United News of Bangladesh

A 17-year-old boy was hacked to death by another teenager in Sherpur’s Nalitabari upazila on Saturday following a dispute over a reaction to a Facebook post. The victim was adentified as Abu Naim, son of Ismail Hossain from the Nayabil area, said Officer-in-Charge Sohel Rana of Nalitabari Police Station. The incident occurred around 11:45 am. Naim was critically injured and rushed to Nalitabari Upazila Health Complex. As his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, where doctors later declared him dead, the OC said. Locals caught the suspect Sabuj Mia (18) of Andharupara and handed over to the police, he added. Youth stabbed to death in Dhaka’s Jatrabari According to police and locals Sabuj, who had been living in Gazipur, had returned home for the Eid holidays. The altercation between the two teens began about a month ago when Naim reacted with a ‘haha’ emoji on one of Sabuj’s posts on Facebook, leading to a heated argument over Messenger. On Saturday, when Sabuj saw Naim at Nayabil Bazar, he attacked him with a knife, stabbing him in the chest. Legal proceedings were underway regarding the matter, added the OC.

A upazila-level Jubo Dal leader was killed and his two associates were injured in an attack allegedly by rivals over establishing supremacy in Sherpur Sadar upazila on Tuesday night. The deceased Jakaria Badal, 47, was joint convenor of the Sadar upazila unit of the Jubo Dal and former assistant general secretary of the Sherpur Government College Students’ Union. He was a resident of Kamaria union of the upazila. One of the injured Sohag Mia is undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital while the rest, Ruhul, 32, is at Sherpur Sadar Hospital. Badal’s relative and also a Chhatra Dal activist Ramzan Ali said there had long been rivalry between Badal and local Kamaria union unit of BNP’s convenor Lutfor Rahman over leadership. The relationship between them deteriorated recently due to alleged grouping in the district level unit of the BNP, he said. Jubo Dal leader killed in Khulna; 2 held Meanwhile, Lutfor met Badal’s another opponent Nure Alam, former chairman of the UP and a Krishak League leader who has been in jail now, he said. Ansar Ali, sub inspector of Sherpur Sadar police station, said Badal and his associates, who were riding a motorbike, came under the attack on the way to home from local Bhimganj Bazar on Tuesday afternoon. The miscreants stabbed the trio with sharp weapons, leaving them critically injured, he said. Though they were initially taken to Shere Sadar Hospital and later Badal and Sohag were shifted to Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital, he said. Jubo Dal leader killed, over 1,000 BNP leaders, activists injured in Nayapaltan violence: Fakhrul Badal succumbed to his injuries on way to Dhaka from the Mymensingh Hospital as his condition deteriorated around 11:00pm, he said. Tension gripped the union following the death of Badal, forcing them to deploy joint forces in the area to ward off any unwanted incident further, said Superintendent of District Police Md Aminul Islam. Police launched a crackdown to arrest those involved with the murder, he added.

An army personnel was killed in an attack allegedly by his paternal cousins over land dispute in Sherpur Sadar upazila on Monday. The deceased was identified as Wasim Mia, 28, son of Hashem Ali of Char Sherpur Nizpara area and posted at the 5th Battalion of the Bangladesh Army in Sylhet. Woman crushed under train in Rajshahi Police and locals said there had long been a dispute between the victim’s family and his paternal cousins over the two pieces of land. The rivals attacked Wasim, who came to the house from the workplace on leave a few days back, with sharp weapons when the both groups got involved in an altercation over the matter around 8am, they said. Couple, two children found dead in Kishoreganj The attack left him critically injured and he was rushed to Sadar Hospital where physicians declared him dead upon arrival, said sadar police station’s Officer-in-Charge Md Jobaidul Alam. A police team was sent to the spot, he added.

