Police arrested a member of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee in Pirojpur on Saturday in a case filed over attack, vandalism, and robbery of an under-construction model mosque. The arrestee, Musabbir Mahmud Sani (32), is the son of Md Kislur, from the Mashimpur area near the old bus stand in Pirojpur town, said Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Abbas of Pirojpur Sadar Police Station Detective Branch of Police arrested Sani from the Kapuria Patti area, the OC said. According to the case statement, Sani, identifying himself as the convener of a student movement, led a group of 30 to 40 individuals to attack the under-construction model mosque in Pirojpur Municipality on Friday afternoon. The attackers allegedly vandalised the staff quarters on-site and looted Tk 5 lakh from the office. They also destroyed the CCTV cameras and the hard disk of the surveillance system. Shahidul Islam, the site manager of the contracting firm, filed the case against Sani, his brother—reportedly a student coordinator—Sajid, and another individual named Sajidul Islam, accusing them of vandalism, robbery, and extortion. NCP holds rally demanding cancellation of AL registration, its trial He claimed that Sani had previously demanded Tk 20 lakh in extortion from those involved in the project. Sani is also connected to a fire incident at the Baleshwar Bridge toll plaza in Pirojpur. However, no case has been filed regarding that incident yet. “We will take further legal action based on the investigation,” added the OC.

Police recovered the body of an autorickshaw driver from Odonkathi village in Tona union under Sadar upazila of Pirojpur on Friday. The deceased was identified as Sabbir Shikder, 25, son of Harun Shikder, from Raykathi area in Pirojpur. Md Abdus Sobhan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Pirojpur Sadar Police Station, said locals spotted the body lying beside a road, about two kilometers away from the victim’s residence, and informed the police. On information, law enforcers recovered the body, which had severe head injuries, suspected to be caused by a hammer. The victim’s father said Sabbir left home with his autorickshaw on Thursday afternoon. When he didn’t return home, family members repeatedly tried to reach him by phone, but his number was switched off. 2 killed, 21 injured in Bogura road accident His autorickshaw was missing from the scene, leading to suspicions that he was murdered for the vehicle. Pirojpur Additional Superintendent of Police Mukit Hasan Khan said the motive behind the killing is still unclear, and further investigation is underway.

Police recovered the half-decomposed body of an unidentified woman with her throat slit from an abandoned house in Uttar Sonakhali village under Amragachia union in Mathbaria upazila on Tuesday. Mathbaria Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdullah Al Mamun said the woman, estimated to be between 25 and 30 years old, was found after locals reported the discovery via the national emergency helpline 999 around 5pm. “The body was recovered from an abandoned house in Amragachia union. The head had been severed, and due to decomposition, it appeared to be a few days old,” OC Mamun said. Bodies of mother, daughter recovered in Dinajpur Local Union Parishad member Harun Jamaddar said a resident named Mamun noticed the body while collecting betel leaves near the house of Miraj Hazi and informed the police. The body has been sent to the morgue for an autopsy, and legal proceedings are underway to ascertain the woman’s identity and investigate the incident, OC Mamun added.

Eight people were killed after a private car lost control and fell into a roadside canal in Pirojpur Sadar upazila early thursday. The incident occurred at the Nurani Gate area along the Pirojpur-Nazirpur road. Fire service personnel, alerted by local residents, recovered the bodies from the submerged vehicle at around 3am. Death toll from Sherpur floods rises to 9 as one more dies Additional Superintendent of Police in Pirojpur, Md. Mukit Hasan Khan, confirmed the deaths. The deceased include two men, two women, and four children. They  have been identified as Shaon Mridha,32, his wife Amena Begum,30, and their sons Abdul,3 and Shahadat,10, all residents of Hoglabunia village in Nazirpur upazila, Pirojpur and  Motaleb,45, his wife Sabina Akter,30, daughter Mukta,12, and son Soyaib,2, all residents of Ragunathpur, Sherpur Sadar upazila. Shaon’s cousin, Murad, said that Shaon and Motaleb had been traveling back from Kuakata to Shaon’s residence in Hoglabunia after a trip. Around 3 am their car lost control at the Nurani Gate area and plunged into a canal, where it became submerged. 20 dead, 24 injured in Sylhet division road accidents in Sept Locals immediately informed the fire service and police. Upon recovery, all eight passengers were rushed to Pirojpur District Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Dr. Asif Hossain of Pirojpur District Hospital said that the victims were brought in around 3:30 am. According to Additional Superintendent of Police Mukit Hasan Khan, an ID card found on Motaleb confirmed his identity, and he was employed as civil staff in the Bangladesh Army.

