Patuakhali
1 killed, 7 injured in Patuakhali road accident
A person was killed in a road accident in Patuakhalias as an easy-bike fell into a paddy field with passengers, on Tuesday morning.
The deceased was identified as Ripon Abdullah, 45, driver of the easy-bike and son of Md Abdur Rob Gazi of Salimpur village in Kalapara Nilganj.
The accident occurred as the driver lost control due to heavy rain and strong winds on Patuakhali-Kuakata highway in the Yushubpur culvert area of Mahipur of the district.
Read: Traffic police killed in city road crash
Officer-in-charge of Mahipur police station said the easy-bike was traveling from Kalapara to Kuakata with seven passengers in the morning. Due to heavy rain and strong winds, the driver lost control and fell into a paddy field by the road.
The driver died on the spot but the injured passengers were able to leave for their respective destinations after taking first aid locally, the OC added.
Read: 273 killed on roads during Eid rush; highest in 6 years
Police recovered the body of the deceased and sent it to Patuakhali Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.
An unnatural death case was filed in this regard.
Another dead dolphin found on Kuakata sea beach
Local fishermen found a dead dolphin on Kuakata sea beach in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali district on Saturday.
Local people said, the dolphin, about 6-7 feet long, had injury marks on its mouth and they suspected that the dolphin might have died after being hit by fishing nets.
Read:Another dead dolphin found floating in a canal in Chattogram
Apu Shaha, Fisheries and Livestock official of Kalapara upazila, said, “The dolphin belongs to the Ganges river dolphin specie which live on eating fish. It might have died after being hit by fishing nets.”
Under-construction bridge collapses in Patuakhali
An under-construction bridge on Patuakhali’s Kuakata-Misripara road collapsed on Monday.
The incident occurred at around 5 am.
The construction company claimed that the incident occurred due to the glitch in the hydraulic jack while installing the girder.
READ: 1 killed, 9 injured in Patuakhali clash
No casualties were reported but the construction of the bridge has raised many questions.
According to Kuakata Municipality sources, Patuakhali-based construction company Dwip Enterprise received the tender to construct the bridge over Dokhasipara canal on June 26, 2020 under the Kuakata Infrastructure Development Project.
More than Tk 2.26 crore was estimated as the construction cost of the 20-meter-long and 9.7-meter-wide bridge.
READ: Patuakhali: 18 held for violating fishing ban
Hasanuzzaman, an assistant engineer at Kuakata Municipality, said legal action would be taken against the construction company , if warranted following an investigation.
Patuakhali: 18 held for violating fishing ban
As many as 18 fishermen have been arrested during a river police operation against unauthorised fishing in the Megna River in Rabnabad.
Acting on a tip-off, a river police team conducted a drive and arrested the 18 fishermen and seized their four trawlers, fishing nets and one mound of fish on Friday afternoon.
Legal action will be taken against those held for fishing against the government ban, said a senior officer of Kalapara Upazila Fisheries Department.
READ: Bay fishing ban made 70pc fishermen jobless: COAST
Last month, the Bangladesh government imposed a 65-day ban, from May 20 to July 23, on fishing in the Bay of Bengal. The ban was imposed in the interest of the national economy, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim then said.
All commercial trawlers have been asked to comply with the ban.READ: 65-day fishing ban in Bay begins from Wednesday
Housewife murdered, family destroyed by wrath of loan shark
A housewife was murdered by an interest trader named Kayesh Talukder at Joinkathi Upazila in Patuakhali on April 9.
The deceased was identified as Purnima.
Moreover, her husband was also forced to flee the village after being tortured by Kayesh Talukder and his men.
According to sources, Purnima's husband Rakhal Bhodro took a loan of Taka 2,35000 from kayesh way back in 2016.
But despite paying back the amount with an 8% interest rate within four years, Kayesh unjustly demanded Rakhal's land as settlement.
Rakhal was forced to write off 51 % of his land to Kayesh and his family members in the face of continued threats.
However, Rakhal was still not spared from Kayesh's wrath. His men abducted Rakhal on last September and brutally tortured him for three straight days in an attempt to displace Rakhal's family from the land.
Also read: Viral: Woman tortured for failing to pay interest on loan
Although Rakhal fled after the incident, Kayesh did not stop. He targeted Purnima.
According to Rakhal's sister Shobha Rani, Kayesh and his men continuously harassed Purnima and made her life a living hell in the last few months.
Purnima used to sleep at different rooms of the house to camouflage herself from the goons.
