United News of Bangladesh

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md. Ali Hossain Fakir on Thursday called upon newly appointed police officers to play a leading role in building a sustainable and safe Bangladesh by performing their duties with honesty, sincerity, and neutrality. The police chief made the call while addressing a directional briefing as the chief guest for the newly posted Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs) of the 43rd BCS (Police) batch at the Hall of Integrity at Police Headquarters on Thursday morning. Highlighting the current context, the IGP noted that following 17 years of fascist rule, the elected democratic government is serving with immense public expectations. He said Bangladesh Police has constructed a new roadmap sensitive to public expectations, human rights, women, children, and elderly citizens. "New police officers must accept the challenge of fulfilling public expectations with renewed vigor and commitment," the IGP said, urging each officer to stand beside citizens as an ambassador of the force. Referring to policing as both a service and a challenge, the IGP urged officers to navigate post-August 5 mass uprising societal and state challenges. Terming the new officers as "future police leaders," he instructed them to maintain complete neutrality, uphold the rule of law, and deliver services by building a relationship of trust with the public. A total of 72 officers, including 66 men and six women, have joined the Bangladesh Police as ASPs under the 43rd BCS (Police) batch. Chaired by Additional IGP (Administration) A K M Awlad Hossain, the ceremony was attended by Additional IGP (Finance) Md. Akram Hossain, Additional IGP (HRM) Khondokar Rafiqul Islam alongside other senior officials. Deputy Inspector General (DIG-Admin) Md. Humayun Kabir conducted the event.

Authorities have recently evicted the IG Gate Colony slum in the capital’s Shyampur area, long known as a notorious hub for illegal drug trading, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Media Cell said on Thursday. The special eviction drive was conducted jointly by the relevant authorities of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) with assistance from Shyampur Model Thana Police between September 26 and September 28, 2026. According to Shyampur police sources, an organized syndicate had been running both open and covert drug operations in the IG Gate area for a long time. The frequent gathering of drug peddlers and addicts disrupted normal life for local residents and raised serious safety concerns, particularly due to the presence of several educational institutions nearby, which put students and youths at high risk of drug exposure.  

A Bogura tribunal on Thursday sentenced a man to 60 years’ rigorous imprisonment in two separate cases involving the rape of two six-year-old girls. The convict is Nur Islam, 40, of Arola Ashrayan Project under Paikar union in Kahaloo upazila. Judge Md Maruf Hossain of the Bogura Children Violence Suppression Tribunal handed down the verdict around 11:30am, sentencing Nur to 30 years in jail in each case, said Special Public Prosecutor Md Abdul Mannan. The sentences will run consecutively, meaning he will have to serve in 60 years in total. The court also fined him Tk 50,000 in each case, totalling Tk 1 lakh, and ordered that the money be paid to the families of the two victims, he added. According to the prosecution, Nur lured the two six-year-old children to his home at Arola Ashrayan Project on March 12, 2025, offering them food and money, and raped them. He also threatened to kill them if they disclosed the incident to anyone. The families came to know about the incident the following day after one of the children developed a fever and the other began suffering from severe bleeding. The mother of one of the children filed a case with Kahaloo Police Station. Police rescued the two children and admitted them to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital for treatment. Later, Nur was arrested in a joint operation by police and the district Detective Branch (DB).

