death
Gazi Mazharul Anwar a legend of Bangladesh: Fakhrul
Describing musician, film director and lyricist Gazi Mazharul Anwar as a legend of Bangladesh, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday expressed deep shock at his demise.
"He (Mazharul) was one of the legends of Bangladesh. It would be wrong to call him only a lyricist as he was a creative artiste whose pen created many wonderful songs and poems in this country,” he said.
Fakhrul made the remarks while talking to reporters at United Hospital as we went there to pay homage to the mortal remains of the noted lyrist.
"I'm a bit emotional at his demise as I had a very close personal relationship with him. I can't accept that he is no more. We have lost a rare personality and a brilliant artiste," he said.
Mentioning that the songs of the talented artiste inspired freedom fighters during the Liberation War, the BNP leader said, "His songs were the most inspiring for us in the 1971 war of independence, and he wrote thousands of songs in later times.”
Fakhrul prayed for the salvation of the departed soul of Gazi Mazharul and conveyed profound sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Gazi Mazharul Anwar, also a member of the BNP Chairperson’s advisory council, passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 79.
His nephew Shahriar Nazim Joy said doctors at the United Hospital pronounced him dead when he was taken there in the morning.
Hearing the news of his death, Fakhrul rushed to the United Hospital from his Uttara house and consoled the deceased’s family members.
Man hacked to death over trivial matter in Chattogram
A man has been hacked to death over a trifling matter in Sitakunda upazila of the district on Saturday night.
The deceased has been identified as Khurshid Alam, 42, son of Freedom Fighter Nur Ahmed of the ward No 2 under Sitakunda municipality.
Witnesses said the victim was returning home by car after taking his child to the doctor in the evening.
One Md Arafat, son of Md Bahadur and a tenant at the same address as the victim, suffered a minor injury when Khurshid’s car accidently bumped into him in front of the house, they said.
Read: Woman hacked to death by husband in city
Reacting to the incident, both of them locked into an altercation over the issue and at one point Arafat hacked the victim with an indigenous sharp weapon, leaving him critically injured.
He was rushed to Chattogram Medical College Hospital where physicians declared him dead on arrival around 8pm, Abul Kalam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sitakunda Model Police Station, told UNB.
Legal action will be taken in this connection, the OC added.
Gorbachev’s marriage, like his politics, broke the mold
When Mikhail Gorbachev is buried Saturday at Moscow’s Novodevichy Cemetery, he will once again be next to his wife, Raisa, with whom he shared the world stage in a visibly close and loving marriage that was unprecedented for a Soviet leader.
“They were a true pair. She was a part of him, almost always at his side,” then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany said at Raisa’s funeral in 1999, where Gorbachev wept openly. “Much of what he achieved is simply unimaginable without his wife.”
Gorbachev’s very public devotion to his family broke the stuffy mold of previous Soviet leaders, just as his openness to political reform did.
“He loved a woman more than his work. I think he wouldn’t have been able to embrace her if his hands were stained with blood,” wrote Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, editor of Russia’s leading independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta. Co-owned by Gorbachev, it was forced to shut under official pressure after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We should always remember,” Muratov continued, “he loved a woman more than his work, he placed human rights above the state and he valued peaceful skies more than personal power.”
Gorbachev’s open attachment to his family also stands in stark contrast to the secrecy that surrounds the private life of Russia’s current leader, President Vladimir Putin.
For her part, Raisa Gorbacheva cut a bold figure for Soviet first ladies — more visible, with a direct way of speaking, a polished manner and fashionable clothes. A sociologist by training, she had met Mikhail at a Moscow university where they both studied.
“One day we took each other by the hand and went for a walk in the evening. And we walked like that for our whole life,” Gorbachev told Vogue magazine in 2013. Raisa accompanied him on his travels, and they discussed policy and politics together.