On the night of the murder, Purnima came back to her room to stop her 2-year old daughter from crying. Later she slept in the middle by keeping her two younger children on both sides.
In the middle of the night, her elder son Akash Bhodro rushed to her room after hearing footsteps and unknown voices only to find the lifeless body of her mother lying down with her clothes wrapped around her neck.
"My mother had bruises on her neck, on her left arm and below the knee," he added.
The mother in law of the victim Sharswati Rani said that she saw 5-6 men fleeing from the house during the night of the incident.
However she could not see their faces as it was dark outside, she added.
Also read: 6 get life imprisonment for Kishoreganj housewife murder
The doctors conducting post mortem on Purnima's body confirmed that she was murdered. However they said that confirmation on whether the victim was raped or not would only be made after further investigation.
Although Kayesh disappeared for a few days following the murder, he again came back to the area and resumed tormenting the victim's family.
Akash, the victim's son has been receiving continuous death threats from Kayesh's goons to stop him from filing a case with the police.
Moreover, Kayesh and his men have put a boundary wall around their land, centering which the murder took place.
However, Kayesh denied the allegations against him to the UNB correspondent. He said that Rakhal wrote off his lands to Kayesh and his family members in a peaceful and legal way.
Despite everything, police did not interrogate anyone over the incident.
When contacted, SI Shamim of the local police station did not want to comment on the incident.
Additional Superintendent of Police Sadar Circle Khan Mohammad Mukit Hasan said that they have not received any complaints regarding the incident.
On the other hand, District Additional Superintendent of Police Mahfuzur Rahman said he had heard about the murder and would investigate it seriously.
Housewife ‘gang-raped’ in Patuakhali
A woman returning home alone was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a group of miscreants in Patuakhali's Bauphal upazila Thursday night.
Officer-in-Charge of Bauphal Police Station Al Mamun said Friday the crime occurred in the Chandradip area around 9 pm when the mother of three was returning home alone.
"The miscreants kidnapped her and took her to a desolate location, where they raped her. The accused later fled from the spot," the OC said, adding the woman has been sent to hospital for a medical examination.
Efforts are on to identify and nab the accused, he said.
Also read: Bangladesh introduces death penalty for rape
Rapes in Bangladesh
Rape cases are on the rise in Bangladesh although the government has introduced death penalty for the heinous crime.
According to data compiled by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a rights group, 1,018 children were raped last year alone, but only 683 cases were filed at police stations. Among them, 116 survivors were 6 years or below.
Overall 1,627 rape cases were reported last year, and 53 of the survivors had been killed by the perpetrators of the crime, while 14 took their own lives, the ASK data reveals.
Also read: Don’t reveal identities of sexual harassment, rape victims: HC
In November last year, Bangladesh introduced death penalty for rape, following days of protests against sexual violence against women.
In October 2020, the country was rocked by huge protests after a woman was attacked and raped in Noakhali district. In another case in Sylhet a week later, a woman was raped by several men at a hostel, triggering nationwide protests again.
A total of 26,695 rape cases have been filed across the country in the past five years, according to the police headquarters.
Also read: Police HQ: 26,695 rape cases filed in 5 yrs, with notable jump since 2019
Father sues son for sustenance allowance
A 74-year-old man has filed a case against his son on Monday demanding sustenance allowance in Patuakhali.
AZM Sahanur filed the case with the Senior Judicial Magistrate's Court in the afternoon.
Judge Aminul Islam took the case into cognizance and issued an arrest warrant for the son Md Muzammel, 37.
Muzammel is an assistant health official of Nowmala union in Baufal upazila.
In Bangladesh, the social security of senior citizens is ensured by the Parent's Care Act 2013. According to this law, children are bound to take proper care of their parents.
Under the Parent Care Act 2013, a person can be fined a maximum of Tk 100,000 for violating any of the provisions. The person has to serve a maximum of three months in jail if she/he fails to pay the fine.
Read Implementation of law to protect people with disabilities demanded.
Patuakhali Jamaat leader killed over land dispute
A Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader was killed and four others injured in a clash over land dispute in Patuakhali’s Mirzaganj on Thursday.
Maintenance dredging work underway at Payra port
Work to maintain a depth of 6.3 meters in the Rabnabad Channel of Payra Port was launched by the Chattogram Port Authority on Saturday.
RU student found dead at home in Patuakhali
Police on Saturday recovered the hanging body of a Rajshahi University student from his home in Patuakhali Sadar upazila.