United News of Bangladesh

A 40-year-old electrician died after being electrocuted at Matlab Dakshin upazila on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Shah Alam Patwari, son of Shafikul Patwari, a resident of Nayergaon area of the upazila. Johirul Talukder, former chairman of Narayanpur Union, said as Shah Alam came in contact with a live electric wire while working at a house in Kharagpur village. Later, he was taken to Narayanpur hospital where doctors declared him dead upon arrival. Shah Alam was well-known in his community for being a friendly and reliable electrician. Whenever he received a call, he was quick to respond and solve the problem at hand. His passing brought deep sorrow to the entire area, leaving a lasting void.

The National Consensus Commission will hold talks with Khelafat Majlish and Bangladesh Labour Party on Saturday as part of its ongoing dialogue with political parties to build a national consensus on the reform initiatives taken by the interim government. The talks with Khelafat Majlish will be held from 9:30am to 11:00am while that with the Bangladesh Labour Party from 11:30am to 1:00pm at LD Hall of the parliament complex. The National Consensus Commission opened its dialogues with political parties, starting with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Thursday. The meeting was presided over by Vice Chairman of the consensus commission Prof Ali Riaz. In the meeting, LDP Chairman Col (retd) Oli Ahmed said his party agreed with 120 out of 166 reform proposals sent by the National Consensus Commission. The commission would sit in talks with at least four political parties before the upcoming Eid-ul Fitr. The commission, spearheaded by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, started its work on February 15, 2025. LDP agrees with 120 out of 166 National Consensus Commission proposals: Oli The commission identified the crucial recommendations made in the reports of five reform commissions – the constitution reform commission, the public administration reform commission, the electoral system reform commission, the judiciary reform commission and the ACC reform commission – to seek opinions from the political parties. Later, the commission sent a set of recommendations in a spreadsheet format to 38 political parties asking them to send their specific opinions on the important reform recommendations by March 13. A total of 16 political parties have so far submitted their opinions. Besides, 14 political parties sought a few more days to place their complete opinions. The Consensus Commission is again contacting the remaining nine parties.

Police on Friday arrested another suspect over allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl who was abducted from the Dumki upazila on Tuesday evening. The suspected rapist Sifat Munshi, 19, was arrested from a house in Pirojpur, said Patuakhali Superintendent of Police Anwar Zahid. Acting on a tip-off, a team of Patuakhali Detective Branch police carried out a raid in Pirojpur and made the arrest, said the SP. 4 operatives of ‘Magnetic Coin’ fraud gang arrested with huge money in Adabor With this arrest, the police have successfully apprehended the individuals named in the complaint. Zakir Hossain, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Dumki Police Station, said that the arrestees were later sent to jail following a court order. The victim has been kept under police protection at Patuakhali Medical College Hospital for examination. According to police sources, the victim was on her way to her maternal grandparents' house when she was followed by Sakib and Sifat from the Naldoyani area. At one point, the two men overpowered her, took her to a nearby garden, and allegedly raped her.  They also threatened to spread pictures of the assault on social media. 52-year-old arrested for 'attempted rape' of 5-year-old in N'ganj Meanwhile, on the afternoon of March 20, Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam visited the victim's family at Patuakhali Hospital. Later that evening, BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman spoke with the victim's mother over the phone. Both leaders assured the family of their full support and cooperation, as well as assistance with rehabilitation.

A man was killed and two others were injured in a mob beating for allegedly attempting to mug a person in the Swarighat area of Old Dhaka on Friday. The victims, aged between 18 and 25, have not been identified, said Sub-inspector Shoaib of Chawkbazar Police Station. 4 operatives of ‘Magnetic Coin’ fraud gang arrested with huge money in Adabor A group of local residents chased three men who were suspected of attempting to mug an individual near Champatali Ghat in Swarighat at around 5:20 am on Friday. The mob, acting on suspicion, beat the trio severely, leaving them with serious injuries, said the SI. 35-year-old shot dead in Dhaka's Gulshan Police responded to the scene and rescued the three men, who were in critical condition. They were rushed to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where one of the men was declared dead by doctors, he added. The two others are currently undergoing treatment under police supervision, the SI also said.  

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has called for global action against racial injustice and highlighted the plight of the Rohingya people, who remain victims of racial discrimination and prolonged statelessness. Since 2017, Bangladesh has sheltered over a million forcibly displaced Rohingyas, but their repatriation to Myanmar remains the only sustainable solution to this protracted crisis, he said in a message on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. UNHCR deplores funding cuts in humanitarian sector putting millions at risk The global community must engage actively to ensure their early repatriation to their homeland in Myanmar, Dr Yunus said. On this occasion, Bangladesh reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance in all its forms. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Dhaka calls for stronger global cooperation, investment to advance gender equality "As a state party to ICERD, Bangladesh upholds non-discrimination as a core principle of governance and society," said the Chief Adviser.

