United News of Bangladesh

A man was killed in a lightning strike while his toddler daughter narrowly escaped in Rajbari Sadar upazila on Wednesday morning. The deceased was identified as Sumon Mondal,35, son of Siddiq Mondal of Mojjatkol village under Mizanpur union. When Sumon was heading to a nearby shop carrying his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Safia in his arms  a lightning strike hit them, causing Sumon to collapse on the spot. The child was thrown from his arms but survived without serious injury. Locals rescued them and took Sumon to Rajbari Sadar Hospital where doctors at the emergency department declared him dead. The child is in stable condition now. Mizampur Union Parishad administrator and Sadar upazila agriculture officer Md. Jony Khan said a pall of grief has descended on the area following the tragic death.

Police recovered the body of a rickshaw puller from the Padma River in Rajbari Sadar upazila on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Liton Khan, 42, son of Akkach Ali Khan of Radhakantapur village in the upazila. Pplice recovered the body around 10am from the Urakanda area under Barot union. Family members said Liton went out with his rickshaw around 10pm wearing a jacket. He told them that he might travel far with a passenger and could return late. Locals spotted his body floating in the Padma River on Sunday morning and informed police. Officer-in-Charge of Rajbari Police Station Uttam Kumar Ghosh said the body bore injury marks on the head. “We suspect that miscreants snatched his rickshaw, killed him and dumped the body in the river,” he said. The body was sent to Rajbari Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy, the OC added.

A man injured in an attack following a longstanding land dispute over land in Sadar upazila of Rajbari district, died on Monday night, triggering arson at the houses of the accused early Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Atar Sheikh, 55, son of Ainuddin Sheikh of Bethulia Khondkar Para under Ramkantapur union of the upazila. Inspector (Investigation) Russell Molla of Rajbari Sadar Police Station, said Syed Javed Ali of Mia Para and Jalil Sheikh of Khondkar Para had been at loggerheads over the ownership of a piece of nearly 18 acres of land in Bethulia Khondkar Para of Sadar upazila. After the Liberation War, Javed Ali established a homestead on the disputed land. Following Jalil Sheikh’s death a few years ago, his sons claimed the land as ancestral property and built a tin-shed house there about two months ago, escalating tensions between the two sides. The matter eventually went to court after local mediation efforts failed. According to the family members of the victim, around 7:00am on Monday, 40–50 people led by Shamsul Haque Surjo, president of Ward No. 3 Awami League, attacked their newly built house with iron rods, sticks and locally made weapons, triggering a clash that left 20 people including Atar Sheikh injured. They vandalised and set fire to the structure and assaulted family members. Later, Atar Sheikh died at Sadar hospital around 8:30 pm while being taken to Dhaka for better treatment on Monday night.

A young man was hacked to death in broad daylight by miscreants in Rajbari Sadar upazila on Tuesday, police and family members said. The incident took place around 1:00pm on a paved road in Char Narayanpur area under Mizanpur union. The victim was identified as Zahid Hasan Fakir, 27, son of Mahtab Fakir of Binodpur area in Ward No. 9 of Rajbari municipality. Man killed by mob over extortion in Rajbari, firearms recovered from associate Family members claimed Zahid was killed after he demanded repayment of Tk 2,500 he had lent, while police said the murder was likely linked to prior enmity. According to locals, Zahid received a phone call around noon and left home, saying he was going to collect the money. Shortly afterwards, miscreants attacked him with sharp weapons about 200 yards from his house, leaving him critically injured before fleeing the scene in an autorickshaw. Locals rescued him and rushed him to Rajbari Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. His mother Momena Begum broke down in tears, saying her son had left home after receiving the call and promised to return soon after collecting the money. Soon after, we heard that he was being hacked, she said. 20-year-old youth arrested for killing bKash agent in Rajbari Family members and neighbours said Zahid, the youngest among five siblings, had returned from Malaysia about a year ago and was running a business locally. He had reportedly been in dispute with two youths from the Mechoghata area for some time. Emergency department physician Dr Nurul Azam said the victim had six to seven deep wounds inflicted by sharp weapons and died due to excessive bleeding. Officer-in-Charge of Rajbari Sadar Police Station, Khondkar Ziaur Rahman, said the body was sent to the morgue for autopsy and police have launched a drive to arrest those involved.

Three people died when a sand pile collapsed on them while loading it on a truck at Joikura ghat in Sadar upazila of Rajbari district on Tuesday night. Read more: Two bikers killed in separate road accidents in Dhaka The deceased were identified as Abdur Rahim Sheikh, 55, a sand trader; Maruf Sheikh, 22, driver of an excavator machine; and Ripon Ali alias Imran, 38, driver of the truck in which sand was being loaded. Read more: Traffic police killed in Gaibandha road accident; 3 arrested Quoting local people, Eskarul Islam, officer-in-charge of Rajbari Police Station, said the trio went to load sand around 11 pm. Read more: Road accident leaves youth dead in the city At one stage, a big chunk of sand collapsed on them, leaving the trio dead on the spot.

