United News of Bangladesh

Two students been injured after a coconut tree fell on a classroom of a kindergarten in Kalia municipality of Narail district on Wednesday. The incident occurred at Shamsunnahar Kindergarten in Chhoto Kalia around 10:00am when a sudden storm swept through the area. The injured students are Siam Sheikh, 11, son of Nur Jamal of Chhoto Kalia village, and Mazedul Islam, 9, son of Zahir Sheikh of Ramnagar village. Man killed in Narail road accident Witnesses said the accident took place while classes were ongoing. Strong winds during the storm caused a decayed and risky coconut tree standing near the school premises to collapse onto the classroom roof. The impact left two students injured, triggering panic among other students present in the classroom. Locals rushed to the spot and rescued the injured students, later taking them to Kalia Upazila Health Complex. Siam Sheikh was later referred to Khulna Medical College Hospital. Kalia Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Jinnatul Islam said legal action will be taken if any negligence is found. Meanwhile, guardians and locals have alleged negligence on the part of the school authorities for failing to remove or trim the risky tree despite long-standing danger.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members have arrested a young man for allegedly raping a schoolgirl in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur by luring her with a promise of marriage. The arrestee was identified as Nur Amin, 27, son of Md Fazlul Haque of Chhoto Rasulpur area of the upazila. RAB-13 Senior Assistant Director (Media) Biplob Kumar Goswami said they arrested the accused during a drive on Tuesday night near the main gate of Rangpur Medical College Hospital. According to RAB, the victim is a student of Class-X. The accused first came in contact with her during a cousin’s wedding ceremony, where they exchanged mobile numbers. On January 11, Nur Amin allegedly took the victim to the vacant house of his acquaintance Golam Rabbani and raped her, promising marriage. After the incident, when the victim asked him about marriage, he started delaying and later refused to marry her. Following the incident, the victim filed a case on March 25 with Pirganj Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, accusing him of rape under the pretext of marriage. After the case was filed, the accused went into hiding.

A leader of banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) was denied parole following the death of his father in Barishal on Wednesday, forcing family members to take the body to the jail gate for a final father-son meeting.  Ahsan Shah Rukh, president of Ward No. 15 unit of the BCL in Barishal city, is currently in jail after being arrested earlier this month. His father Abul Bashar died around 11:30am on Wednesday. Awami League activists stage sudden protest in Barishal As parole was not granted, relatives carried Bashar’s body to the Barishal jail gate, where Shah Rukh was allowed to see his father for the last time. Family members and Shah Rukh’s friend Al Amin said this was the third time he had been arrested. They alleged that the family sought parole from the Deputy Commissioner’s office, but it was not granted. “When we managed to meet the Additional Deputy Commissioner after waiting for one hour, we were told parole would not be possible and that he could only meet at the jail gate,” Al Amin said. He also alleged that only three people were allowed to accompany the body to the jail gate. Advocate Md Mizanur Rahman Mintu, who filed the parole application, said they had formally applied for temporary release, but the Additional Deputy Commissioner informed them that parole could not be granted and suggested arranging the meeting at the jail gate instead. Several videos of the emotional encounter later went viral on social media. Attempts to reach Deputy Commissioner Md Khairul Alam Shumon for comment were unsuccessful as he did not receive calls. However, Additional District Magistrate Upoma Farisa said the parole application had been submitted to the Deputy Commissioner. “I informed the DC of the matter and sent him the application via WhatsApp as he was outside the office. He decided that the meeting would take place at the jail gate instead of granting parole. I later informed the family of that decision,” she said.

Four people, including a woman, were killed in separate lightning strikes in Kalapara and Rangabali upazilas of Patuakhali on Wednesday. The incidents occurred at different times of the day, police said. In addition, at least 50 cattle heads have been killed after being struck by thunderstorm in different areas of the district over the past two days, according to locals. At least 9 killed in lightning strikes across multiple districts Zahir Uddin, 28, was killed while working in a cornfield in Tarikata village of Kalapara upazila around 1:00pm. Setara Begum, 55, of Purba Chakamaiya village in the same upazila, died after being struck by lightning while going to feed her cows around 2:00pm. Khalek Hawlader, 55, of Shantipur village in upazila, was also killed around the same time while returning home from a field with his cattle. Earlier, around 9am, Sourav Majumdar, 22, was killed after being struck by thunderstorm while tying a cow in a field in Charganga village of Rangabali upazila. Nazrul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kalapara Police Station, said they were collecting details from the victims’ families.

A woman was allegedly raped after her husband was beaten and injured in Charghat upazila of Rajshahi early Wednesday. The incident took place near the Sardah Railway Station area of the upazila. The couple, who earn their livelihood by selling popcorn on trains and at railway stations, also reportedly had their earnings stolen during the incident. Family card promise used to lure woman, BNP leader accused of rape attempt The victim's husband filed a case against a man named Ashraful Islam, 35, at Charghat Police Station on Wednesday afternoon. The accused is a resident of Jagirpara village under Haldagachhi in the upazila. Victims said that they left home on Tuesday afternoon to sell popcorn on trains as usual. After working throughout the day at different stations, they got off the Dhaka-bound Dhaka Mail train at Sardah station around 1 am. They later stopped at a nearby tea stall for food when the accused suddenly attacked them with a stick and a sharp weapon. The husband was beaten and seriously injured, and their sales money was snatched. The husband said that, seeing the attacker armed with a knife, he fled the scene to save his life. The accused then allegedly dragged the woman to a nearby forest and raped her. He further said that his wife screamed during the attack, but no one came forward initially. After about 45 minutes, locals rescued her. Sardah Station Master Iqbal Kabir said the incident occurred near the station late at night, but railway authorities were not immediately aware. Police were later informed. Charghat Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abdul Malek said a case has been filed and multiple police teams are working to arrest the accused.

