district
Tenth grader ‘kills self’ in Chandpur
A student of class X allegedly comitted suicide by hanging herself on Monday at Baburhat in Chandpur 'as her family refused to let her marry the boy she had an affair with'.
The deceased was Karima Aktar,16, a student of Baburhat High School and daughter of Kamal Hossain Mal, of ward-14 in Chandpur municipality.
Karima’s father Kamal Hossain said in the morning they found Karima’s room locked from inside for a longtime and thetstarted calling her.
Getting no reply, they broke open the door and found her body hanging from the ceiling.
Read: Autorickshaw driver hacked dead in Ctg
Kamal Hossain said his daughter was upset for a few days as they refused to let her marry the boy she had chosen as she was too young and the boy was a drug addict.
Enamul Haque Chowdhury, Inspector (intelligence) of Chandpur Model police station saidinformed by the family they recovered the body and sent it for an autopsy.
He said they have collected some papers as evidence from Karima’s room.
Autorickshaw driver hacked dead in Ctg
An 18-year old autorickshaw driver was hacked to death at Hathazari upazila in Chattogram on Monday.
The deceased was Tarek, hailing from Noakhali. He used to live in a rented house in Signboard area of the upazila.
Also read: Rohingya boatman hacked to death in Cox's Bazar
According to locals, Tarek’s throat-slit body was lying on Dataram Road in Elite City near Chowdhury Hat area on Monday night.
Informed by locals the body was recovered from the spot around 9 pm and was sent for an autopsy, said Md Sohrawardy, In- charge of Madunaghat police outpost.
The cause of the death could not be known yet and Hathazari police station is investigating the matter, he said.
Also read: RMG worker hacked to death in N'ganj
Will try to make SUST 100% student-friendly: VC Farid Uddin
Making his first public appearance of note since students started a campaign to remove him, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) Vice Chancellor Farid Uddin Ahmed on Monday pledged to make the institution "100% student-friendly".
SUST VC said this while attending a celebration for the 31st founding anniversary of SUST at Gol Chattar area in the campus.
He said, ”We have come out of the things that were embarrassing for the university with everyone’s joint effort and regained our honour. SUST has 99.99 percent of good governance that a university should have.”
Also read: SUST to resume classes online from Tuesday
“Students can make mistakes but teachers will have to be forgiving towards them. We teachers will always support the students,” he added.
Missing schoolboy’s body recovered in Chuadanga
Police recovered the decomposed body of a third grader, who had gone missing 25 days ago, from an old grave at Taltala Bara graveyard in Chuadanga early Monday.
The deceased was identified as Abu Huraira, son of Abdul Barek of Chuadanga town. He was a student of Chuadanga VJ Govt High School.
Read: Bagerhat multiple trawler tragedy: One more body fished out, toll touches 7
Md Mohsin, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chuadanga Sadar Police Station, said the schoolboy went missing on January 19 after going out for tuition.
His father Abdul Barek filed a case at the Chuadanga Sadar Police Station against five people on January 25. Police arrested his private tutor Ranju and his brother Manju in this connection.
Later on Sunday evening, police arrested two others including Abdul Momin, the deceased's neighbour.
Read: Newborn’s body recovered in city
Based on the arrestees' information, police recovered the decomposed body of Huraira from an old grave in Taltola Bara graveyard in Chuadanga around 2am on Monday, said Sukhendu Basu, officer-in-charge (OC-Operation) of Chuadanga Police Station.
The body was sent to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital morgue, said OC Sukhendu.
Investigation is underway in this regard, he added.
49 BNP activists land in jail for vandalising police vehicle in Tangail
A Tangail court on Sunday sent 49 BNP activists of Sakhipur upazila to jail in a case filed over vandalising police vehicles in 2018.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Farzana Hasnat passed the order after rejecting the bail appeal placed by the accused.
According to the case complaint, on December 18, 2018, some BNP activists attacked a patrolling police vehicle and vandalised the Barachowna area in the upazila.