Two people were killed and 21 others injured as a speeding truck hit a pedestrian and then crashed into a human hauler, locally known as Bhotbhoti, on Sherpur-Dhunat regional road in Bogura’s Sherpur upazila on Friday morning, said police. The deceased Harun-or-Rashid, 52, and Hanif, 35, were residents of Khamarkandi union under Sherpur upazila. The injured included Sundori, Basanti, Surboti, Chaina, Probitra, Sagorika, Sunil, Manantor, Md Sattar, and Basori, among others. The injured and deceased Hanif were day-labours and were going to Kusumbi village under Sherpur upazila to harvest potato from nearby Dhunat upazila. Sherpur police station’s Sub-Inspector Tofazzal Hossain said the truck first knocked down pedestrian Harun and after 200 yards again rammed into the human hauler by Ranabirbala Bashir Pagla Shrine, causing an overturn of the human hauler carrying the day-labours. The accidents left the duo dead on the spot and others injured, he said, adding that there were 17 women and five men workers in the human hauler. Sherpur Fire Service’s Warehouse In-Charge Bakhtiar Uddin said they sent the injured to Upazila Health Complex after rescuing. SI Tofazzal said they seized the truck but the driver managed to flee.

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, BG-201, was forced to return to Dhaka midway after a power outage disrupted operations at London Heathrow Airport on Friday. The flight, which departed from Dhaka (DAC) to Heathrow (LHR) via Zurich (ZYL), had taken off from Dhaka at 08:42 (local time) and made a brief stop at Zurich at 09:06 (local time), according to BIman’s Public Relation general manager. Heathrow Airport to shut down Friday after rire causes power outage in London The aircraft, a Boeing 787-9 (B789), continued its journey from Zurich at 10:46 (local time) but was turned back before reaching London due to the unexpected power failure at Heathrow, causing significant delays and operational difficulties at the airport, he said. With 267 passengers on board, including the pilot and crew, the flight returned to Dhaka 13:15 (local time). Biman enhances ground handling capacity at 3rd terminal Biman operates four flights per week on the DAC-LHR-DAC route.

A suspected mugger was lynched and two others were injured in a mob attack after they allegedly snatched away valuables from a businessman in Keraniganj of Dhaka on Friday morning. Though the identity of the deceased could not be known, he was around 22, said Keraniganj Model police station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sohrab Al Hasan. He said a gang of three suspected muggers grabbed the businessman, a resident of Old Dhaka’s Imamganj, when he arrived at Nadubepari Ghat to go to Jinjira around 8am. The attackers stanched away mobile phones and money in cash at arms-point, the OC said, adding that the victim sought help from locals by screaming. Man lynched in Barishal over alleged rape attempt Later, locals caught the trio red-handed and beat them up, leaving one of them dead on the spot, the OC said. The injured were sent to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital and the body was sent to Midford Medical College and Hospital morgue for autopsy, he said. A case was filed in this connection, he added.

Two people were killed and 10 others injured in a clash between activists of Awami League (AL) and BNP over establishing supremacy in a remote char under Raipura upazila of Narsingdi early Friday. The deceased Amin, 23, son of Khorshed Mia, Bashar, 35, son of Barek Haji, were said to be followers of the AL, with Amin sustaining gunshots. Police and locals said there had long been a dispute between freedom fighter Abdur Salam Mia, also AL president of the ward No-9 unit of Chanpur union, his ally Sohag, joint secretary of the union AL and rival Samsu Member, president of the union BNP. Earlier, Salam and Sohag’s supporters had driven Samsu Member and his followers away from the area when their party was in power. Two killed in separate BNP factional clashes in Rajshahi But following the changeover in the country on August 5 last, Samsu and his group returned home and tensions escalated in the area. Early this morning around 5am, Salam and his followers tried to enter the area but faced a barrier from Samsu Member’s supporters, resulting in a clash between the rivals. The clash left two killed and 10 others injured. Of them, Amin was shot while Bashar was severely wounded by a spear and knife attack. The injured were taken to several hospitals and the bodies were sent to the Narsingdi Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. Clashes erupt at Kuet over banning student politics; BGB deployed Narsingdi Superintendent of Police (SP) Md. Abdul Hannan said they heard that two people were killed, forcing them to deploy additional police personnel to ward off any unexpected incident further.

Police arrested four members of an organised gang involved with deception through ‘magnetic coins’ from several areas under Adabor police station of Dhaka from late Thursday to early Friday. The arrestees are Ifthekhar Ahmed, 44, Abu Naim Md. Faizanul Haque alias Dr. Naim, 48, Md. Abdul Halim Talukder Quraishi, 42, and Abul Kalam Azad, 46. A team of Adabor police station conducted drives in several areas, including Prince Bazar, Shekhertek, Suchana Community Center, and Krishi Market between 12:10am and 7am on Friday, said Md Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (DC-media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), in a media release. During the drives, four antique metal coins, a bank cheque worth Tk 50 lakh, Tk 19.5 lakh in cash, 10 mobile phones were seized from the accused, it said. According to information gleaned from the accused, the fraud began eight months back when a woman introduced her landlord Mizanur Rahman to arrestee Ifthekhar Ahmed at his Banani office. Ifthekhar convinced Mizanur to invest in an ‘antique metal coin’ business, claiming he had extensive experience in the field and assured him that there was high demand for these coins in Japan and the US, promising massive returns on investment. RAB vows to eradicate teen gangs from Mohammadpur-Basila On September 18, 2024, Ifthekhar, along with Abu Naim and Abdul Halim met Mizanur at a hotel in Gulshan and informed that each antique coin was worth around $20 billion in the international market. To further deceive him, they brought in a fake chemist named Abdul Halim Talukder Quraishi who allegedly conducted a scientific test on the coins and issued a fabricated authenticity report, according to the release.