Her confident demeanor and prominent public role didn’t sit well with many Russians, who had also soured on Gorbachev and blamed his policies for the subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union. The couple won sympathy, however, in 1999, when it was revealed that Raisa was dying of leukemia. Her husband spoke daily with television reporters, and the sometimes lofty-sounding politician of old was suddenly seen as an emotional, grieving family man.
For more than two decades after she was gone, Gorbachev kept Raisa’s memory alive and embraced his status as a lonely widower.
He released a CD of seven romantic songs, “Songs for Raisa,” in 2009 on which he sang along with well-known Russian musician and guitarist Andrei Makarevich. Sales went to the charities Raisa had founded. A few years later, he published a book dedicated to her, “Alone with Myself.”
Their marriage even became the subject of a popular play in Moscow in 2021, “Gorbachev.” Its point was one noteworthy for Russia: that the country’s leader was a human being who prioritized family, friends and personal obligations. One scene recounted a key moment in Gorbachev’s career when he returned to Moscow after the failed communist coup against him in 1991. Raisa had had a stroke, and instead of immediately stepping back onto the political stage, he went to the hospital to be with her.
Read: Mikhail Gorbachev, who steered Soviet breakup, dead at 91
“I was not married to the country — Russia or the Soviet Union,” Gorbachev wrote in his memoirs. “I was married to my wife, and that night I went with her to the hospital.”
At the Moscow cemetery, a life-size statue of Raisa has stood for many years now over the grave intended for them both.
The Gorbachevs had a daughter, Irina, two granddaughters and a great-granddaughter. Despite his attachment to family, Gorbachev lived out his life in Russia while they live in Germany.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a businessman in the early post-Soviet days who now lives in exile in London, tweeted this week that one of Gorbachev’s great strengths was his ability to wash away “awe of the person on the throne,” and that his attention to family was part of that.
“With this he changed my life. And also by his attitude toward Raisa Maximovna — a second important lesson,” Khodorkovsky said, using Gorbacheva’s patronymic. “He went to her. Rest in peace.”
Bodies of two youths found in Buriganga, Turag rivers
River police have recovered bodies of two youths from the Buriganga and Turag rivers in the city.
Mohammad Abdul Halim, a Sub-Inspector (SI) of River Police’s Basila outpost, said that a body was found from Buriganga river’s Kamrangirchar point on Friday around 2:30pm.
“We haven’t been able to find out the identity of the body yet. The body has been sent to the morgue of Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital (SMCH) after autopsy. There was no injury mark on the body,” said the SI.
Read: Two found dead in Keraniganj:Police
Abdullah Al Mamun, Officer In-charge (OC) of River Police’s Aminbazar outpost, said that the body of a youth was recovered from Turag River’s Adabor Turag Housing Society point on Friday afternoon.
“We are suspecting that the body fell into the river five to six days ago. The age of the youth was around 30. The cause of the death will be known once the autopsy report is ready,” said the OC.
Keraniganj gas pipeline explosion: Death toll rises to 3
The death toll from the explosion in a gas pipeline in Keraniganj rose to three as two of the six victims died at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on Friday.
The deceased were identified as Shahadat, 20, and his grandmother Begum, 60.
Shahadat, who sustained 52 percent burn injuries, breathed his last at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery around 2:30 pm, said the hospital’s Resident Surgeon Dr SM Ayub Hossain.
Begum died around 6:30 pm while undergoing treatment at the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) with 23 percent burn injuries, he added.
The bodies were kept at the hospital morgue, said DMCH police outpost in-charge Inspector Md Bacchu Mia.
Read: Fire breaks out at DNCC building
On Tuesday, six members of a family suffered critical burn injuries in a fire in the gas pipeline of their house in the Jinjira area of Keraniganj.
Maria Akter, 8, succumbed to her burn injuries hours after she was brought to the hospital.
The other injured are Iduni Begum, 50, Sonia Akter, 26, Md Sahadat Hossain, 20, and Md Yasin, 12.
