United News of Bangladesh

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver along with a pistol and a magazine at a checkpost in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday night. Mohammad Hamid, 39, son of Abdul Jabbar from Hnila Phulerdale area of Teknaf, was detained at the Hoi Kang checkpost under the Ukhiya Battalion (64 BGB). According to BGB, a Cox’s Bazar-bound auto-rickshaw from Hnila was signalled to stop at the checkpost. However, the driver ignored the signal and attempted to flee at high speeds. BGB personnel, however, managed to intercept the vehicle. Later, a search of the auto-rickshaw led to the recovery of a 9mm pistol and a magazine concealed beneath the driver’s seat. During primary interrogation, Hamid confessed that he had collected the weapon from a Rohingya robber and was transporting it to the Palangkhali area. The accused, along with the firearm, was handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station for further action. Commanding Officer of Ukhiya BGB Battalion Lt Col Md Zahirul Islam said the force remains vigilant to prevent arms trafficking and smuggling along the border, adding that such drives will continue.

A Dhaka court on Tuesday granted bail to a Jubo Mohila League activist in an attempted murder case linked to the July uprising, paving the way for her release along with her one-and-a-half-month-old infant. Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman passed the order after hearing a review petition filed by the defence. The court granted bail on a bond of Tk 5,000, effective until submission of the police report. Earlier in the day, the investigation officer of the case – Sub-Inspector Sheikh Nazrul of Tejgaon Police Station Islam – sought a court order to keep the accused – Shilpi Begum – in jail. Ex-Speaker Shirin Sharmin walks out of jail on bail Following hearings from both sides, Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Awlad Hossain Muhammad Junaid initially rejected her bail and ordered her to be sent to jail. Shilpi Begum, an activist of Dhaka North Jubo Mohila League’s ward No. 26, was arrested on Monday evening from the Tejkunipara Railway Colony area. She was produced before the court around 2:00pm on Tuesday, where several family members, including her husband, sister and aunt, were present. Family members told the court that Shilpi had given birth to the baby through a caesarean section on March 4 and is still physically weak. They said she is unable to properly breastfeed or even hold the baby due to complications, including a fractured left arm from a recent fall. Despite family appeals to keep the infant with them, police did not permit separation, and both mother and child were later taken to Kashimpur Jail. According to the case statement, Dhaka University student Tahmid Mubin Ratul was shot in the Chankharpool area on July 16, 2024, and later attacked along with fellow students at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. On July 23, a group of 120-130 people allegedly attacked his residence in Tejgaon, vandalising property worth Tk 5 lakh and looting goods valued at Tk 3 lakh. The case was filed on January 25, 2025 by Ratul’s mother Shahnur Khanam at Tejgaon Police Station, naming 103 accused, including former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

A court here on Tuesday sentenced seven people, including four brothers, to death for killing a college student in Tarakanda upazila in 2021. Mymensingh District and Session Judge Mohammad Zakir Hossain also awarded seven years’ imprisonment to two women. The condemned convicts are Yunus Ali alias Yunus Ali, 62, his brothers Mohammad Ali, 52, Golam Hossain alias Gulu, 51, and Shamsul Haque, 44, sons of Jasim Uddin of Palashkanda Tanpara in the upazila; Asif Rana Naim, 24, son of Golam Hossain, Abdul Helim, 51, son of Abdul Mannan, and Farid Ahmed alias Babu, 19, son of Mohammad Ali. 5 get life imprisonment for killing farmer in Mymensingh The court also fined them Tk 50,000 each. The two other convicts are Khaleda Akter, wife of Mohammad Ali, and Rehena Khatun, wife of Yunus Ali. They were fined Tk 25,000 and in case of failure, they will have to serve one year more in prison. According to the prosecution, Shahinur Alam alias Iqbal, a student of Rumdo Institute of Modern Technology (RIMT), went missing on May 31, 2021, prompting his father Abdur Rauf to lodge a general diary in this connection. Later, police recovered Iqbal’s decomposed body from a septic tank at Palashkanda Tanpara village on June 5, 2021. Victim’s brother Selim Mia filed a murder case on June 6, 2021, accusing Asif Rana and his associates. Police submitted a charge sheet against nine individuals.

A total of 32.5 lakh metres of illegal fishing nets were seized during a joint drive by the Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard in the Karnaphuli River area of Chattogram, with an estimated market value of about Tk 312 crore, according to the ISPR. The operation was conducted in the Dangarchar area under Karnaphuli Police Station based on secret information that illegal nets had been stockpiled there. During the drive, law enforcers recovered a large quantity of banned nets from a godown named “Sea Heart” in the presence of a fisheries officer. Additional nets were also seized from two abandoned trucks at the scene. At the end of the operation, the nets were destroyed in the presence of the fisheries official. The drive is part of ongoing efforts to enforce the government-declared 58-day fishing ban and prevent the catching of jhatka. Authorities said such operations will continue to protect the country’s fisheries resources and curb illegal activities in coastal areas.

Police have arrested two youths in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a 15-year-old girl in the Savar municipal area on Thursday. The arrested individuals are Ashiq and Shanto, police said. The victim’s father filed a complaint with Savar Model Police Station on Sunday following the incident. Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (investigation) Noor Mohammad said the girl was sent to the One Stop Crisis Center (OCC) at Dhaka Medical College Hospital for medical examination. He also said legal action is underway regarding the incident. As per the complaint, the victim was returning home from her sister’s residence on Thursday evening when she reached the Dogarmora area adjacent to CRP Road. Police said one of the accused, Shanto, allegedly took away her veil, after which she followed him to his residence. Later, she was reportedly raped inside a room on the second floor of the house. The complaint also states that several other youths were involved in the incident. It further stated that when a neighbour named Rana tried to intervene, the accused allegedly beat him. Police said the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway to arrest other suspects involved in the incident.

