United News of Bangladesh

Police recovered the hanging body of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) from a rented residence in Narayanganj on Tuesday night. The deceased was identified as Md Abu Hanif, who was serving at the Narayanganj District Police Lines. He hailed from Ichhapur village in Kalihati upazila of Tangail and was the son of late Yakub Munshi. Police recovered his body around 8:30pm from the flat in a five-storey building near the Isdair Municipal Stadium in Fatullah. According to police, Hanif had been on five days' sick leave since July 25. Police said his wife, who has a speech impairment, went to her parental home a day earlier following a discord with her husband. The couple had no children. Police suspect that Hanif later hanged himself from a ceiling fan using a plastic rope. Inspector (Investigation) of Fatullah Model Police Station Md Anwar Hossain said the body was sent to the morgue of Narayanganj General Hospital for an autopsy. "The incident is being treated primarily as a suspected case of suicide by a mentally distressed person. However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the autopsy report and completion of the investigation," he said.

A man was killed after being struck with a spade allegedly by his younger brother over a land dispute in Boalkhali upazila of Chattogram on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Nejam Uddin, 45, son of late Abdul Hamid of Ashu Talukder Bari in Ghoshkhil village. Accused Jamal Uddin Sumon went into hiding after the incident, which took place around 5:00pm. Locals said the two brothers had been involved in a long-running dispute over family land. On Tuesday afternoon, an argument broke out between them over the matter. As the altercation escalated, Nejam allegedly pushed Sumon. Later, their mother allegedly brought a spade and handed it to Sumon, who struck Nejam on the back of the head. Local residents rescued the injured and rushed him to the Boalkhali Upazila Health Complex, where the doctor on duty declared him dead. Officer-in-Charge of Boalkhali Police Station Mozaffar Hossain said efforts are on to arrest the suspect.

Leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP), including its Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary and Chief Organiser for Northern Region Sarjis Alam, allegedly came under attack in Habiganj on Tuesday evening, while returning from a pre-announced July uprising programme. The incident took place near the Court Mosque around 7:30pm, according to witnesses. They said Nasiruddin and Sarjis joined a foot march as part of the party’s July mass uprising programme in the afternoon. Later, they addressed a street rally in front of the Town Hall. However, they were attacked while heading back from the rally. Police rescued the NCP leaders and took them to the Circuit House for safety. Blaming the leaders and activists of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal for the attack, Sarjis said they were assaulted suddenly after completing a peaceful programme. “One of our colleagues was hit in the eye with an iron rod, while another suffered serious injuries to his face,” he said. Sarjis claimed that NCP Habiganj unit General Secretary Mahbubul Bari Chowdhury Mubin, Bahubal upazila Organiser Nobir Hossain Hridoy and around 15 other party men were injured in the attack. He also alleged that the attackers vandalised the vehicle carrying him and Nasiruddin. Witnesses said during the rally, Nasiruddin accused leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated organisations of being involved in drug trading and criminal activities in Habiganj. He also made allegations against Habiganj Sadar constituency MP and Whip of Parliament Md GK Gouse. Officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station Zahidul Haque said police fired a round of sound grenade to disperse unruly crowds. District JCD General Secretary Zillur Rahman, however, denied the allegation, saying there was only a minor altercation after NCP leaders made "derogatory remarks" against BNP and its affiliated organisations.

A man and his son went missing after an engine-run boat capsized near Borokuthi area in Padma River in Rajshahi city on Tuesday. The missing passengers are Afsar Ali, 60, and his son Ziarul Haque, 40, residents of Shyampur Balurghat area under Katakhali Police Station in Rajshahi. Ziarul’s mother, Jahera Begum, 55, was rescued by local boatmen while five other passengers managed to swim ashore. According to witnesses, eight people were transporting a tree log by boat from the Char Majhardiara area and it capsised after being rocked by waves in the mid river around 12:45 pm. Monjil Haque, deputy assistant director of Rajshahi Sadar Fire Service and Civil Defence Station, said six divers are conducting a search operation to locate the missing persons.

Local residents reportedly vandalised the residence of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker from Jashore-4 constituency Md Golam Rasul on Tuesday during protests following a dispute involving a local madrasah. The protesters also blocked the Jashore-Narail highway for several hours, causing traffic disruption. According to locals, the dispute centres on Al Madrasatus Shariyah and its adjoining mosque near the MP's house in the Nilganj area of Jashore town. They alleged that the latest incident began on Monday when the MP's daughter, Mehzabin Ananya, assaulted a madrasah student. Although the two sides reportedly reached a settlement later that night, tensions flared again after allegations that the MP instructed authorities to keep the madrasah closed. Angered by the development, hundreds of residents gathered outside the MP's house around 10:30am on Tuesday. Witnesses said a relative of Golam Rasul arrived at the scene around 11:30am to mediate, but a section of the protesters allegedly swooped on him and beat him. They also allegedly vandalised the MP’s residence. As tensions escalated, demonstrators blocked the Jashore-Narail highway and chanted slogans, demanding justice over the incident involving the MP and his daughter. Police from Kotwali Police Station, led by Inspector (Operations) Masum Khan, rushed to the scene and tried to bring the situation under control. The police officer said discussions were being held with both sides to restore normalcy. He said law enforcement personnel remained at the scene and were closely monitoring the situation. The protesters were still gathered outside the MP's residence and traffic on the highway remained partially disrupted till filing of this report around 7:30pm. In a video message in the afternoon, Golam Rasul said the road in front of the madrasah, which he claimed is on his private land, often becomes congested when students' guardians gather there, causing inconvenience to the public. He said he visited the madrasah on Tuesday morning to ask the teachers to request guardians to remain inside the madrasah premises. The MP alleged that while he was speaking with teachers, some guardians assaulted him. He claimed that when his daughter came forward, she was also beaten. He further said his daughter has a psychiatric condition and alleged that his wife was also assaulted. "I somehow managed to escape with my wife and daughter and took shelter inside our house," he said. Golam Rasul also alleged that protesters later vandalised his house, used abusive language and scattered gunpowder in his garage, raising fears of a possible firing incident. He, however, said he did not want the situation to escalate. "I want to live in harmony with everyone. I do not want any chaos," he said, apologising for any unintentional mistakes or behaviour. The lawmaker also urged people to remain calm and assured a proper resolution. MP's wife Sharmin Dina said their daughter Ananya has long been suffering from mental health problems. She claimed that although the madrasah has officially been closed, some children continued to gather there and create disturbances. When the family objected, she alleged, false accusations were made against them, eventually leading to an attack on their house. "Our house was attacked, and now false allegations are being made against us," she said.