Also read: DB to investigate case against BNP leader Fakhrul, 14 others
Next day, police filed a case at Sakhipur police station in this regard against 194 leaders and activists of BNP.
On October 30,2020, police submitted a chargesheet against 129 people in this case.
On Sunday 59 of the accused appealed for bail and the court approved 10 of them considering their sickness and being students.
Also read: Filing ‘fictitious’ cases now a regular matter: Fakhrul
Outgoing president of the upazila BNP Shahjahan Saju remarked this case as fictitious and demanded immediate release of the accused.
Sundarbans Day: Biodiversity under threat as salinity increases
'Sundarbans Day' will be observed on Monday as every year since 2002 with an appeal to save the largest mangrove forest in the world.
Virtual discussions have been organized in Bagerhat, Khulna, Pirojpur, Satkhira and Barguna due to covid situations like last year.
Rafiqul Islam Khokon, executive director of a private development agency 'Rupantor', said the day will be observed with the slogan 'Love the Sundarbans on the World Valentine's Day'.
This time alternative employment for the people dependent on the Sundarbans will be focused on in this event. There is human pressure on forests for livelihood. Local people adjacent to the forest should be involved in different activities to protect the forest, said Chief Forest Conservator Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury.
Also read: Tiger recovered from Sundarbans canal most likely died of natural causes
Sundarbans, a World Heritage site, hosts a complex network of tidal waterways. The forest presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes and many of its flora and fauna are unique to this region.
However, salinity in the Sundarbans is increasing due to climate change. Besides, the flow of water in the rivers and canals of the forest is decreasing gradually and several canals of the forest have been filled with silt.
Sundari trees are dying due to excessive salinity. Wildlife is also being affected by various diseases by consuming salt water. In the Sundarbans, wild animals are being hunted and people do fishing by spraying pesticides in rivers and canals which threaten the biodiversity of the Sundarbans.
According to various sources, there are 450 small and big rivers-canals in the Sundarbans. Due to lack of water flow, several small and big canal beds in the Sundarbans have been filled with silt. A variety of wild animals, including tigers and deer, leave the Sundarbans, cross canals, and enter the locality very often and lose their lives.
Muhammad Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO) of the Sundarbans East Division, said over 20 canals in the area under the Sundarbans East Division have been filled with silt. Besides, a 30 km area of Bhola river from Jaymoni to Das Bharani, Kharma canal and Aruarber canal has been filled.
In this situation, various demands have been raised at different times to protect the Sundarbans, including celebrating 'Sundarbans Day' nationally. There is also a demand for the formation of a separate ministry for the Sundarbans.
Also read: Govt withdraws ban on tourist launch movement in Sundarbans
Executive Director of Sundarbans Academy Anwarul Qadir said that they have been demanding the formation of a separate ministry for the management of the Sundarbans to conserve the Sundarbans and improve the living standards of the people living near the forest. He is hopeful that if their demands are met, the fortunes of the forest and its people will improve.
Rafiqul Islam Khokon, executive director of 'Rupantor', said the first National Sundarbans Conference in Khulna ended on 14 February 2001 with the 'Sundarbans Declaration'.
Some 80 organizations including Rupantar, Khulna University, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) jointly organized that conference.
At the conference, it was decided to observe 'Sundarbans Day' on February 14, and asked the government to observe 'Sundarbans Day' nationally.
Since 2002, Sundarbans Academy, Sundarbans Division, various press clubs and various organizations have been observing 'Sundarbans Day' on 14th February in the districts adjoining the Sundarbans.
In the eighteenth century, the area of the Sundarbans was almost double that of today. In 1878, the Sundarbans was declared a protected forest. The Unesco Commission of the United Nations declared three Sundarbans sanctuaries as World Heritage Sites in 1997.
In 2017, the government expanded the sanctuary area in the Sundarbans. Out of the total forest area of 6,01,700 hectares, now the sanctuary area is 3,17,900 hectares. Earlier it was only 1,39,700 hectares.
