United News of Bangladesh

A man was killed in a lightning strike while his toddler daughter narrowly escaped in Rajbari Sadar upazila on Wednesday morning. The deceased was identified as Sumon Mondal,35, son of Siddiq Mondal of Mojjatkol village under Mizanpur union. When Sumon was heading to a nearby shop carrying his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Safia in his arms  a lightning strike hit them, causing Sumon to collapse on the spot. The child was thrown from his arms but survived without serious injury. Locals rescued them and took Sumon to Rajbari Sadar Hospital where doctors at the emergency department declared him dead. The child is in stable condition now. Mizampur Union Parishad administrator and Sadar upazila agriculture officer Md. Jony Khan said a pall of grief has descended on the area following the tragic death.

Three people including a child were killed and at least 11 others injured in a collision between a truck and a microbus in Bansher Tal area in Nageshwari upazila of Kurigram late Tuesday night. The deceased were identified as Sadia Akter, 7, daughter of Shamim Mia, Nur Nabi, 28, son of Zahidul Islam, and Limon, 38, the driver of the microbus. All were residents of different areas in Bhurungamari upazila. Officer-in-Charge of Nageshwari Police Station Abdullah Hil Zaman said the truck coming from Bhurungamari collided with the microbus heading from Kurigram around 11:30 pm: leaving two people on the spot. Another died after being taken to a local hospital. Several of the injured were in critical condition and sent to Rangpur Medical College Hospital for advance treatment. Police and fire service personnel rushed to the scene and carried out rescue operations. The OC said they are working to determine the cause of the accident.

Low-lying areas of the port city went under water on Tuesday after just a few hours of rain, causing widespread suffering for residents even before the monsoon season begins. Waterlogging persisted throughout the day, leaving key areas, including Probortok Mor, Chawkbazar and Agrabad, submerged under knee-to-waist-deep water, disrupting normal life. Continuous rainfall from the morning triggered severe waterlogging across the city, submerging roads in several areas and bringing traffic to a near standstill. An ambulance carrying a patient to Chattogram Medical College Hospital got stuck in waist-deep water around noon. Morshedul Alam, a relative of the patient, expressed frustration, saying the hospital was only a few hundred yards away but they remained stranded for over half an hour.

A devastating fire broke out at a date warehouse in Bogura town on Tuesday afternoon, causing extensive damage to goods and equipment. The incident occurred around 4:00 pm at a warehouse of Messrs Sayem Traders in the Jamilnagar area, in front of Azizul Haque College. On information, two units of Fire Service and Civil Defence rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after about 30 minutes of effort. According to local sources, the fire started suddenly in the afternoon and spread rapidly across the warehouse. Members of Bogura Sadar Police Station were also present at the spot. Dr Raihan, elder son of the owner of Sayem Traders, said dates imported from abroad and different parts of the country were sorted and repackaged at the warehouse. He added that empty cartons worth around Tk 60–70 lac stored on the roof were destroyed in the fire. More than one container of imported dates, two packaging machines and a pickup van were completely gutted, while another vehicle was partially damaged. The total loss is estimated to exceed Tk 2.5 cr, he said. Assistant Director of Bogura Fire Service Rafiquzzaman said two units worked to bring the fire under control. The cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed.

A nor’wester lashed Matiranga and Guimara upazilas of Khagrachhari on Tuesday, snapping power supply to thousands of residents and severing road communication with Dhaka and Chattogram. The storm which began around 11:30am uprooted numerous big trees, damaged homes, crops and infrastructure. According to locals, a 4-kilometre stretch of the Khagrachhari–Chattogram road — from Muslim Para to Rasulpur and Bailyachhari Budung Para was blocked after large trees fell across the road. Action to be taken against those involved in Khagrachhari hill cutting: Probe body chief

A Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader has been temporarily relieved of his party post following allegations of attempting to rape a woman by luring her with the promise of a “family card” in Rangpur’s Mithapukur upazila. The accused, Enamul Haque, is the assistant organising secretary of Bhangni Union BNP under Mithapukur upazila. Mithapukur Upazila BNP President Golam Rabbani confirmed on Tuesday ,April 28, that Enamul has been temporarily relieved of his post following the incident. A press release was issued in this regard. 2 arrested over alleged gang-rape of teenage girl in Savar According to the complaint, the victim, the wife of a van driver from Thakurbari village under Bhangni Union, had earlier worked in favour of the BNP’s “Dhaner Shis” symbol during the national parliamentary election. During that time, she became acquainted with Enamul Haque. After the election, the BNP leader allegedly promised her a “family card” as a reward for her support in election-related work. On Saturday (April 25) around 12pm, Enamul reportedly visited the woman’s house to collect her mobile number for processing the family card. Taking advantage of the absence of other family members, he allegedly attempted to engage in indecent conversation and later tried to rape her by grabbing her, according to the victim. The woman said she managed to push him away and escaped. She further alleged that after the incident became known, the accused claimed that “no one can do anything against him.” She also said that Enamul had come to her house under the pretext of providing the family card after Eid and demanded justice for the incident, noting that her husband is a van driver and they are a poor family. However, Enamul Haque denied the allegations, claiming that no such incident took place and that he was being falsely implicated due to personal enmity. He, however, could not explain why he was being allegedly framed. Upazila BNP President Golam Rabbani said a probe committee has been formed and Enamul has been temporarily suspended from his party post. He added that if found guilty in the investigation, he will be permanently expelled. Mithapukur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Nuruzzaman said legal action will be taken if a written complaint is filed following investigation.