Three workers suffered burn injuries in a gas cylinder explosion at a cylinder warehouse in South Surma upazila of Sylhet on Monday afternoon. The accident occurred while gas cylinders were being loaded and unloaded at the warehouse in Khidirpur area under South Surma Police Station. The injured were identified as Emon Ahmed, Zayed Ahmed and Akbar Ali, all residents of Khojarkhola area in South Surma. According to Fire Service sources, a gas leak was detected from a cylinder while workers were loading and unloading cylinders at the warehouse. At one stage, the cylinder exploded, triggering a fire that spread through the warehouse and left the three workers burned. With the help of local residents, the injured workers were rescued and taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for treatment. Firefighter Shahjalal of the South Surma Alampur Fire Service and Civil Defence Station said a unit of the Fire Service rushed to the warehouse beside the Sylhet-Sunamganj bypass road after receiving information about the explosion and fire. The firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control, he said. Officer-in-Charge of South Surma Police Station Ashrafuzzaman said the Fire Service brought the fire under control after reaching the spot. Police are looking into the matter, he added.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested five individuals along with firearms and locally made weapons in the Kaijla area of Ramkantapur in Rajbari Sadar upazila. The recovered firearms included a foreign cut rifle, a single-barrel gun and three locally made one-shooter guns. In a press release issued by the Faridpur RAB camp on Monday afternoon, the force said it conducted the raid on Sunday based on a tip-off. During the operation, RAB searched the residences of Aslam Sardar, 40, and Md Bahadur Biswas, 58, and recovered the firearms. At that time, the elite force arrested the duo and three others from the spot. The other arrestees are Md Ibrahim Sheikh, 44, of Dauki, Md Faisal Chowdhury alias Farid, 37, of Madhyapara, and Raju Ahmed Tokon, 45, of Maliyat in Kalukhali upazila. According to the press release, Ibrahim Sheikh has 19 arms cases against him. Farid has two cases, including one under the Arms Act and another for extortion. Raju Ahmed is facing four cases, including one each for abduction, extortion, preparation to commit robbery and robbery, the release said. Major Fahman Mahmud Mojahid, company commander of RAB-10 CPC-3 Faridpur Camp, said RAB operations against illegal firearms, criminal activities and drugs will continue.

A young man was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants on the Kazi Bazar Bridge in Sylhet city on Monday evening. The identity of the deceased could not be known immediately. According to eyewitnesses, unidentified people stabbed the youth at the middle of the bridge and fled the scene. Later, local people and police rescued him and took him to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police Monjurul Alam said they were investigating the incident.

A Khulna court on Monday sentenced three people to death for killing a man in 2018. Judge of Khulna Additional District and Sessions Judge Court-4 Md Khurshid Alam handed down the judgment. The condemned convicts are A Salam, son of Kalam Box, Khurshid Alam, 35, and Khairul Sheikh, 28, sons of Salam Sheikh of Jhalbari village. According to the prosecution, Rezaul Sheikh of Jhalbari village in Batiaghata upazila was beaten to death by four people over previous enmity on March 31, 2018. Mezbah Uddin, younger brother of the victim, filed a case with Batiaghata Police Station on that day against four people. On September 11, 2019, police submitted chargesheet against them. The court acquitted another as allegation brought against him could not be proved.  

At least two people were killed and several others injured after a freight train's wagons detached and rammed into three vehicles at the Khankhanapur rail crossing in Rajbari Sadar upazila on Sunday night. The deceased were identified as Abdul Malek Sheikh, 45, of Baliakandi upazila, and Monowar Hossain Patwary, 50, of the Goalanda More area in Rajbari Sadar. The accident occurred around 8:45 pm when the freight train carrying fuel oil from the Dhuldi power plant in Faridpur came apart, leaving four rear wagons detached from the engine and the front section of the train. According to local residents, the train, comprising around 30 wagons, was travelling from Faridpur to Rajbari when the coupling connecting the last four wagons broke near the Khankhanapur rail crossing. After the engine and the front section cleared the crossing, the gateman, believing the train had completely passed, lifted the barrier. A passenger bus, a Mahindra and a battery-powered easy bike then entered the crossing. Moments later, the detached wagons rolled into the vehicles, causing the collision. The Mahindra and the easy bike were mangled in the impact, while the bus was pushed to the edge of a roadside ditch, locals said. Panic spread in the area following the crash as local residents rushed to rescue the injured before personnel from the Highway Police and Fire Service joined the operation. The injured were taken to Rajbari Sadar Hospital, while those in critical condition were later shifted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. Abdul Malek Sheikh and Monowar Hossain Patwary died there while undergoing treatment. Rajbari Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Uttam Kumar Ghosh said the injured were rescued and taken to hospital immediately after the crash. "Two of the injured later died while undergoing treatment. Necessary legal action is being taken to determine the exact cause of the accident," the OC said.