United News of Bangladesh

Delhi Police placed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke under preventive arrest and released All India Students' Association (AISA) chief Neha Bora early Saturday after detaining them ahead of Friday's 'Lehra Do Tiranga' protest march at Connaught Place in the Indian capital. Dipke was arrested under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) over concerns about a possible breach of peace. He is scheduled to be produced before a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) court later Saturday. Bora was released after the authorities completed the necessary detention formalities under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act. CJP legal head Ratna Singh alleged that Dipke's whereabouts remained unknown and that lawyers had not been allowed to meet him. “Abhijeet is arrested & will be produced before SEM court. His location still unknown, lawyers haven't met,” Singh wrote on X. In a subsequent post, she said Dipke would appear before the court at noon. The CJP, opposition parties, student groups and civil society organisations have held protests in several parts of India demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Bora alleges detentions intended to create fearAfter her release, Bora alleged that protesters were being detained without valid reasons and held for hours, claiming the practice was intended to intimidate ordinary citizens. She said such detentions had become increasingly common during the ongoing movement, with protesters frequently taken into custody and released the following morning or evening. Bora demanded the immediate release of Dipke and other detained demonstrators, saying they were ordinary citizens seeking accountability and the right to vote. She argued that there was no justification for holding protesters overnight at police stations. On Friday, both the CJP and AISA expressed concern over the whereabouts of their leaders, alleging that Delhi Police had denied them access to lawyers and associates after detaining them during the protests. The two leaders were taken into custody while travelling to join the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' demonstration. The CJP alleged that Dipke had been moved to an undisclosed location and that the party had lost contact with him. In a post on X, the party said he was not being allowed to speak with lawyers. AISA, meanwhile, alleged that Bora had been held alone at the Anti-Narcotics Task Force facility in Mangolpuri. Source: NDTV

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Saturday morning began visiting hospitals and educational institutions in the capital to assess the dengue situation and cleanliness activities. The Prime Minister left his Gulshan residence at 9:10am for the surprise visits, his Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu said. He said Tarique Rahman first went to Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital in Uttara to see firsthand the measures taken by the hospital authorities to tackle dengue. He then visited Rajuk Uttara Model College, where he addressed members of the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC), urging them to play an active role in cleanliness drives to help prevent dengue.

Residents of Botbunia in Khulna’s Dakope upazila are living in fear as work on a permanent alternative embankment has yet to begin five days after a 50-metre section of the existing flood protection embankment collapsed into the Dhaki River. Around 5,000 bighas of Aman paddy land are at risk due to the breach, said locals. Around 50 metres of the Water Development Board (WDB) embankment near the Harisabha temple at Botbunia Bazar collapsed into the river on the night of October 11. The WDB immediately placed sandbags and tubes at the site to prevent extensive flooding. However, a visit to the area found that the condition of the damaged embankment remained unchanged, with no work on a permanent alternative embankment having started in the past five days. Mohammad Abdul Rahman, sub-divisional engineer, and Mohammad Nayan Ali, assistant sub-assistant engineer of the WDB’s Khulna office, said the alternative embankment would be constructed after monitoring the direction and condition of the erosion. They said the assessment is taking some time but claimed that construction work would begin within this week. The devastating erosion has already swept away the homes and belongings of seven families living in the affected area. Krishnapada Sardar, one of the victims, said he has moved his home to another location after an earlier erosion incident, only to lose everything in the latest collapse. “My house and belongings, including gold ornaments, have been washed away into the river. Now I am living with my family under the open sky in extreme hardship,” he said emotionally. The families of Prashanta Sardar, Jadubar Sardar, Niranjan Mistry, Ajit Sardar, Alokesh Sardar and Ranjit Sardar have also suffered similar losses due to the erosion.    

Customs intelligence officials have seized goods including including a gold bar, alcohol, cosmetic injections, worth an estimated Tk 3.23 crore in four separate drives at Dhaka and Chattogram airports over two days. The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) conducted the operations on Thursday and Friday at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and the foreign post office at Dhaka airport, a CIID press release issued on Saturday. At Shah Amanat International Airport, customs intelligence officials recovered a 117-gram gold bar from passenger Abdullah Al Noman, who arrived from Dubai on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on Wednesday. On the same day, officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport seized 30 litres of alcohol worth an estimated Tk 6 lakh in separate operations. On Friday ,customs intelligence officials seized 155 dermal fillers and skin booster injections from the baggage of passenger Md Rakib Hossain, who arrived from Colombo on SriLankan Airlines flight UL189 at 11:13am. The seized products included Restylane Lidocaine, Restylane Lyft Lidocaine, Juvederm Voluma with Lidocaine and Profhilo, which are used in cosmetic procedures to reduce wrinkles and improve skin appearance. The products were valued at Tk 57.76 lakh. The CIID said the legality of the products’ import and their regulatory approvals were being examined. It said administering such injections without proper medical supervision could cause infections, blocked blood vessels, permanent skin damage and, in severe cases, loss of vision. In a separate operation at the foreign post office at Dhaka airport, customs officials seized 37 cartons containing 1,104kg of banned Gauri skin-whitening cream and 23 used Core i5 laptops. The seized goods were valued at Tk 2.38 crore, according to the release. The CIID said it would continue surveillance and anti-smuggling operations at international airports, seaports, land ports and other customs stations to prevent revenue evasion, protect public health and safeguard consumer interests.