The High Court on Sunday issued a rule asking why the authorities’ inaction in implementing a mandatory registration and regulatory system for domestic workers under the Domestic Servants Registration Ordinance, 1961 should not be declared illegal. The bench of Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury issued the rule following a preliminary hearing on a writ petition. The court also sought an explanation as to why directives should not be given to enforce such a system in line with the recommendations outlined in the writ petition. The court asked the Law, Labour and Employment, Home secretaries and director general of the Department of Labour to respond to the rule within four weeks. Advocate Tanzim Al Islam appeared for the writ petition alongside Advocate Khadijatul Kobra and Advocate Rowshan Ara. Earlier, on January 13, Advocate Khadijatul Kobra filed the writ with the High Court seeking directives to ensure registration of all domestic workers across the country including in the capital. Speaking to reporters, she said a widely reported murder incident on December 5 last year in Mohammadpur where a mother and her daughter were killed prompted the legal move. The accused in the case was a domestic worker employed at the residence. She said a legal notice has been served to the authorities attaching media reports of the incident and requesting implementation of the mandatory registration system under the 1961 ordinance. As no action was taken, the writ petition was filed on January 31. According to the ordinance, mandatory registration of domestic workers currently applies to certain police station in Dhaka including Kotwali, Sutrapur, Lalbagh, Ramna and Tejgaon. The law also allows the government to extend the provision to other areas through official gazette notification, she said.

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood on Sunday told Parliament that a total of 542,000 litres of fuel have so far been seized through mobile court drives conducted across the country. Mobile courts and vigilance teams are actively working nationwide to curb overpricing, illegal hoarding and smuggling of fuel, he said while replying to a scripted question from ruling party lawmaker Md Abul Kalam (Cumilla-9). “Through 9,116 drives, a total of 3,510 cases have been filed, fines amounting to Tk 1,56,09,650 have been realised, and 542,000 litres of fuel have been recovered,” said the minister. In his question, Abul Kalam MP asked what steps have been taken to prevent hoarding and black marketing of fuel as a group of unscrupulous businessmen is there to fall the government in trouble. In response, Iqbal Hassan mentioned 12 steps taken by the government to prevent the hoarding and black marketing of fuel. The steps include the formation of vigilance teams at district levels and at Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) were formed to monitor fuel supply and distribution, alongside a dedicated monitoring team at the ministry. A ‘central control cell’ has also been established comprising officials from the ministry, BPC, Petrobangla and marketing companies to oversee fuel import, storage, supply and distribution. Since March 9, 2026, the cell has been holding daily virtual meetings with deputy commissioners and relevant officials to address district-level fuel demand issues in real time, he said. To ensure transparency in supply, district administrations have been instructed to keep an executive magistrate present during fuel dispatch from depots while arrangements have been made to provide police escorts during transportation of fuel to filling stations, he added. Law enforcement patrols have been strengthened in waterways and border areas to prevent smuggling, while members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the army have been deployed to ensure depot security, said the minister. Police have been directed to intensify patrols around filling stations, and tag officers have been appointed for each petrol pump, he said. Regular drives are being carried out to stop illegal stockpiling, and a fuel pass system has been introduced at district levels, which has witnessed success in solving the problem, said the Minister.  

A Dhaka tribunal on Sunday sentenced two people to life imprisonment and another to 14 years in prison in a case filed over the  killing of an 11-year-old boy in Kafrul area of the capital in 2008. Judge of the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-4 Munshi Md Mashiur Rahman handed down the judgment. The lifers are Masud Rana and Al Amin Gharami  while the other convict is Saiful Islam alias Saiful. The tribunal also issued arrest warrant against Saiful and Gharami as both were tried in absentia. 16 fishermen jailed for catching jatka in Chandpur The tribunal also fined each convict Tk 1 lakh with an additional one year of rigorous imprisonment in default of payment. The tribunal also asked the district magistrate to provide the fine amount to the family members of the victim realising the money after selling all properties of the convicts. According to the prosecution,  Shafiqul Islam Milon, son of Shafiqul Islam, went missing on March 6, 2008, after leaving his residence to play in Kafrul area of the capital. The kidnappers demanded Tk two lakh as ransom from the family members of Milon and   Milon’s father filed a case with Kafrul Police Station on March 13. Police arrested five accused from different parts of the capital through checking the call list of Milon’s father. Following the confessional statement of the accused police recovered the bones, teeth and a blood-strained stone from Ranchandrapur Karnapara in Savar. Mir Abul Kalam Azad, sub-inspector of Kafraul Police Station and also the investigating officer of the case, submitted a chargesheet against five people. After examining records and witnesses, the tribunal also acquitted two others—Abdul Motaleb alias Mota and Amirul Islam alias Rubel---as allegations brought against them could not be proved.

A total of 67 suspected criminals have been arrested in drives conducted by the Tejgaon Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). The drives were conducted in different crime-prone areas on Saturday, said NM Nasiruddin, deputy commissioner of police (Media and Public Relations Division, DMP). Of those, 31 were from Mohammadpur, eight from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar , 11 from Adabor , seven from Tejgaon Industrial Zone , and 10 from Hatirjheel Police Station. During the drives, police recovered 51 Yaba tablets, 195 small packets of heroin, a motorcycle, and a switch gear (knife) from their possession. Later, the arrestees were sent to a court, the police official said. NM Nasiruddin said that such drives will continue to curb crime and maintain law and order in the area.