Two children have been burnt to death as a fire broke out at a Kalukhali upazila house in Rajbari. The deceased were identified as Hujaifa, 8, son of Babu Biswas, and Hasan, 3, son of Ikram, of the upazila. Read more: ​​​​​​​Five of a family charred to death in Chattogram The fire broke out Thursday afternoon and engulfed the house of Babu Biswas when the children were playing in the kitchen and accidentally exposed the gas cylinder to fire, Kalukhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shah Md Shajeeb said. All gas cylinders, whatever the gas content, are potentially dangerous when exposed to fire and may explode. The children received serious burn injuries as the fire quickly ripped through the kitchen where dry fuel (dried branches of trees and jute sticks) was stored. Read more: 4-year-old boy charred to death in Sherpur They were rushed to Faridpur's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College and Hospital where Hasan succumbed to his injuries. Hujaifa was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for better treatment where he died while undergoing treatment, the UNO said.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday (January 15, 2023) upheld the High Court order granting bail to Sonia Akter Smrity, a Mahila Dal leader of Rajbari, in a case filed over posting "offensive" content on Facebook against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A four-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Hasan Foyez Siddiqui passed the order withdrawing the stay order of the Chamber Court. Senior Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali, Barrister Kayser Kamal and Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared in the court for Smriti. Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed represented the state. Read more: Defaming PM: Chamber Judge stays bail to Rajbari Mahila Dal leader Now there is no bar to the release of the Mahila Dal leader, Barrister Kayser Kamal said. Smrity, wife of Md Khokon Mia of No 3 Beradanga area of Rajbari Sadar, is a member of Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal’s Rajbari district unit. On November 2 last year, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division, M Enayetur Rahim, stayed the bail order granted by the High Court till November 7. The High Court granted interim bail to Smrity in the case on November 1. Read more: Rajbari Mohila Dal member arrested under DSA for 'comment on PM' Police arrested Smrity on October 4 in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) for posting offensive status on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Facebook. Arefin Chowdhury, member secretary of Rajbari district Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, lodged an FIR against her. On October 5, Judge Kaisun Nahar Surma of Rajbari No 1 Judicial Magistrate Court rejected Smrity’s bail plea and ordered to send her to jail. On October 26, Rajbari Sessions Judge Court also denied bail to Smrity which prompted her to seek bail from the HC. Read More: Fardin's death: Bushra finally granted bail In her bail plea, Smrity requested the HC to consider her as a woman and a mother of two children. According to the FIR, the accused BNP activist made "insulting remarks" about PM Sheikh Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, from her personal Facebook account in two separate statuses on August 31 and September 28.

The Appellate Division on Wednesday stayed the bail the High Court granted to  Sonia Akter Smrity, a Mahila Dal leader of Rajbari, in a case filed over posting ‘offensive’ content on facebook against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division M Enayetur Rahim passed the order after hearing the plea of the state side. The court stayed the bail order till November 7. The court also said that the hearing on the state’s plea will be on top of the cause list of the Appellate Division. Senior lawyer AJ Muhammad Ali and Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared for the petition in the court while Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed for the state. On Tuesday, the High Court granted interim bail to Smrity in the case. Smrity, wife of Md Khokon Mia of No 3 Beradanga area of Rajbari Sadar, is a member of Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal’s Rajbari district unit and founder president of Rajbari blood donors club. Police arrested Smrity on October 4 in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) for posting offensive status on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Facebook . Arefin Chowdhury, member secretary of Rajbari district Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, lodged an FIR against her. On October 5, Judge Kaisun Nahar Surma of Rajbari No 1 Judicial Magistrate Court rejected Smrity’s bail plea and ordered to send her to jail. Read more: HC summons 3 Khulna lawyers to face contempt charges On October 26, Rajbari Sessions Judge Court also denied bail to Smrity which prompted her to seek bail from the HC. In her bail plea, Smrity requested the HC to consider her as a woman and a mother of two children. According to the FIR, the accused BNP activist made insulting remarks about PM Sheikh Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, from her personal Facebook account in two separate statuses on August 31 and September 28. Read more: HC suspends Bangladesh Bank Assistant Director recruitment exam for a month “In the statuses Sriti wrote Sheikh Hasina threw abusive words to their leader Khaleda Zia, also prime minister of three times, while delivering speech,” according to the FIR. “No sound word comes out of her (premier) mouth,” it said Sriti wrote in the posts.  

Two people, including a nine-year-old girl, were burnt to death in a fire that broke out at their house in Goalundo upazila of Rajbari on Sunday night. The deceased were identified as Boro Bibi, 90, and Tasmia Aktar, residents of the upazila. The fire broke out at their tin-shed house in Beparipara village around  9 pm following gas cylinder blast while Boro Bibi and Tasmia were asleep, said Swapan Kumar Majumder, officer-in-charge (OC) of Goalundo Ghat police station. On information, a team of Goalunda fire service doused the fire after an hour, said leader of Goalunda fire station Sabekul Islam. The fire fighters also recovered two charred bodies from the house, he added.

Miscreants gunned down a businessman at a tea stall in Sadar upazila of the district on Saturday evening, police said. The deceased has been identified as Ariful Islam, 25, son of Abdur Razzak of Khankhanapur’s Sardarpara in the upazila and poultry businessman.     Local Abul Kalam said Ariful was sitting on a bench at a tea stall in front of Suraj Mohini Institute High School nearby Khankhanapur Union Parishad around 6pm. A group of miscreants on two motorbikes from Khankhanapur Bazar shot him dead, he said. He sustained bullet injuries in the head and chest causing immense bleeding, local Kalam depicted. Read: AL activist shot dead in broad daylight at Pabna tea stall Shawkat Hasan, inspector of Khankhanapur police investigation centre, said they have been working to unearth the reason for the murder and identify the killers. He also said they collected some samples from the spot where higher ups officers, including superintendent of police, visited.