United News of Bangladesh

Abdur Rashid Molla, a  freedom fighter and an adviser of Narsingdi district BNP, died at a hospital in Dhaka on Saturday morning. He was 80. He breathed his last around 9:30 am, family sources said. Rashid, a former commander of the Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangshad  in Narsingdi and  a former chairman of Joynagar Union Parishad , is survived by wife, four sons, one daughter and many relatives. His first namaz-e-janaza will be held after Asr prayers at Narsingdi Collectorate Mosque. A second janaza will take place after Esha prayers at his village home in Joynagar village under Shibpur upazila. Man held over killing of freedom fighter, wife in Rangpur He will be buried at the family graveyard with state honour. BNP Joint Secretary General and Narsingdi district BNP President Khairul Kabir Khokon, district BNP General Secretary Manjur Elahi, Narsingdi Press Club President Makhan Das, General Secretary Asadul Haque Palash and Narsingdi District Bar Association President Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan expressed deep sorrow at his death and conveyed sympathy to the bereaved family.

A freedom fighter and his wife were found dead with their throats slit at their home in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur early Sunday (December 07, 2025). The deceased were identified as freedom fighter Jogesh Chandra Roy, 75, a retired headteacher of a local government primary school, and his wife Surbonna Roy, 60, residents of Khiarpara village in Kursha union. Taraganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Abu Saiyum Talukdar said the couple were killed around 1am at their house. Neighbours and police said the couple went to bed as usual on Saturday night (December 06, 2025). Read more: Suspect in Pallabi Jubo Dal leader murder dies after arrest On Sunday morning, neighbours called them repeatedly but received no response and then a neighbour named Dipak climbed a ladder over the main gate and entered the house. He found Surbonna’s body lying in the kitchen and Jogesh’s body  in the dining room, both with their throats slit. Locals said the couple used to live alone in the house and their two sons are serving in different units of Bangladesh Police. OC Abu Saiyum Talukdar said members of the crime scene unit are at the spot and detectives are also looking into the murder incident. Read more: 3-year-old girl found dead in Jhenaidah; police suspect murder Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Munabbir Hossain and senior district police officials have visited the crime scene.

Former army chief and valiant freedom fighter KM Shafiullah died on Sunday morning at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka. He was 91. Shafiullah breathed his last at 8:45am at the hospital, said Rashadul Alam Khan, assistant director at Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate. The former army chief, also commander of sector 3 during the Liberation War, was admitted to CMH on January 2  with various health complications. Joules Power MD Nuher Khan laid to rest His first Namaj-e-Janaza was held at Rupganj after Zuhr prayers. He will be buried at Military Graveyard at Banani following his second Namaz-e-Janaza at Dhaka Cantonment. KM Saifullah was born on September 2 in 1934, in Rupganj of Narayanganj. He served as the chief of army staff from 1972 to 1975 and served as ambassador in Malaysia, Canada, Sweden, and the UK. Veteran actor Prabir Mitra passes away He led the S-Force and earned ‘Bir Uttam’ title for his valiant role in the Liberation War.

Serajul Alam Khan, one of the main organisers of the Liberation War, was buried at his family graveyard after a second namaz-e-janaza in Begumganj upazila of Noakhali on Saturday (June 10, 2023). The freedom fighter and politician was laid to rest next to his mother’s grave in Alipur village under the upazila in the afternoon after a janaza at Begumganj Government Pilot School field. Earlier, he was given a guard of honour by a team of Begumganj police. His body was wrapped in his mother’s saree as per his wishes. His first namaz-e-janaza was held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. Also read: Serajul Alam Khan dies: Enigmatic personality, influential politician Local lawmaker Mamunur Rashid Kiron; BNP leaders Md Shahjahan, Shimu Biswas, Abdus Salam; JSD President ASM Abdur Rob; political, social and cultural organizations expressed deep sorrow and shock at the demise of Serajul Alam. On Friday afternoon, Serajul Alam, widely known as “Dada bhai” breathed his last at the age of 82 while undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Serajul was put on life support in the ICU of DMCH on Thursday after his health condition deteriorated. Also read: Serajul Alam Khan, key Liberation War organiser, no more On Friday afternoon, Serajul Alam, better known as ‘Dada bhai’ breathed his last at the age of 82 while undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Serajul was put on life support in the ICU of DMCH on Thursday (June 8, 2023) after his health condition deteriorated. The freedom fighter was born at his ancestral village in Noakhali on January 6, 1941. Also read: Foreign Minister condoles Serajul Alam Khan's death