The recent floods in Sherpur, a northern district of Bangladesh, have caused extensive losses amounting to about Tk 600 crore in the agriculture and fisheries sectors, according to official sources. They said roads and other infrastructures under the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) have suffered a loss of nearly Tk 113 crore in damages. The district office of Water Development Board has also incurred substantial losses, though an exact figure is yet to be reported, according to the officials. While the floodwaters began receding from Wednesday, the struggles of the flood-hit communities continue, as the full extent of the devastation becomes apparent. Waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea, dysentery and skin infections, have been reported as the affected areas experience an acute shortage of clean drinking water. Read more: 3 die as flood situation deteriorates in Sherpur; army joins rescue operation However, district Civil Surgeon Dr Jasim Uddin refuted claims of a health crisis, saying that the diarrhoeal situation is under control. He mentioned that four medical teams, consisting of Army personnel, physicians, and medical students, are currently providing healthcare support to the affected population. On Saturday, a visit to Pichhlakuri village in Nakla upazila revealed the heartbreaking aftermath of the disaster. The village, home to around 100 families, including 40 from the Hindu community, suffered widespread destruction of homesteads, possessions and croplands along the Bhogai River. Members of the Hindu community expressed their grief over the fact that they were unable to celebrate Durga Puja, the largest festival in their religious calendar, as their temples were submerged when an embankment of the Bhogai River collapsed. Read:Death toll from Sherpur floods rises to 9 as one more dies Floodwaters still linger in several croplands, hampering recovery efforts. A one-and-a-half-kilometre road, extending from Pichhlakuri Government Primary School to Tarakanda, was heavily damaged, with over 50 cracks making it nearly impassable. The deteriorating road conditions have compounded the difficulties in delivering much-needed relief supplies to the flood-affected families. Ahalla Rani Borman, a 50-year-old resident, described the desperate conditions her community is facing. "We have no food, drinking water, or other essential supplies," she lamented. Borman claimed that they have only received a small amount of aid in the form of a single packet of hotchpotch and half a kilogram of puffed rice since the floods struck, and many families are enduring days of hunger. Borman further alleged that no government representatives, including members of the local union parishad, have visited the area to assess their situation or provide support. Read more: Flood Control and How to Minimise Losses

Passenger bus services on the Sherpur-Dhaka route were abruptly halted on Friday night, ahead of the scheduled rallies of Awami League and BNP in the capital today. All overnight bus services to Dhaka were abruptly canceled, and all Dhaka-bound buses stopped operation early today. Police, BNP men clash in Dhaka’s Kakrail area, police box set on fire Bus owners and drivers stopped bus movement, mentioning concerns about potential vandalism and security issues, said concerned individuals. Sajib Ghosh, general secretary of the Sherpur District Transport Owners’ Association, said that no official orders were given to halt bus and coach services.  “However, bus owners and workers were afraid due to potential violence during the political rallies in the capital and decided not to operate their vehicles,” he said. More than 50 detained in extensive search operations at Dhaka’s entry points Buses traveling from Sherpur to Dhaka dropped off passengers at the Shambhuganj junction in Mymensingh on Friday afternoon. Approximately 200 public transport vehicles typically ply the Sherpur-Dhaka route daily. In addition to the bus service suspension, CNG-run auto rickshaws that usually operate on inter-district routes have also been halted since Saturday morning. Some commuters have resorted to using easy bikes and private vehicles to travel on the highway. AL, BNP rallies: 3 vehicles vandalised in Dhaka Meanwhile, local BNP sources reported that despite the bus service suspension, at least 4,000 party leaders and activists from Sherpur had left for Dhaka several days before participating in the Nayapaltan rally in the capital. They had anticipated the bus service interruption on Friday and Saturday and had already set out for Dhaka in advance, they said.

General secretary of Jhenaigati upazila unit Bangladesh Chhatra League Shahriar Khan Shaon was expelled over rape attempt. Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Central Executive Committee expelled Shaon for attempting to rape an indigenous college student, said a press release, signed by its president Saddam Hossain and general secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Imon, published  on its website on Tuesday. Besides, the committee also dissolved the Jhenaigati upazila unit Bangladesh Chhatra League due to its inactivity for a long period. Also Read: BCL blamed for torturing students suspected as Shibir activists in Pabna According to the release, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Central Executive Committee has expelled Shaon for breaching party discipline and involvement in criminal activities which tarnished its image. On Saturday, Shaon swooped on the house of a Garo girl adjacent to Gazni Holiday Centre in Jhenaigati upazila and tried to violate. Also Read: BCL attack injures five JCD members The girl lodged a complaint with police on Monday and police arrested Shaon over attempting to rape the girl.          

