect, Moktar, in connection with the incident. 8-year-old student dies as pick truck runs him over in Sylhet Jalal Uddin was the son of Altaf Munshi from Ward No. 6 of Juidondi union in Anwara and was reportedly involved with the local union unit of Jubo League. Eyewitness Mahiuddin Sikder recounted, “Jalal and I were transporting fish by truck from Juidondi to the Kalabibir Dighi market. When we reached Sholkata Manumia Dighirpar, another vehicle blocked our path. Realizing the danger, Jalal tried to run, but Moktar and his two accomplices caught up with him and attacked him with sharp weapons. Hearing my screams, locals rushed to the scene, causing the assailants to flee. We took Jalal to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.” Anwara Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Sohel Ahmed confirmed the incident, saying that a fish trader was hacked to death early this morning. Police have arrested one suspect. Further details will be known after investigation. The body will be handed over to the family after the autopsy, and a case is being processed, he said. In another incident on Saturday night, day laborer Ibrahim was stabbed to death by robbers in Dohazari, Chandanaish, Satkania upazila. Ibrahim, the son of the late Siraj Mia from Lama upazila in Bandarban, was a father of one and worked as a day laborer in Kaliash, Satkania. Tourist goes missing while taking bath in Kishoreganj haor Police reports indicate that Ibrahim boarded a CNG-driven auto-rickshaw from Dohazari bus station. When they reached the BOC Mor Bridge area in Dohazari, robbers on a motorcycle intercepted the auto-rickshaw. They assaulted the driver and Ibrahim, stabbing Ibrahim in the chest when he resisted their attempt to snatch his mobile phone. Local residents rushed him to a nearby private hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Satkania Police Station SI Md. Riaz Uddin said that the body has been sent to Chattogram Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. A case has been filed regarding the incident.

The largest state-owned fertilizer factory in Sylhet, Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited (SFCL), has ceased production for four months now, caused by a gas shortage. The production halt costs the government approximately TK 4.5 crore daily. Neither factory authorities, nor the government, are able to provide any specific date till today, for when production will resume. The SFCL requires 45 million cubic feet of gas daily for fertilizer production. However, gas supply to the factory was cut off on March 12th due to shortages, forcing production to halt. Over the past four months, the government has incurred a loss of Tk 523.6 crore due to this shutdown, claim factory sources. There is also a growing concern about the factory's machinery gathering rust and becoming inoperative, due to the prolonged inactivity. Several workers at the factory mentioned that it briefly reopened for two days a month ago, but production was halted again due to machinery issues arising from the extended shutdown. Leaders of the Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory Workers and Employees Union held a discussion with journalists at the office of Fenchuganj Upazila Parishad Chairman Ashfakul Islam Sabbir regarding this issue on Thursday afternoon. Raju Ahmed Munna, the General Secretary of the Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory Workers and Employees Union, stated that production at the factory has been suspended due to the gas crisis. The prolonged shutdown has left the workers and employees in despair, particularly those who rely on daily wages. He further added that Fenchuganj is only 25 kilometers away from Sylhet, where gas has been found in Kailashtila, with a daily extraction of 21 million cubic feet. Despite the availability of gas in Sylhet, the country’s largest urea fertilizer factory remains closed. Repeated attempts to contact Gopal Chandra Ghosh, the Managing Director of Shahjalal Fertilizer Company, for comments on this issue were unsuccessful. Ashfakul Islam Sabbir, the Upazila Parishad Chairman, commented that the suspension of natural gas supply, the primary raw material for fertilizer production, has halted production at the factory. This poses a risk to the factory’s various chemicals, catalysts, and advanced machinery. The shutdown has also sparked frustration among the workers' union and local residents. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone for the construction of the fertilizer factory, at a cost of over Tk 5409 crore, in 2012. The factory commenced production on March 6, 2016. For the 2023-24 fiscal, the production target was set at 380,000 metric tons, of which it had produced 238,812 metric tons till March 11, the day before it was forced to shut down.

An eight-year-old madrasa student died after being run over by a pickup truck in Gowainghat upazila of Sylhet on Saturday afternoon.  Gowainghat Police Station Inspector (investigation) Mehedi Hasan Sumon confirmed the matter. The deceased, Zobayer Ahmed, was the son of Rahim Uddin of Abdul Mahal village in West Alirgaon union of the upazila and a student at the local Abdul Mahal Madrasa. According to locals, Zobayer was crushed under the pickup truck while crossing the road in front of the madrasa on the Gowainghat-Sarighat main road after the class. He died on the spot. On information, Gowainghat police rushed to the spot and recovered the body, said the inspector. The body was sent to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.  The pickup truck has been seized, but the driver fled the scene, added the police official.