Two siblings died from electrocution at Uribunia village in Nesarabad upazila of Pirojpur district on Saturday (February 10, 2024). The deceased were identified as Enam Haque, 20 and Nadim Haque, 24—two sons of Aynal Haque of the village. HM Shahin, officer-in-charge of Nesarabad Police Station, said Ripon Mia, a farmer, set an electric rat control trap on his land adjacent to a canal. Read: Four killed in road accidents in Noakhali and Kushtia Enam and Nadim went to the canal adjacent to the land to catch fish on Friday night. As they were unaware of the trap they got electrocuted when they stepped into into  land while fishing. Local people found both of them in unconscious condition on Saturday morning and informed police, said local UP member Md Mizan. On information, police recovered the bodies and sent those to a local hospital morgue for autopsy. Read more: How to Protect Children from Electric Shocks

Farmers engaged in vegetable farming — on floating beds made of hyacinth and bamboo — in Nazirpur and Nesarabad upazilas of Pirojpur district are devastated by low prices of their produce.       Though the farmers keep themselves engaged in cultivating vegetables, taking advantage of the availability of hyacinth in the region, anxiety over low prices has gripped them.      According to the district’s Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), farmers in the region have been farming vegetables, using the floating method, for over a century. Some 3,200 farmers of the upazilas cultivate several varieties of vegetables including papaya, gourd, pumpkin, beans, okra, tomato, eggplant and cabbage. Read More: Climate change: Shrimp farming endangered in Khulna  The vegetable seedlings produced on the beds are usually sold at upazilas of the district and other parts of the country but this year the sales are not seeing a momentum due to poor response from buyers.    Though it was targeted to produce 86,50,000 saplings on 175 hectares of land, it exceeded the target due to favourable weather. Earlier, a bunch of 100 saplings was sold at Tk 250 to 300 but the price is now Tk 150 to 200. The sale of saplings goes on from June to November every year.   Some areas including Deulbari-Dobra, Kalardoyania and Malikhai under Nazirpur upazila and most parts of Baldiya union under Nesarabad upazila remain under 5 to 8 feet water round the year, causing no production of any crop. Read more: Bumper T-Aman yield, good price delight Sirajganj farmers The farmers said they usually take loans from local money lenders for usury and lands as sublease for cultivating vegetables and producing saplings. The farmers are bound to take loans from the lenders with a high usury because of failure to manage loans from the banks during the Robi, Kharif-1 and 2 seasons. They are deprived of bagging a good profit due to the high interest on the loans, they said.      Hoping assistance from the government, the farmers said they don’t get the desired prices by selling produce due to natural disasters, damages of crops, low price, disadvantages in marketing and lack of preservation.    Read More: Tulip farming opens new opportunity for farmers in Tetulia, Jashore Local farmer Jamal Hossain said he is used to cultivating vegetables on the floating beds made of hyacinth and bamboo in the water bodies taken on sublease.   “I have 15 to 16 beds where I cultivate several types of vegetables including beans, papaya, tomato, chili and gourd,” he said. “We have not been getting a reasonable price due to lack of dealers caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he claimed, adding that an amount of Tk 7,000 to 10,000 is  needed to cultivate vegetables and produce saplings on a 60-hand long bed. Dr Md Nazrul Islam Sikdar, deputy director of the district’s DAE, told UNB that some 60 to 70 percent farmers of Gaokhali, Monohorpur, Delbari and Malikhali areas under Nazipur upazila have been involved with vegetable farming on floating beds. Read more: Vegetable farming on floating beds gets popular in Sylhet “We inform the farmers on maintaining quality and visit their croplands to give training,” he said. Urging high officials of the agricultural ministry to take measures to offer loans on easy conditions, the farmers said that it will be difficult to keep vegetable cultivation on floating beds going unless loans from banks are made easy.