Police have arrested a man in connection with the killing of a 17-year-old student in the capital's Kafrul area. The arrestee was identified as Md Abdullah Al Mamun alias Mamun Sarkar, 24. According to police, Mamun developed a friendship with Md Rakibul Islam, 17, after meeting him online a few months ago. On September 16, Mamun allegedly called Rakib over WhatsApp and took him to his residence in Shukrabad after asking him to come to the area in front of Shewrapara Metro Rail Station. He allegedly held Rakib hostage and demanded Tk 15 lakh in ransom from his family. At one point, a scuffle took place between them, during which Mamun allegedly twisted Rakib's neck, causing his death. Briefing reporters at the DMP Media Centre on Minto Road on Wednesday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Joint Commissioner (Crime Prevention-North) Md Mahidul Islam disclosed the details. He said Rakib lived at a mess in East Shewrapara and had enrolled at a coaching centre in Farmgate to prepare for university admission after completing his HSC examination. At around 4pm on September 16, someone called Rakib over WhatsApp and took him outside the residence. He did not return home afterwards, the official said. Later, Rakib's family received phone calls and online messages demanding Tk 15 lakh as ransom, with threats to kill him if the money was not paid. Hoping to secure Rakib's release, his family paid a total of Tk 4 lakh through four bKash and three Nagad numbers at different times, Mahidul said. Rakib's elder brother Zohurul Islam Jibon initially filed a general diary over his disappearance with Kafrul Police Station and later filed a case over his abduction and the ransom demand, he said. During the investigation, police identified Mamun as the user of two WhatsApp numbers used to demand the ransom, the joint commissioner said. Mamun was arrested at around 6pm on Monday from the Shukrabad bus stand area under Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station. According to information obtained during interrogation, after killing Rakib, Mamun put the body inside a carton, wrapped it with tape and took it by autorickshaw to Gabtoli bus stand. He then travelled by bus and other vehicles to Dimla in Nilphamari and on September 17 buried the body, along with the carton, in a pit in a betel-nut grove in front of his house. With the assistance of Dimla Police, Rakib's body was recovered from the spot shown by Mamun at around 3:30pm on Tuesday, Mahidul said. Rakib's elder brother Jibon later identified the body. It was sent to the morgue of Nilphamari Modern Sadar Hospital for autopsy. Police also recovered Tk 50,000 in cash from Mamun, allegedly from the ransom money. Investigation is continuing to determine whether anyone else was involved in the killing and to examine the ransom money transactions and other aspects of the incident, Mahidul said.

The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested three people with a large quantity of counterfeit and unauthorised medicines and equipment allegedly used to manufacture pharmaceutical products in the capital's Mohammadpur area. The arrestees are Abdullah Al-Mamun, 42, Md Saju, 33, and Md Sajib, 26. DMP Additional Commissioner (DB) Md Shafiqul Islam disclosed the information at a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre on Wednesday. He said a DB team of the Wari Division conducted a raid on a flat in Block-C of Dhaka Udyan Road in Mohammadpur on Tuesday based on intelligence information and arrested the trio. The seized items included syrups, capsules, shampoos, face wash, hygiene wash, soaps, powders and tablets, along with empty wrappers, bottles, labels and other packaging materials. Among the seized items were also 192 bottles of KIDZ Omega Liquid syrup, 100 boxes of LACTOFLEX capsules, 300 sheets of Osearc-CD capsules, 800 bottles of KIDICARE Syrup Plus, 70 bottles of Pedia Vox Kid Syrup, 10 bottles of Nutramide Syrup, 30 Facy GLOW Face Washes and 150 Detox Plus Shampoos. The DB also seized 300 unlabeled syrup bottles, 100 unlabeled white tablets, 500 empty green capsule shells, 400 white plastic containers and various empty wrappers and labels. Three cylinders, two capsule-filling machines, six capsule-filling machine components and two labelling moulds were also seized. The value of the seized items has been estimated at Tk 1 crore. Shafiqul Islam said some of the seized products were intended for children and could pose serious risks to their lives and health. He said some of the medicines found during the raid are not commonly available in Bangladesh and are suspected to have been imported from a neighbouring country. The DB is also investigating whether the foreign medicines were legally imported and whether the medicines were supplied to dispensaries or other sales outlets. According to the DB, the arrestees told investigators that they had been involved in the business for over three months. The flat used for the operation had also been rented about three months ago. A case has been filed against the three with Mohammadpur Police Station under the Special Powers Act.

The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) recovered 22,120 Yaba tablets during a special anti-drug drive in Chandpur on Tuesday. Acting on a tip-off, a special team of the Chandpur DNC conducted a raid on a flat in a building owned by Abul Hashem in the Nurullapur area of Bishnupur union under Sadar upazila in the morning. Alleged drug dealer Farhan Roni, 24, who rented the flat, and his associate Nur Hossain fled the scene after sensing the raid, said Md Mizanur Rahman, assistant director of DNC Chandpur. He said 22,000 Yaba tablets were recovered from underneath the bed in a room occupied by Farhan. Another 120 pills were recovered from inside a motorcycle kept in the same room, Mizanur said. The street value of the seized Yaba pills has been estimated at Tk 1.20 crore.    