As the effects of the second round of flooding were just beginning to subside, heavy rainfall and water from the upstream have once again inundated fresh areas in Sunamganj. Although rainfall decreased from Friday night, leading to a slight drop in water levels, new areas in the low-lying regions of Bishwambharpur and Tahirpur upazilas have been submerged due to upstream waters. The Water Development Board reported that as of 9 am on Saturday, water level at the Shologhor point in Sunamganj town was flowing 13 centimeters below the danger level. Due to the relatively lower rainfall, the water level at the Shologhar point of the Surma River in the municipal town has decreased by 39 centimeters. Despite the decrease in the Surma River’s water level, road communication remains severed as the Tahirpur-Sunamganj road is still underwater. Jamuna swelling again, flowing over red mark in Sirajganj Rising water level in the Boulai River has caused rapid water flow over rural roads in Chiksa and Hosenpur villages in Tahirpur Sadar Union towards the haor, halting vehicle movement. The prolonged flooding has severely impacted residents' lives and livelihoods.  Abdul Nur, a resident of Sadar upazila, said, “We have no place to stay due to the floodwaters. There's nothing left in the house to eat.” “I haven't been able to work for a long time. Almost everyone in our village is in the same situation. No one is at peace,” he added. Faisal Ahmed, a resident of Tahirpur upazila, said, “We are completely exhausted from the floodwaters every couple of days. We don’t know when we will get relief from the floods.” “All our household items are getting ruined. I haven't been able to take my CNG auto-rickshaw out of the house for three days. It's submerged in water. I'm worried about how much it will cost to fix the vehicle after the flood subsides and where I will get the money,” he added. Over 1 lakh people stranded in Sunamganj's third wave of floods Mamun Howladar, executive engineer of the Sunamganj Water Development Board, said, "Due to the rainfall in Sunamganj and Cherapunji in India, the water level in the Surma River has flowed above the danger level. Although the water level in the river has decreased significantly due to reduced rainfall last night, the flood situation will worsen again if it rains.”

Police recovered the body of a 40-year-old patient from the bathroom of the medicine ward of Shariatpur Sadar Hospital on Saturday morning after he had been missing for two days. Additional Superintendent of Shariatpur Police, Ahsan Habib, confirmed the matter. The deceased was identified as Babul Bepari, son of Ali Bepari, from the Purba Toyka area of Muladi upazila, Barishal. Local BNP leader dies in Chattogram road crash According to the patient's relatives and hospital sources, Babul was admitted to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital on Thursday afternoon with breathing difficulties. He was accompanied by his mother, Rokeya Begum. Late at night, Rokeya Begum fell asleep and woke up the next day to find her son missing from his bed. She searched for him in the hospital and informed the nurses about the matter.  However, as he remained missing, Rokeya Begum returned to their village home on Friday morning. She came back to the hospital in the afternoon to continue the search for her son. On Saturday morning, other patients found Babul lying on the bathroom floor and informed the hospital authorities. Later, police came and recovered the body. Mentally unstable woman kills her two children in Madaripur: Police "My uncle had been missing since Thursday night. If he went to the bathroom and died, then the bathroom wasn't cleaned for two days. If it had been cleaned, we would have found him earlier. Instead of searching for him, they sent my grandmother home, saying he was missing. We demand justice for this incident,” said Babul’s niece, Hena Akhter. The body was sent for an autopsy, the Addl SP said. “No written complaint has been filed by the victim's family. Legal action will be taken if a complaint is filed,” added the police official.

Two people died and another was injured after falling sick in a septic tank at Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia on Saturday. Mahabubur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Daulatpur Police Station, confirmed the matter. The deceased were identified as Liton Hossain, 30, a cleaner, and Rajon Hossain, 30, a neighbour who went to rescue Liton. The injured is Rajon’s younger brother, Mizan Hossain, 18. Tourist goes missing while taking bath in Kishoreganj haor This incident occurred at the residence of Mosharraf Hossen of Bagowan village in Mathurapur union around 8:00 am on Saturday.  Later, locals and fire service members rescued them and took them to Daulatpur Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared Liton and Rajon dead.   Four die in truck-autorickshaw collision in Bogura 'In the morning, Liton, who was working in the septic tank next to our house, started having difficulty breathing. My brother went to rescue him. Later, my brother also started having breathing difficulties. Then, I was injured while trying to rescue my brother. Later, we were rescued and taken to the hospital,” said Mizan. The bodies of the deceased were sent to Kushtia Sadar Hospital for autopsy, said the OC.

An Indian citizen was dead and twelve people were injured in a head-on-collision between two buses on Dhaka-Khulna highway at Faltita in Fakirhat upazila of Bagerhat district. The deceased was identified as Sridhar Ganguly, 45, son of Bheem Ganguli of Birbhum upazila in West Bengal. Sheikh Nuruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Mollahat Highway Police camp, said the Dhaka-bound ‘Dola Paribahan’ bus plunged into a roadside ditch after colliding head-on with Benapole-bound ‘Rajib Paribahan’ bus, leaving one dead on the spot and 12 others injured. Tourist goes missing while taking bath in Kishoreganj haor The injured were taken to different hospitals. Sridhar Ganguly, an Indian national, came to his ancestral home at Debgram of Kotalipara upazila in Gopalganj district on June 16. He met with the tragic accident while returning to India. Local BNP leader dies in Chattogram road crash