Khan Md Alauddin, Public Prosecutor of Pirojpur on Tuesday sought unconditional apology from the High Court for misbehaving with district Chief Judicial Magistrate Abu Zafar Md Noman. After the hearing, the court warned PP Alauddin and exempted him from contempt of the court. High Court bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Razik-Al-Jalil passed the order in the public interest. Advocate Fida M. Kamal and Sayed Ahmed Raza stood for the PP in the court, accompanied by Abdullah Al Mamun while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin and Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy represented the state during the hearing. Read more: Defamation Suit: Court summons Shajahan Khan Addressing the PP, the court said, "You are the lawyer for the state. You are the leader of the bar. As a lawyer at the bar, such behavior with the court is not desirable. If you do not respect the court, how will the dignity of the court be protected? It is PP’s responsibility to assist judges in keeping the court's environment civil. Such behavior cannot be expected." On July 25, during hearing on the bail plea of an accused named MD Hafizur Rahman Siddiqui, the CJM asked all the lawyers to step outside the courtroom except the plaintiff’s and defendant’s lawyers, after being unable to control the heated arguments between the two sides. Read more: HC dismisses defamation cases against Asian Age chairman Shoaib Chowdhury On September 19, Pirojpur CJM Abu Zafar Md Noman sent a letter to Supreme Court Registrar General alleging PP Md Alauddin had misbehaved. On October 17, the High Court summoned PP Alauddin to appear before the court on November 15 and present his statement in this regard.    

At least 20 shops were gutted in a fire at Attghar Kuriyana Bazar in Swarupkathi upazila of Pirojpur district early Sunday. Locals said the fire might have started from a sweetmeat shop around 5am and soon engulfed the adjoining shops. On information, several firefighting units from Swarupkathi fire station rushed to the spot and doused the flame after two hours. Read: Kushtia filling station fire kills two Abdus Salam, station officer of Swarupkathi Fire Service and Civil Defense, said the fire might have originated from an electric short-circuit. Abir Mohammad Hasan, officer-in-charge of Swarupkathi police station, said the origin of the fire will be known after investigation.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday opened the much-desired "Bangamata Begum Fazilatun Nesa Mujib 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge" over Kacha River at Bekutia in Pirojpur. The construction of the 1,493-metre bridge has materialized the dream of millions of people of the country's southwestern region, establishing the uninterrupted road connectivity between Khulna Division and Barishal Division. The premier opened the bridge joining a function through a virtual platform from her office here in the capital. Read: PM’s India Visit: Bilateral instruments on water management, defence, railway likely to be signed The construction work of the bridge was started on November 1 in 2018. The Roads and Highways Department constructed the bridge at a cost of Tk 894.08 crore. The Chinese government provided Tk 654.80 crore as project assistance for the bridge while Bangladesh government shared Tk 239.80 crore. The bridge also established the road connectivity between Pirojpur and Dhaka. It also helped establish the direct road connectivity among Kuakata Sea beach, Payra deep sea port,  Mongla sea port and the country's largest land port Benapole. Read: Teesta mainly depends on India: PM Hasina tells ANI Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming also spoke at the opening ceremony conducted by PM’s Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus. Later, the premier exchanged views with the beneficiaries who rallied  on the two sides of the bridges. Fisheries and Livestock Minister, also Pirojpur-1 MP, SM Rezaul Karim was present at a rally at the west bank of the bridge, while Pirojpur-2 MP Anwar Hossain Manju was present at another rally at its east bank. Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division ABM Amin Ullah Nuri made a power-point presentation over the newly constructed bridge.

Four youths were held Monday for vandalising an idol of a Hindu goddess at a temple in Pirojpur Sadar upazila, police said. Shubho Sheikh, 40, Abu Bakkar Siddiki, 17, Hasan Sheikh, 17, and Ramzan Mollah, 12, all from Sadar upazila, smashed the idol at Sri Sri Shitala Mandir in Durgapur union, Md Masuduzzaman, officer-in-charge of Pirojpur Sadar police station, said. Kala Chand Mandal, the priest of the temple, said: "Around 11am Sunday, I left the temple after performing worship services and the next morning found the idol's legs, hands, and head smashed." Also read: Patuakhali man held for placing Quran inside temple  The locals saw three or four youths wandering around the temple, he added. "They held Subho, Abu Bakkar, and Hasan, and the trio admitted that they had smashed and destroyed the idol along with Ramzan." OC Masuduzzaman said: "We detained four people after being informed by the locals. Police forces have been deployed to secure the temple and a case will be filed in connection with the incident." Also read:Govt. will soon distribute funds to help rebuild damaged temples and Hindu businesses