A 14-year-old girl in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia is reportedly around seven months pregnant after “being raped” repeatedly by her step-grandfather. Locals caught the accused, Rois Uddin, 55, son of late Nader Uddin of Raydanga village under Kaya union, on Tuesday morning. However, he fled before police arrived to arrest him, locals said. Police and relatives said the girl’s mother died about 12 years ago. After her father remarried, her stepmother sent her to live at her step-grandfather’s house, where Rois allegedly raped her for around a year after threatening to kill her. Recently, the girl developed abdominal pain, and her relatives initially suspected she had a tumour. A gynaecologist examined her and said she was around seven months pregnant. The girl’s maternal grandmother alleged that Rois raped her granddaughter repeatedly for nearly a year. She said local residents caught him and informed police, but he fled before officers arrived. Officer-in-Charge of Kumarkhali Police Station Jamal Uddin said they took the girl into custody for medical examination. He said a rape case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act was being processed and that further details will be disclosed after investigation.  

A Naogaon court on Tuesday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing a woman with a drill machine while attempting to steal her gold ornaments. The convict was identified as Sohel Rana alias Hanif, son of Mofizul Haque of the Nayanandan Darogabari area under Tongibari Police Station in Munshiganj. He had been living in a rented house in the Pargati area of Naogaon town. The court also fined him Tk 5 lakh, in default of which he will have to serve two more years in prison. Judge of the Naogaon Additional District and Sessions Judge Court-2 and Special Tribunal-3 Raju Ahmed pronounced the verdict in the afternoon. According to the prosecution, Kohinoor, wife of Israil Sheikh of the Parghati area, was alone at home on September 11, 2019. Sohel, who was previously acquainted with the family and used to visit their house regularly, entered the house taking advantage of the situation. At one point, he attacked Kohinoor in the head with a drill machine, leaving her critically injured, and fled with cash and gold ornaments. Later, locals rescued Kohinoor in critical condition and took her to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested two alleged armed men with a foreign-made pistol, magazines and bullets in the Bauniabadh residential area of Pallabi on Monday night, said a press release issued by DMP. The arrestees were identified as Jony, 28, and Parvez, 31. Acting on a tip-off, a DB Mirpur team conducted a drive in the area and arrested the duo. Another alleged associate, identified as Babu, managed to flee. Police recovered a 9mm foreign-made pistol, a magazine and five rounds of ammunition from Jony, while three rounds of KF 7.65 ammunition were recovered from Parvez. According to DB, the detainees told police during initial questioning that Babu had another firearm in his possession. They allegedly had been involved in establishing control and dominance in the area. A case has been filed with Pallabi Police Station, while efforts are underway to arrest Babu and recover the additional firearm.  

A Dhaka court on Tuesday sentenced three muggers to death for killing a garment worker while snatching his mobile phone in 2022. Judge of the Additional Metropolitan and Sessions Judge Court-13 Zahidul Islam delivered the verdict. The convicts are Md Yusuf, Iqbal Khan and Mehedi Hasan. They were also fined Tk 20,000 each. The court also sentenced a man identified as Sujon for purchasing the stolen handset. The court issued a warrant for his arrest as he was tried in absentia. According to the prosecution, Saimon, a worker of Liberty Garment in the Mirpur-1 area of the capital, went to a market with his two colleagues – Rifat Hossain Rabbi and Hridoy Hasan – after finishing work on October 11, 2022. On the way back home, the convicts intercepted him in front of Aarong around 9:00pm and took him to the Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard, where they tried to take away his mobile phone. When Saimon tried to prevent them from mugging him, they hit him with a knife and snatched his mobile and money belonging to him, leaving him critically injured. Later, he was taken to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation, where doctors declared him dead. Victim’s father Shahjahan Sheikh filed a case with Darus Salam Police Station in this connection. Police later arrested Yusuf, who gave a confessional statement. Following his statement, police arrested the two other convicts. During interrogation, they said they sold the mobile to one Sujon for Tk 2,200. On January 31, 2023, police submitted a charge sheet against them.