Ten shops were gutted in two separate fire incidents in Tongi of Gazipur district early Saturday. However, no casualties were reported. Fire Service officials said eight shops were damaged in a fire that broke out at Kadira Gate in the Millgate area of Tongi around 12:30am. Two firefighting units from the Tongi Fire Station rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control in about one hour and 15 minutes. Goods worth Tk 5 lakh were damaged in the fire. Meanwhile, two semi-pucca shops were damaged in a fire that broke out on Kha Para Road in Auchpara, Tongi, around 1:45am. On information, three firefighting units rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control in about one hour. The affected shop owners estimated their losses at Tk 20 lakh. Fire Service officials initially suspected that electrical short circuits might have caused the fires. However, the actual causes will be confirmed after an investigation.        

The air quality in Dhaka remained unhealthy on Saturday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 166 at 9:14 am. With this score, the capital ranked ninth among the world's most polluted cities. Iraq’s Baghdad, Singapore’s Singapore, Pakistan’s Lahore and India’s Mumbai occupied the top four spots on the list, with AQI scores of 378, 206, 201 and 192, respectively. An AQI score between 50 and 100 is considered "moderate" with an acceptable air quality, while one between 101 and 150 is considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups", while a score between 151 and 200 is classified as "unhealthy." AQI readings between 201 and 300 are termed "very unhealthy", and anything above 301 is considered "hazardous", posing serious health risks. The AQI provides daily updates on air quality, indicating how clean or polluted the air is and highlighting potential health impacts. In Bangladesh, the AQI is calculated based on five major pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone. Dhaka has long struggled with air pollution, with air quality typically deteriorating during winter and improving during the monsoon season. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution causes around seven million deaths globally each year, mainly from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.  

State reforms and implementation of the July National Charter have become hostage to power politics and bureaucratic interests, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said on Friday, marking one year since the charter was signed. In a statement, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said the interim government failed to lay a strong foundation for reforms due to a lack of strategic planning, political courage and compromises with bureaucratic resistance. He said the ruling alliance’s refusal to take an oath as members of the proposed Constitution Reform Council had created uncertainty over implementation, while the opposition was pursuing partisan interests instead of supporting reforms in the public interest. Of 133 ordinances issued by the interim government, the current government enacted many that strengthened executive powers while repealing or suspending others intended to ensure accountability, he said. Iftekharuzzaman urged all political parties to work together to implement the charter, strengthen democracy and social justice, ensure accountable governance and prevent a return to authoritarian rule.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Friday emphasized that no citizen should face discrimination based on religion, stressing that constitutional rights, religious freedom, and security must be guaranteed for all. Speaking as the chief guest at the Banani Puja Mandap in the capital on Friday night, the minister called it tragic that religious communities still need to seek security to celebrate their festivals. "Every citizen's right to freely practice their religion is constitutionally recognized. It is unfortunate for our national life that we repeatedly have to discuss ensuring security for religious celebrations," he said. Highlighting government support, Salahuddin said that Bangladesh has arranged the highest number of Puja mandaps, the highest budget allocation, and the longest holiday period for Durga Puja this year. On politics, he urged parties not to view any religious community as a vote bank, stating that citizens have the right to decide according to their conscience. Calling for mutual respect across faiths, the minister praised the mandap's decoration showcasing indigenous culture and design.

The first consignment of 18 broad gauge (BG) passenger carriages out of 200 arrived at Darshana International Railway Station in Chuadanga from India on Friday afternoon. The carriage-laden rake reached the station at 2:40pm, marking a major step toward enhancing passenger service quality and capacity in Bangladesh Railway's Western Zone. Supplied by India's RITES Limited under a procurement project and manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, Punjab, the consignment departed for Bangladesh on October 12.

Professor Muhammad Yunus on Friday has extended his greetings to Hindu devotees across Bangladesh and around the world on the occasion of Durga Puja, describing the Sharadiya festival as a symbol of national unity and communal harmony. In a message, Prof. Yunus said Durga Puja in Bangladesh is not merely a religious festival for the Hindu community, but a universal celebration for all citizens. He highlighted the triumph over evil as one of the festival's core themes. Reflecting on global challenges, Yunus said the world is currently plagued by crises, inequality, wars, conflicts, and uncertainty, alongside growing divisions among people. He expressed hope that the Sharadiya festival would bring new hope and strength to people's lives, inspiring everyone to overcome all forms of division and encouraging the nation to move forward together in unity.