United News of Bangladesh

A tragic incident unfolded in Thakurgaon’s Baliadangi upazila on Friday morning as two young cousin brothers drowned in a pond while trying to save each other. The deceased were identified as Sohan Ali, 7, son of Safiul Islam, and Siam Hossain, 6, son of Dabirul Islam, both residents of Chhoto Lahiri village under Paria union of the upazila. The two were cousins and students of a local Hafizia madrasa. Family members said both fathers work in Dhaka. The children had returned home on Thursday for the weekend. Next morning they  went out to play near the pond beside their house. Bangladeshi killed in BSF firing at Sultanpur border in Chuadanga While playing Siam slipped and fell into the pond. Seeing his younger cousin struggling, Sohan immediately jumped in to rescue him. Unfortunately, neither of them survived. Later, family members spotted their bodies floating in the pond and brought them home. Confirming the incident, Baliadangi Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shawkat Ali Sarkar said, “Police have visited the spot. It was a tragic accident.”

A court in Thakurgaon granted a three-day remand for three out of four suspects arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of a student of Thakurgaon Polytechnic Institute. The accused were presented before the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Thakurgaon, where Judge Rajib Kumar Roy approved the remand on Thursday. The suspects are Sezan Ali (25), son of Matiur Rahman from Maheshpur village in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, his niece Ratna Akhter Riva (19) from Telipara in Thakurgaon municipality, and Murad alias Nasim (25) from Arazi Paikpara village of the same upazila. However, the court did not grant remand for Sezan’s mother, Shiuli Begum, though law enforcement officials stated they might seek her remand later. According to the Detective Branch (DB) police, the suspects used a fake Facebook profile under the name "Shesh Bikel-er Golpo" to lure victim Milon Hossain (23) into an online relationship. They communicated via Messenger and eventually set up a meeting. On the night of February 23, around 9pm, Milon went to the ‘litchu bagan’ behind the polytechnic institute to meet the woman, Riva. At that moment, Sezan and Murad ambushed him from behind. When Milon screamed for help, they strangled him to death. After the murder, they took Milon’s body to Sezan’s house and later disposed of it in an abandoned septic tank, covering it with soil. They then extorted Tk 25 lakh as ransom from Milon's family. On March 5, Milon’s father filed a general diary (GD) at Thakurgaon Sadar police station after his son went missing. Later, on March 19, he filed a case against unidentified individuals, which was immediately transferred to DB police. Acting on intelligence, police arrested three suspects—Sezan, Murad, and Riva—on Wednesday. During interrogation, they confessed to the abduction and murder, leading to the recovery of Milon's decomposed body from an abandoned septic tank near Sezan’s house on March 20.