He (Dr. Zafrullah) just never stopped fighting his wars even after liberation. It never probably occurred to him to make peace with his battles and move on. In so many ways, he was the closest to what we would call a permanent warrior. He passed away but his battles will go on. It began in his college days when he was already infected by idealism which met his "revolutionary zeal".  The two made a potent broth that Zafrullah bhai drank and never stopped fighting for his causes, no matter how great his opposition was.  And it's amazing when both idealism and his sense of social justice are both collectively comatose, he remained loyal to them no matter what. Zafrullah bhai stands above most of us because he dared to stand taller than most around him. In all the years that I have known him , he has not hesitated to be himself.  He followed the right wagon with as much zeal as he did the occasional wrong one’s because he was a believer in people’s rights. What separated him from the rest was that he was selfless, totally driven by the idea that health was a right that all had a right to claim. And that it was one of the biggest democratic causes of them all. And he never stopped until death finally called his name. Read More: People to pay tribute to Dr Zafrullah at Shaheed Minar tomorrow The man from Sector 2      In some way, Zafrullah bhai was the perennial man from Sector 2, 1971 war. He was the helmsman of the Bisramganj hospital that  he helped establish in that war zone, not just treating the warriors but training nurses and paramedics too.  For many who were part of the 1971 war, it never really stops and he was one of them. The war days belonged to the warriors but as soon as the war was over,  the new state generated new needs and causes and Zafar bhai became a warrior for them. Fifty years later, it’s impossible to understand the kind of impact he had on society, emerging from the ashes of the war, who needed a voice to speak as audaciously as he did.   The health establishment He took on the health establishment like none had done before and in this fight, many of his fellow fighters were his old comrades from Sector 2, led by Shahadat Chowdhury, Editor of the weekly Bichitra.  Bichitra gave him a platform to reach out and become a vanguard as Zafrullah bhai launched media campaigns, health rights volunteers and also began to mobilize supporters to begin his greatest adventure, the Gonosasthaya complex. The health treatment infrastructure was not a problem but when he began his pharmaceutical company, he faced massive opposition, both national and international. But with all his warrior instincts, he fought back and though he didn’t triumph, it was not a sweat for a lost cause. Today, many aspects of the general health sector cause dismay, but in some ways, health rights are more accessible for many than they were in the early days of Bangladesh particularly in machine availability. Read More: PM mourns death of Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury The political Zafar bhai I am not sure how committed he was to politics but I think he truly believed that health rights could not be assured unless political rights were won.  So from the early days he supported causes and campaigns, supporting candidates, causes and political platforms right from the birth days of Bangladesh. Till the last day, he was doing what he thought was the right thing to do.  Due to media exposure, many will remember him more as the political person he had become in many eyes in the last decade or so than the health rights person I saw he was most committed to as a cause. We have walked together for long though his increasing political commitments and my lack of interest in political media and talk shows made meetings less frequent. But I remember one day, when we were both being tried in the same case –contempt of court- for a petition we had both signed, and were being searched by the High Court security. His frayed trouser end and his keychain got tangled and as he bent down to separate them he laughed in his own way and said, “Sometimes, I think it would be the best if I could go back to my village and become the local doctor”. Farewell Zafrullah bhai, you always were our greatest village doctor. Read More: Home Minister mourns Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury's death