Case filed against 5,000 over Jubo Dal activist's death in Narayanganj
A case was filed against 5,000 unnamed people over the death of Jubo Dal activist Shaon in a clash between the law enforcers and BNP activists in Narayanganj Sadar upazila Thursday, police said.
"Shaon's elder brother Milon Pradhan filed a complaint at Narayanganj Sadar Police Station Thursday night. After that, a first information report (FIR) was registered," Anisur Rahman Molla, officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station, said Friday.
Read: Jubo Dal activist killed in N’ganj; BNP activists-police clash in parts of country
"We will take legal action against those involved in the killing following an investigation," the OC added.
Thursday, Shaon was killed and 50 people were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in Narayanganj as the law enforcers tried to prevent local BNP leaders and activists from holding a rally during their founding anniversary.
Jubo Dal activist killed in N’ganj; BNP activists-police clash in parts of country
An activist of Jubo Dal, BNP's youth wing, was killed and at least 50 people were injured in a clash between police and the opposition party members in Narayanganj's No 2 rail gate area Thursday.
Similar clashes broke out between the party activists and police in Netrakona, Sirajganj and Manikganj as BNP held political programmes to celebrate its 44th founding anniversary.
The deceased in Narayanganj was identified as Shaon, 21, son of Shahed Ali and an activist of Fatullah unit of Jubo Dal.
Anisur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station, said the BNP activists took out a procession around 10.45am, marking the founding anniversary of the party.
When the procession reached the No-2 rail gate area around 11.30am, police stopped them, triggering a chase and counter chase.
At one stage, the protesters attacked the cops, prompting the law enforcers to fire rubber bullets.
The whole Bangabandhu road from No-2 rail gate point turned into a battlefield during the clash that left 50 people injured.
Read: 30 hurt in BNP activists-police clash in Netrokona; 13 held
Shaon received bullet injuries during the clash. He was taken to Narayanganj General Hospital, where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Another five Jubo Dal activists- Md Badal Bhuiyan,35, Nabir Hossain Nabin,30, Jewel Arman,40, and Md Faruq,30, were admitted to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) after suffering bullet wounds during the clash, said, Bacchu Mia in charge inspector of DMCH police outpost.
UNB Netrakona correspondent reports: at least 30 people, including 13 cops, were injured in a clash between BNP activists and police in Netrokona town.
Fakhruzzaman Jewel, Additional Superintendent of Police of the district, said vehicular movement in the district’s Chhoto Bazar area was suspended as BNP activists started to gather in front of their party office to celebrate the 44th founding anniversary of the party.
“The clash erupted when police went to normalize the traffic situation. BNP activists attacked us when we tried to free up the road. We had to use tear gas and fire blank shots to bring the situation under control,” said Jewel.
Police have so far arrested 13 BNP activists in connection with the clash.
In Sirajganj, at least 27 people including seven police were injured during a clash between police and BNP activists.
The clash broke out around 11:30 am at SB Fazlul Haque road in Sirajganj near district BNP office.
BNP activists exploded crude bombs at Nabadwip Pool area during a rally to mark the party’s 44th anniversary, said Jashim Uddin, Additional Superintendent of Sirajganj police.
As police charged baton to take control of the situation as an altercation with the BNP activists satrted, he said. Later police was forced to fire rubber bullets and tear shells to control the situation.
Seven police members were hurt during the clash, said the additional SP.
Police detained a Bangladesh Chhatra Dal activist with a sharp weapon from road before the rally started, said police.
Meanwhile, Saidur Rahman Bacchu, general secretary of district BNP claimed at least 20 of their activists were injured when police attacked them.
In Manikganj, Twenty-eight people including five police members were injured during a clash between BNP activists and police.
The incident occurred around 11 am at Khalpar area in Manikganj city when the activists were moving towardd their party office in Seota area with a procession and police obstructed them , the witnesses.