A woman was allegedly killed by her daughter in Jashore’s Keshabpur municipality late Monday night. The deceased was identified as Gouri Rani, 72, wife of late Kalipada Adhikari of Shahapara area in Keshabpur. According to local sources, Gouri’s daughter Dipti Adhikari, 48, wife of late Tarun Adhikari of Nagarghop area in neighbouring Monirampur upazila, had come to visit her mother three to four days ago. Dipti, who is reportedly mentally unstable. On Tuesday morning, Dipti’s brother-in-law Pabitra Adhikari, went to the house to take her back to her in-laws’ home. When he went upstairs, he found Gouri Rani lying dead on the floor, while Dipti was sitting naked in the bathroom nearby. Locals suspect that Dipti struck her mother on the forehead and back of the head with a kitchen cutting tool (boti) during the night, causing severe bleeding that led to her death on the spot. Parts of the sharp weapon were found lying beside the body. On information, police recovered the body on Tuesday afternoon and detained the accused daughter. Confirming the matter, Shahidul Islam, inspector of Keshabpur Police Station, said police also recovered parts of the cutting tool from the spot. He added that the accused is reportedly mentally unstable and legal steps are underway in this regard.

A woman was stabbed to death allegedly by her husband in Kanaighat upazila of Sylhet district early Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Farhana Begum, wife of Sohel Ahmed of Borobond Khanda village under Lakshmiprasad West union in the upazila. According to locals, Sohel used to inflict torture on Farhana, a mother of three, frequently. She went away to her parents’ house two days ago due to torture, they said. Woman stabbed to death ‘by husband’ in Dhaka On Monday, Farhana was staying at her maternal uncle’s house at Mohail village under Dorbost union. Later that night, Sohel and one of his cousins allegedly brought her back to his house in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw. Family members alleged that Farhana was stabbed around 2:00am on Tuesday, leaving her dead on the spot. Victim’s brother Selim Uddin alleged that Sohel was a drug addict and frequently assaulted Farhana. He said several local arbitration meetings had previously been held over the issue. Selim said Farhana often sought shelter at her parents’ home to escape the abuse. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Officer-in-Charge of Kanaighat Police Station Aminul Islam said police are conducting drives to arrest the accused.

Police in Brahmanbaria have arrested a convicted fugitive in a loan default case involving NCC Bank, following a special operation on Monday. The accused, Enamul Haque Bhuiyan, was arrested from the South Kalibari Mor area in Brahmanbaria town and later sent to district jail, police said. He is the son of late Alhaj Zahirul Haque Bhuiyan and owner of Messrs United Sanitary and Machinery, located at Kalibari Mor on T.A. Road in the district town. One arrested for demanding extortion money from foreign firm in Madhabdi Brahmanbaria Sadar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shahidul Islam confirmed the arrest, saying a police team conducted the drive based on secret information. A warrant for his arrest had been issued by the court in 2023, he added. According to bank and court sources, Enamul Haque Bhuiyan took a loan of Tk 2 crore from NCC Bank on September 11, 2012, but later defaulted on repayment, prompting the bank to file a case against him in 2015 with the Brahmanbaria Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. After a lengthy hearing, the court sentenced him to one year of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Tk 2,47,23,119 in the case. Following the verdict, a warrant was issued in 2023, and he had been on the run since then.

Torrential hill water has entered Eranbil (Ikrachai) haor in Sunamganj’s Madhyanagar upazila after a nearby rural road collapsed under pressure on Tuesday, raising fresh concerns for remaining paddy crops in the area. According to local sources, the surge of water flowing down from Netrokona’s Durgapur area increased the flow of the Monai River, which eventually caused a section of a rural road beside Hamidpur village to break. The breach allowed floodwater to rush into the haor. Agriculture department officials said the Ikrachai haor has a total of 114 hectares of cultivable land. Of this, farmers have already harvested paddy from about 40 hectares. However, due to the sudden flooding, crops on an estimated 5 to 10 hectares have been submerged. Farmers and local authorities are now scrambling to save the remaining standing paddy, which has become a major challenge. Confirming the incident, Madhyanagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sanjoy Ghosh said the broken structure was a rural road, not a Water Development Board embankment. “The pressure from the hill torrents coming from Durgapur, Netrokona, was so strong that a portion of the road could not withstand it and collapsed,” he said. We are treating the situation with urgency. Although most of the crops have already been harvested, we are still trying to prevent further damage to the remaining paddy with the help of locals, he added. Farmers in the haor said the timing of the flash flood is critical. With water levels in rivers rising over the past few days, they had already been on alert. After the breach, they are now rushing to harvest and store the remaining ripe paddy. Local administration and residents are jointly working to repair the damaged section to prevent further inundation. Authorities said the situation is being closely monitored and emergency measures will be taken if necessary.