It has 375 species of wild animals, the Royal Bengal Tiger and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile, the Indian python, and the gangetic dolphins.
7-foot long python rescued from pond in Barishal
A seven-foot long python was rescued while people were fishing in a pond in Barishal on Saturday.
The residents of ward 26 of Barishal city handed over the python to the Forest Department on Sunday noon, said Gazi Mohammad Abul Bashar, Forest Officer of Barishal Sadar upazila.
Jayanata Shil, a local, said while fishing in a pond at Natunhat area a youth named Abul Kalam caught the python thinking it was a fish.
Also raed: Rescued python released in Sundarbans
“These local species of python usually live in the Sundarbans. This one might have come here through the rivers,” said forest officer Gazi Mohammad.
The python, aged around 8 years, will be released in the Sundarbans as the wildlife department of Khulna has been informed, he said.
Also raed: Python released in Kaptai National Park
Rohingya boatman hacked to death in Cox's Bazar
A Rohingya boatman was hacked to death in a clash between two groups of Rohingyas over an internal dispute at Ukhiya camp in Cox's Bazar on Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Abul Kalam, a resident of Kutupalong Camp-2.
Read: 7 Rohingyas rescued while being trafficked to India, 1 held
SP Naimul Haque, commander of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn), said Abul Kalam was hacked in a clash between two groups of Rohingyas at Kutupalong Camp-2 on Sunday morning. Two other Rohingyas Md Amin and Md Zafar were injured in the clash.
On information, a team from Balurmath police camp rushed Abul Kalam to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Legal action will be taken after investigating those involved in the incident, said SP Naimul.
Cow smuggler allegedly shot dead by BSF at Rowmari border
A Bangladeshi youth was killed after Indian Border Security Force (BSF) fired on a group of suspected cow smugglers at Rowmari border in the district, local villagers said on Sunday.
The deceased was Faridul Islam, 21, son of Mujibor Rahman from Harindhara village in Rowmari upazila, confirmed his family.
Read: BSF hands over 29 Bangladesh nationals to BGB as goodwill gesture in last 1 year
According to locals, at early hours on Sunday Faridul along with some 30 alleged cow smugglers gathered near pillar-1057-3-ST of Purba kauarchar border in Datbhanga union when some BSF members from the other side of the border fired at them.
Faridul died on the spot and BSF members took his body, said the locals.
Read: Cattle trader shot dead ‘by BSF’ along Naogaon border
Faridul’s brother-in-law Shahid Mowla said he requested Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to bring the body from the BSF and hand over to the family.
“We are talking with BSF in this regard but they didn’t inform us yet when they will hand over the body,” said Subedar Ali Ansar, Company Commander of Jamalpur battalion 35 of Datbhanga BGB camp.
Aunt, niece raped in Ctg, 2 held
Two youths have been arrested for raping a woman and her niece after abducting them from Aochia Union of Chattogram's Satkania upazila on Monday.
Police arrested Md. Alamgir (21), son of late Mir Ahmed of South Kanchna Bakshirkhil area of Kanchana Union and Mezbah Uddin Prakash Kalu (20) son of Md. Yunus of Tudi Aochia Union of the same upazila on Friday night in connection with the incident.
Confirming the matter, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Satkania Police Station Abdul Jalil said the youths were arrested immediately after the victim's (niece) father filed a rape case with the police station on Friday night.
The accused were sent to court on Saturday afternoon, he added.
READ: 30-year-old rapes schoolgirl in Magura, held
According to the case statement, when the victims went to a shop on Monday afternoon Alamgir and Mezbah Uddin picked them up and took them near Arif's chicken farm in secluded hilly area at Alinagar in Aochia Union where they raped them overnight and fled the spot.
The victims returned home next morning and disclosed the incident.
Family members took them to Satkania Upazila Health Complex for primary treatment. Later they were taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital.