A sixth-grader was tortured with a hammer on charge of theft in Shalikha upazila of the district on Friday afternoon. The victim—Sajeeb Mollah, 12, is son of farmer Kohinur Mollah of Sandra village under the upazila and a class six student of a local high school. Bisharul Islam, officer-in-charge of Shalikha police station, said some goods were stolen from the grocery shop of one Hasan Ali two to three days back in the village. The shop owner allegedly picked up the boy from a road to his shop on Friday afternoon and interrogated about the theft and subsequently tortured with a hammer mercilessly, he said. Read more: 2 boys tied to pole and tortured by cops in Ctg Being informed by the victim’s father Md Mollah, a team of police rushed the spot and rescued him and detained the accused, the OC said. The victim is undergoing treatment at the upazila health complex. Mollah lodged a complaint against the shop owner in this connection on Friday night, he said adding the detainee will be produced at a court in the afternoon.

Three people were killed in road accidents in Khulna and Magura districts on Tuesday morning. In Khulna, two people died in separate accidents that took place at Parchalna village of Chalna municipality in Dakope upazila and on Notun Rasta Mor area in the city. According to locals, a woman died after being hit by a speeding motorcycle in front of her house at around 11 am at Parchalna village. Read more: Bangladesh sees 9,951 road accident deaths in 2022, highest in 8yrs: Report Parul Biswas, 60, was seriously injured and later died on the way to a hospital. In another road accident at around 9 am motorcyclist  Aksar, 26  was killed following a collision with a tank lorry in the city, said Kazi Kamal, officer-in-charge of Daulatpur Police Station. The driver and helper of the tank lorry flee the scene immediately. In Magura, Md Pappu, 19, a  college student, was killed in a collision between two motorcycles in Sreepur upazila of the district. Read more: Mother, daughter among 3 killed in Faridpur road crash Officer-in-charge of the Sreepur police station Shukdev Roy said Pappuwas seriously injured following the collision. Later he died at Faridpur Medical College and Hospital.

A man was killed and another injured in a collision among a motorcycle, a three-wheeler and an auto-rickshaw in Mohammadpur upazila of the district on Monday. The accident occurred on Magura-Mohammadpur road in the morning when the motorcycle carrying the duo and two other vehicles collided, leaving the biker dead on the spot and pillion rider injured Also Read: JUST student among 3 killed as truck rams rickshaw van Police recovered the body and sent it to a hospital morgue for autopsy. A case was filed in this connection.    

A mass grave where eight freedom fighters were buried in 1971 at Hajrahati village in Magura’s Shalikha upazila is currently under threat of erosion by the Chitra river. On December 7, 1971, eight freedom fighters who had returned home after receiving training in India were apprehended by Razakars, who collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces during the War of Liberation in 1971 and killed mercilessly on the bank of the Chitra river. Later, locals buried the bodies of the freedom fighters at the place of their murder. The eight freedom fighters were Jodunath Guha, Panchanan Pal, Haripad Das, Nityandon Vadra, Monoranjan Dutta, Narugopal Ray, Suresh Kar and an unidentified man. After entering Bangladesh crossing the Indian border in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenidah district, these freedom fighters fought bravely against the Pakistani military. They were caught and killed during the final stage of the Liberation War while. “I still search for my brother Jodunath on the bank of the Chitra river. I go to the mass grave with his picture and cry out for my brother,” said Chobi Rani Adhikari, sister of one of the slain freedom fighters. Chobi added that although it has been 51 years since the country became independent, the mass grave beside the Chitra river hasn’t been maintained properly. Also Read: Independent candidate lands in jail ahead of Magura Zilla Parishad polls “During monsoon, water from the river enters the grave. The grave will be washed away by the river someday if  no measures are taken,” Chobi added. Ratan Kumar Das, a local who was 13 during the Liberation War,  said some seven to eight freedom fighters were going to Faridpur via Hajrahati during the final days of the war when they were apprehended and killed by Razakars of the area. “Although we’ve requested the upazila administration time and again, no step has been taken by them to preserve the mass grave. Some officials of the administration have visited the grave multiple times and that’s all,” Ratan said. SM Abdur Rahman, Joint Convener of Muktijoddha Sangsad’s district unit and a Deputy Commander during the Liberation War, said that family members of the slain freedom fighters gather at the grave every year and arrange events to commemorate their sacrifice. “Bangladesh has been liberated through the sacrifice of the freedom fighters. It’s our duty to respect them. That’s why immediate steps are necessary to protect Hajrahati Mass Grave from ruin,” said Rahman.    

A Magura court has sent an independent chairman candidate of the Zilla Parishad elections and his brother, himself a Union Parishad chairman, to jail after they appeared before it with a bail petition. District Sessions Jude Kamrul Hasan rejected the bail petition after the hearing in this regard was held Tuesday, said Sajedur Rahman Sangram, the public prosecutor. Independent chairman candidate in the upcoming Zilla Parishad election Shariat Ullah Rajon, and his brother Kutubullah Hossain Kuti, chairman of Shrikol UP, both landed in prison. Rajon’s opponents in the election for the chairman post include the ruling Awami League’s candidate Pankaj Kumar Kundu, who is currently general secretary of AL’s district unit, and Jahid Mia,  a former Chhatra League leader in Shripur upazila. The case for which the brothers ended up in jail dates back to August, when Shrikol UP member Chand Ali Sardar and three of his brothers were injured in an attack by unidentified miscreants at the time in Chhangachha village. Read: Chattogram Zilla Parishad candidate of Awami League ATM Pearul Islam meets CJFD members Later, a case was filed accusing Rajon and his brother Kuti in this connection, but they managed to obtain six week’ anticipatory bail from the High Court on August 31.  That six-week period ended today, which is why they were appearing before the lower court with the bail petition. Advocate Shafikuzzaman and two other lawyers standing for the two brothers refused to comment on the court’s decision today. 

A madrasa teacher was sued in a case filed over the rape of a third-grader in Shalikha upazila of the district on Saturday.The accused is Israel Mollah, 55, an assistant teacher of Bahar Bag Abediya Dakhil Madrasa of Magura Sadar Upazila.A case was filed at Shalikha police in this regard following a complaint lodge by the victim's mother Faziron Begum, said Bisharul Islam, officer-in-charge of the police station.According to the case statement, the 8-year-old victim went to Israel's house to bring fish kept in his fridge on Friday noon. Read: 5 get death sentence for raping teenage girl in KhulnaTaking advantage of an empty house, Israel took the girl to his room and raped her. Later, the victim’s mother filed a complaint over the matter, added the statement.

A Magura court has sentenced three people to one-and-a-half years of rigorous imprisonment for collecting money from a pharmacy owner in the guise of human rights activists. The court of district senior judicial magistrate handed down the punishment to Kalpana Roy, Hasina Begum and Uttam Kumar Biswas, all residents of Shalikha upazila of Magura, on Thursday. The court also imposed a fine of Tk 1,000 on each of them. The convicts will have to serve two more months in prison in case of their failure to pay the fine. Also read: Fake medicine gang busted by DB; 20 lakh pieces seized According to the case statement, on December 12, 2017, the convicts introduced themselves as human rights activists to a pharmacy owner in Singra Bazar and took money from him. Also read: Fake army man held in Satkhira The pharmacy owner, however, became suspicious and informed the police who subsequently arrested the trio. Later, a case was lodged at the Shekhor police station in this connection.

At least seven people sustained injuries in a clash between two factions of the ruling Awami League (AL) in Sreepur upazila of Magura district on Monday morning. The identities of the injured could not be known immediately. On Sunday night, some miscreants burnt down two houses and vandalised more than fifty houses in Khoddarhua village of Srikol Union, said Shukdev Roy, officer-in-charge of Sreepur Police Station. Locals said Upazila Joint General Secretary Kazi Tariqul Islam and Organizational Secretary of Upazila Awami League Mostasim Billah Sangram had long been at loggerheads in the area. Both the groups blamed each other over the incident. Read:20 injured in Barguna BCL infighting during Mourning Day programme; 2 held As a sequel to the enmity, supporters of Tariqul and Sangram locked into an altercation on Monday morning. The altercation turned violent when both the groups attacked each other with lethal weapons, leaving 7 people injured, added the OC. Police have so far arrested 15 people in this connection, the officer said. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control, said the OC adding that a case was filed with Sreepur police in connection with the violence. "Additional police forces have been deployed in the area to ward off further trouble," he added.

At least 15 people have been injured in a clash between two rival groups in Baharbag village of Magura Sadar upazila, police said on Friday. Twelve of the injured have been identified as former union parishad chairman Liakat Munshi, Salim Sardar, Tuhin, Badsha Mia, Anwar Hossain, Kajol, Imran, Mizan, Harun, Indris, Rauf, and Nayeb. Also read: Bhola BNP-Cops clash: Injured JCD leader dies in Dhaka According to the police, the clash on Thursday was the fallout of a long-standing rivalry between the two groups -- one led by Saimuddin Chunnu and another by Saddam of Baharbag village.  On Thursday morning, supporters of Chunnu allegedly attacked Aminur, a follower of Saddam. As he news spread, supporters of Saddam attacked Chunnu's men to take revenge, leaving a total of 15 people from both sides wounded. Also read: Teen hacked to death after clash over football game in Magura The injured were admitted to Magura District Hospital. Two of them were later shifted to Faridpur hospital for better treatment, police said. "The condition of one of the injured is critical," said Nasir Uddin, officer-in-charge of Magura Police Station. "A case has been filed in this connection."

A case was filed in connection with the ‘gang-rape’ of a schoolgirl in Mohammadpur upazila of Magura on Tuesday. The rape survivor’s  father lodged a complaint with Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal accusing three people after failing to lodge the complaint at the police station on Monday. The accused are Gholam Rabbani,42, son of Imarat Molla of Kalukhandi village and his associates Ashad,35 and Alamgir, 27 of the same village. Read: Prime accused in Bagerhat gang rape case held Woman and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Pronoy Kumar Das directed Mohammadpur police to record the case after taking the complaint into cognisance. According to the statement, Gholam Rabbani used to pressurize the victim for developing a love affair with him. As she continuously refused, the accused picked up the girl on Sunday night at gunpoint and took her to a brick kiln where they raped her in turns.  When asked about the refusal to register the complaint, Ashraful Islam, officer-in-charge (Investigation) of Mohammadpur Police Station, said he is not aware of it. "We have already started an investigation after receiving the court order,” added the OC.