The southern districts of the country, including Bagerhat, experienced continuous rainfall on Wednesday morning following a prolonged heatwave, bringing both relief and concern for residents and farmers alike. Rain began around 10 am and continued until about 11:30 am across Bagerhat and surrounding areas. The downpour, accompanied by occasional gusty winds and thunder, led to waterlogging on several city roads including Sadhana More, Shaltala, Rahater More, Kharaddar other low-lying areas. According to the Bagerhat Agriculture Department, 40 millimeters of rainfall was recorded within one and a half hours. Officials said that the sudden rainfall and gusty winds damaged ripe paddy in several areas, flattening some crops in the fields. Farmers in upazilas such as Kachua and Morelganj reported that harvested and standing ripe paddy submerged in water suffered visible damage due to the stormy weather. Many expressed concern that already harvested crops left in fields could be further affected if the rain continues. Agriculture officials said they are conducting field visits in various parts of the district, including Fakirhat and Mollahat, to assess the extent of the damage. Deputy Director of the Bagerhat District Agricultural Extension Department, Md. Motahar Hossain, said that paddy cultivation this season covered 68,171 hectares in the district, with harvesting completed on around 12,000 hectares. Approximately 5,000 hectares of harvested paddy remain stored in fields and are at risk of damage due to continued rainfall. Motahar Hossain also said there has been a bumper harvest of Boro paddy in Bagerhat this year. The target was to produce 5.6 metric tonnes of paddy per hectare of land, but the yield has reached 7 tonnes per hectare. Despite the agricultural concerns, the rain brought relief from the recent extreme heat, during which temperatures had reached 37.4°C. The maximum temperature in Mongla was recorded at 30.7°C on Wednesday. Residents described a noticeable drop in heat and more comfortable weather conditions following the rainfall, although waterlogging continued to disrupt daily movement in several parts of the town. Officials from the Mongla Meteorological Office reported that 32 millimeters of rainfall were recorded in 24 hours till 3pm on Wednesday. They also noted wind speeds of 35–38 km/h and said rain is likely to continue in several parts of the country over the next few days. In response to changing weather conditions, the Meteorological Department advised maintaining local warning signal number 3 at four seaports, including Mongla. With rivers such as the Bhairab and Daratana flowing at higher-than-normal levels and tidal influence increasing water flow, authorities are closely monitoring the situation.

At least 20 passengers were injured when a passenger bus veered off the road and fell into a ditch in Tungipara upazila of Gopalganj on Wednesday. The accident occurred around noon at Maleker Bazar area on the Gopalganj–Pirojpur regional highway. Shiplu Ahmed, Deputy Assistant Director of Gopalganj Fire Service, confirmed the incident. According to fire service officials, the incident took place when a Dhaka-bound bus of Emad Paribahan, coming from Pirojpur, attempted to overtake another passenger bus of Welcome Paribahan at high speed. The driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to plunge into a roadside ditch. At least 20 passengers were injured in the crash. Police and fire service personnel rushed to the scene after being informed and rescued the injured passengers, who were taken to Gopalganj 250-bed General Hospital and Tungipara Upazila Health Complex for treatment.

A 60-year-old woman was killed and two children were injured after a wall collapsed due to heavy rainfall in Karnaphuli upazila of Chattogram on Wednesday afternoon. The deceased was identified as Delowara Begum, wife of late Fazal Ahmed, a resident of Shikalbaha Masterhat area. Family members said a roadside wall collapsed following heavy rain around 4 pm , trapping Delowara underneath. Mohammad Shamiur Rahman, in-charge of Shikalbaha police outpost, said Delowara was rushed to Chattogram Medical College Hospital in critical condition where she later died. Officer-in-Charge of Karnaphuli Police Station Md Shahinur Alam said police have been sent to both the scene and the hospital after receiving information about the incident. Necessary legal steps will be taken in this regard, he added.

A 28-year-old man was killed after being struck by lightning while fishing in the Rangsa River in Tarakanda upazila of Mymensingh on Wednesday. Victim Saddam Hossain was the son of Hamed Ali of the same village. He earned his livelihood through fishing and farming. The incident took place in the afternoon in the Chaurabari area of Gabargati village in Galagaon union of the upazila, said Galagaon Union Parishad acting chairman Yasin Ali. Quoting locals, police said Saddam Hossain went fishing in the Rangsa River near his house around 1:30 pm. He was struck by lightning during rain and died on the spot. Later, his neighbors and relatives recovered his body and brought it home. Md. Tanbir Ahmed, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Tarakanda Police Station, said police visited the scene and a case of unnatural death (UD) is under process.

At least five houses were completely damaged and over 50 others were partially damaged as a Nor’wester swept through Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali district on Tuesday afternoon. The storm, accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds, hit Nababganj and Solimpur villages under Nilganj union in the afternoon, damaging houses and uprooting hundreds of trees. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded 185 millimetres of rainfall in Patuakhali district in the 24 hours until 10am Wednesday. Sea conditions remained rough, while fishing trawlers stayed in safe shelter. Kalapara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kawsar Hamid said lists of the affected families are being prepared and higher authorities have been informed for necessary assistance.