Ganashasthaya Kendra founder and freedom fighter Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury has been put on life support at Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital on Monday (April 10, 2023) morning. He was put on life support as his health condition deteriorated, said Ganashasthaya Kendra press adviser Jahangir Alam Mintu in a media release. Read more: Govt suffers from 'dependency syndrome': Zafrullah  A medical board, led by Professor Brigadier General (Retd) Dr Mamun Mustafi, was formed on Sunday as his physical condition did not improve. "Zafrullah Chowdhury’s health condition deteriorated around 10:30am on Monday. Later, he was put on life support at the ICU of the hospital,” said Professor Brigadier General (Retd) Dr Mamun Mustafi. Dr Zafrullah has been suffering from kidney related complications for a long time. Read More: Zafrullah demands Tk 50 lakh compensation for families of each worker killed in Banshkhali

A freedom fighter was tied to a tree and tortured allegedly by his neighbors over a land dispute in Hathazari upazila of Chattogram. The attackers ransacked freedom fighter Ahmed Hossain’s house and later built a boundary wall on his land. Police have arrested Ahmed’s neighour Nahida Sultana in this connection. Her husband Lokman, and other main accused went into hiding. After a video on his torture caused a stir in social media, police and the UNO of Hathazari upazila went to the victim’s house. Also read: Son masterminded freedom fighter's killing in N'ganj for money: PBI Shahidul Islam, the UNO of Hathajari upazila, said, “Upon receiving information, I, along with police officers and other freedom fighters, went to the spot. The boundary wall was demolished at my command.” Also Read: Freedom fighter in Lalmonirhat murdered Ruhul Amin Sabuj, officer-in-charge of Hathajari Model police station, said a case was filed. “We detained the main accused’s wife. Steps are being taken to detain Lokman and his cohorts,” he said.    

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (February 15, 2023) handed over the keys of ‘Bir Nibash’ to valiant freedom fighters, who are financially marginalized. The Prime Minister handed over keys to 5000 houses at a programme – held in Dhaka’s Osmani Memorial Auditorium – organized by the Liberation War Affairs Ministry with the Minister AKM Mozammel Huq in the chair. The PM joined the programme virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban. The houses are being given away to freedom fighters as gifts from the Prime Minister, on the occasion of Mujib Borsho and 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence. Read more: President-elect, PM call on incumbent at Bangabhaban The project, ‘House construction for insolvent freedom fighters’ – approved by the ECNEC on March 21 last year – is being implemented at the cost of Tk 4,122 crore which will come from government funds. The main objective of the project is to construct 30,000 ‘Bir Nibash’ (houses) for insolvent freedom fighters, Birangana (women freedom fighters), widows and children of martyred and late freedom fighters. Named ‘Bir Nibash’ (Home for Heroes), each 635sqft house has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining room, and a kitchen. This project is an initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to uplift the socio-economic status of financially marginalized freedom fighters, as well as widows and children of late freedom fighters. Read More: BALID honours six freedom fighters in the month of victory The cost of building each house is Tk 14,10,382, as per the official source. Deputy Commissioners of Narail, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Gazipur and Kishoreganj, on behalf of the Prime Minister handed over the keys in their respective areas.

Former principal of Patgram Women’s Degree College was murdered at Shahebdanga in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat district on Friday (January 20, 2023) night. The deceased was identified as M Wajed Ali, a freedom fighter and son of Basir Uddin of the village. Quoting locals, Omar Faruk, officer-in-charge of Patgram Police Station, said a group of miscreants swooped on Wajed at his house around 9:30 pm and slit his throat, leaving him critically injured. Also read: Pabna rickshaw-puller murder: Jubo League activist put on 3-day remand Wajed was taken to the upazila health complex where the doctors declared him dead. The motive behind the murder could not be known immediately. “Police are investigating the incident and legal steps will be taken soon,” said OC. Read More: Lalmonirhat mother, daughter crushed to death by train

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed shock and deep grief at the death of Pirojpur Awami League (AL) General Secretary and heroic Freedom Fighter Advocate MA Hakim Hawladar. Hakim Hawladar, 76, died Saturday night while undergoing treatment at a Khulna hospital. Read more: PM mourns Ekushey Padak winning journalist Ranesh Maitra Sheikh Hasina also prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and extended her heartfelt sympathy to the AL leader and his family. Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim, a lawmaker from Pirojpur-1, also mourned the death of Hakim Hawladar.