The BNP activists threw brick chips at police while cops charged baton and resorted to tear shells to disperse them.
According to police, Manikganj sadar police station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC)Abdur Rauf were among the injured. Police arrested five BNP activists after the incident, said OC Abdur Rauf.
Meanwhile, BNP leaders in a press briefing later claimed that 25 of their activists and leaders were injured during the clash.
Freedom fighter Shafiqur Rahman passes away
Freedom fighter Shafiqur Rahman (Munna), advisor and founder director of Mercantile Insurance Co. Ltd, passed away on August 23. He was 70.
He breathed his last at his residence in Dhaka due to cardiac arrest. Rahman left behind his mother, wife, only daughter, grandson, granddaughter and host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.
Rahman served as Chairman of Skyways Techno Services Ltd, Managing Director of S. Rahman Associates Ltd and Managing Director of Comfort Real Estate Ltd.
He was an Executive Member of Bangladesh Cricket Control Board (BCCB 1991-1996) and advisor of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB 2002-2005) and Chairman of the Grounds and Facilities Committee, BCB (2003-2005).
Late Rahman developed venues and pitches of international standards in Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi Divisional Stadiums, Narayangonj Fatullah Cricket Stadium, Bogra Shaheed Chandu Stadium.
He was a member of the Under-19 World Cup Organizing Committee, President of Victoria Sporting Club (2001-2006).
During this period, Victoria Sporting Club won Championships for two consecutive years in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League during the seasons 2001-2002 and 2002-2003.
He also served as General Secretary, Victoria Sporting Club (1985), Cricket Secretary, Victoria Sporting Club (1975-1980), Victoria Sporting Club won the Dhaka Cricket League Championship in 1975-1976 and Runners-up in 1976-1977.
Rahman produced and groomed cricket players like Abdur Razzak Raj, Alok Kapali, Manjurul Rana, Shakib Al Hasan, Aftab and others.
He was a pioneer in introducing professionalism in club cricket by paying remuneration to players since 1975.
Read: PM mourns death of freedom fighter Mukul Bose
Rahman was a life member of Victoria Sporting Club, Dhaka Club Ltd and Gulshan Club Ltd. He was also a founding member of Cadet College Club.
The veteran sports organiser, also an ex-president of Victoria Sporting Club, played many roles at the cricket board. He was a member of the BCB's executive committee and advisory committee and was also a member of the interim committee for the BCB formed in 2007. He had been a long-standing chairman of the board's Grounds and Facilities Committee and was a member of the first BPL Governing Council.
College student killed in Ctg road crash
A 19-year-old college student was killed when a covered van hit his by-cycle in Mirsharai upazila of Chattogram on Friday, said police.
The deceased was identified as Shahidul Islam Noyon, a resident of the upazila. He was a student of class XI of Nizampur Government College.
The accident occurred around 12pm when a speeding covered van hit Noyon’s by-cycle on Baryarhat-Karerhat road in Chinkirhat area, leaving him dead on spot, said Baten, sub-inspector (SI) of Zorargonj police station.
Police seized the killer vehicle, however, the driver managed to flee the scene, he added.
Read: Road crashes claim 26 lives in 9 districts
Woman 'tortured to death by husband’ in Ctg
A woman was tortured to death allegedly by her husband at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) area of Chattogram city on Friday.
The victim was identified as Shirin Akhter, 35, wife of Ajgor Ali, of Dhawa Union of Bhandaria upazila in Pirojpur district.
Quoting local people, police said the couple used to fight over family matters since their marriage.
On Friday morning, neighbours found Shirin's body and informed police, officer-in-charge (OC) of EPZ Police Station, Md Nurul Bashar, said.
On information, police recovered the body and sent it to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy, said the OC.
Read: Woman killed by ‘husband’ in Sunamganj: Husband held
Several injury marks were found on the body, said the OC, adding that legal action will be taken against the accused.
Ajgor Ali went into hiding right after the incident.