Satkhira, Mar 18 (UNB) – The Shyamnagar Upazila field office of World Vision Bangladesh in Fultola was destroyed by a fire early Monday.

Robertson, chief of Shyamnagar area World Vision, said the guards first heard sounds of sparks around 2am followed by a loud blast.

A firefighting team rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire.

The fire gutted 23 motorcycles, six bicycles, two air-conditioners and furniture worth an estimated Tk 1.50 crore.

Police have visited the site.

Dhaka, Mar 18 (UNB) – Customs officials detained two female crews of Saudi Arabian Airlines along with 36 gold bars from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport early Monday.

The two female crews are Saima Akhter and Farzana Afrose.

The Saudi Airlines flight SV-802 reached at the airport at 2am. With the help of Armed Police Battalion (APBn), the Customs team recovered 26 gold bars from Saima and ten from Farzana hidden inside their undergarments.

Bagerhat, Mar 17 (UNB) – Police recovered the body of a 2-and-half-month baby boy who was kidnapped for ransom on March 11, from inside a toilet of a fish enclosure at Bisharighat village in Morrelganj upazila on Sunday.

The victim was identified as Abdullah, son of Sirajul Islam Sohag Talukder of the area.

Police arrested the mastermind of the kidnaping bid Hridoy alias Rahat Chaprashi, 22, from Dhaka over an abduction case on Saturday. After gleaning information from him, police recovered the infant’s body from the toilet on Sunday noon, said Pankaj Sharan, Superintendent of Bagerhat Police. 

According to case statement, on the early hours of March 11, the criminals entered Shohag’s house cutting grill of the window while the child was sleeping with his parents.
When its mother woke up around 4:30am, she did not find her child and found the window open.
A cell phone also could not be found.

In that morning, the miscreants demanded Tk 5 lakh of a relative of the child over the missing cell phone.

Later, victim’s father Shohag filed an abduction case with Morrelganj Police Station. Police on Wednesday last arrested Hridoy’s mother Nasima Beg, 52, sister Abir Begum, 14, and brothers Mahiuddin Chaprashi, 35, Faijul Chaprashi, 25, Deloar Hossain, 30, and Rubel in this connection. 

After getting information from the arrestees, police arrested Hridoy from Dhaka’s Kallyanpur area. 

The body was sent to Bagerhat Sadar Hospital for autopsy, said the police super, adding that police will seek remand to Hridoy after producing him before it soon. 
 

Dhaka, Mar 16 (UNB) - Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka was ranked second worst city in the Air Quality Index (AQI) on Sunday.

Dhaka had a score of 208 at 8:47pm, indicating that the air quality was very unhealthy.

A numerical value between 151 and 200 indicates that everyone may begin to experience health effects. Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.

Air quality between 201 and 300 is classified as ‘very unhealthy’. If the score is between 301 and 500, it is classified as ‘hazardous’.

Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar was on the top of the table with a score of 235.

The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, tells people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.

Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, has been grappling with air pollution for a long time. 

The air quality generally worsens during summer and shows signs of improvement in monsoon when the dust settles.

Benapole, Mar 17 (UNB) – Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained two suspected hundi traders along with Tk 7 lakh from Putkhali area here on Sunday noon.

The detainees are Jakir Hossain, son of Arshaf Ali of Tukhali village of Sharsha upazila, and Selina Khatun, wife of Ashanur Rahman of the same village. 

Acting on a tip-off, a BGB team conducted a drive in the bordering area and detained the two hundi traders along with the money, said Lt Col Imran Ullah Sarker, commanding officer of BGB-21 Battalion.

Later, they were handed over to Benapole Port Police Station, the commander added.