The body of a 60-year-old farmer was found with injury marks from sharp weapons in a pile of logs in Sherpur Sadar upazila Friday morning, police said. The deceased was identified as Rafiq Miah from Bajitkhila union of the upazila. The farmers' family members said there had been a long-running feud between them and their neighbours – Kena, Omed Ali and Aungur Miah – over land. Read more: Barguna farmer commits suicide under weight of debt burden Rafiq left his house Thursday midnight and did not return, they said. Bachhir Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station, said: "On information, we rushed to the spot and recovered the body with injury marks from sharp weapons." The body has been sent to Sadar Hospital morgue for post-mortem, he said. "We will take action after we find out the actual cause of death."

At least 21 people including six police officers, were injured on Tuesday in a clash between the law enforcers and BNP supporters over the protest procession brought out against the death of a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Deal (JCD) leader in Brahmanbaria on Saturday. Police also detained 16 BNP supporters from the spot following the clash. The BNP said they brought out the procession from the house of district unit President Mahmudul Hoque Rubel around 3pm protesting the killing of JCD leader Nayon in the firing of police in Bancharampur upazila of the Brahmanbaria on Saturday , as well as the arrest of 15 BNP men from Sreebardi upazila of the district. The clash erupted when police barred the BNP men from marching toward the party office of the district in Roghunathpur area. The BNP men hurled brickbats targeting the cops protesting the barrier. Read more: Police–BNP clash in Kishoreganj: 29 including 11 cops hurt Police retaliated with tearshells and fired shots in the air to bring the situation under control, leaving 21 people including the cops injured. The district unit’s BNP President Mahmudul Hoque Rubel condemned the attack. He claimed that some 100 BNP men were injured in the attack by the cops without any provocation. Bachhir Ahmed Badal, office-in-charge of Sadar police station, rejected the BNP’s claims and said that the BNP men swooped on them without any instigation. Read more: BNP-police clash in Chandpur: Over 500 sued, 22 arrested “We detained 16 BNP men from the spot, lobbed tearshell and fired shots in the fire to bring the situation under control,” the OC said, adding that the situation was now under their control.  

For the last 127 years, Durga Puja is being celebrated at Sherpur’s Palbari Puja Mandap with much fanfare. Palbari is a testament to the fact that communal harmony and freedom of religion are deeply ingrained in the Bangladeshi psyche. Durga Puja at Palbari Mandap is a family event held at the house of late educationist Nagendra Chandra Pal in Khalbhanga area under Sherpur’s Nalitabari upazila. Besides being the oldest puja mandap of Sherpur district, it is also known as the second oldest mandap of the country. According to Palbari Puja Committee Chairman Gourango Chandra Pal, Durga Puja celebration at Palbari mandap started in 1885 by Mangal Ram Sarkar, the ancestor of Pal family. After Mangal’s death, his son Nagendra continued arranging the puja for half a century. Nagendra is no more, but the puja is still being arranged thanks to the relentless efforts of his four sons, who are now in charge.     Read: With scars from 2021, Cumilla sees tighter security for Durga Puja Over the years, Durga Puja at Palbari has become an integral part of the lives of the local Hindu community. From a mere family tradition, it has developed into a popular festival. The local Hindu devotees view the Palbari puja as a junction where people from all faiths mingle to find happiness. The Palbari puja mandap has a strong legacy. During the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971, when the Pakistani military were killing Hindus in droves, the Pal family continued celebrating Durga Puja defying all danger. This is a proof of the power that culture, tradition and religion possess. Bishwajit Pal, Nagendra’s son, said that the century-old Palbari puja mandap has been able to propagate harmony among the local people. Read: Bagerhat’s Durga Puja attraction: 151 idols in one mandap “We don’t discriminate against anyone based on his religious identity. The Palbari Puja Mandap is open for all. Arti and cultural programmes at the mandap every evening have become a source of entertainment for the local people,” he said. “We have been arranging the puja for four generations. Now the time has come for our next generation to take over. Through this puja, we just want to share happiness and regard best wishes for people,” Bishwajit said. Biplab Dey Ketu, a local journalist, said he has never missed the Palbari Puja since his childhood. Read Keep vigil against vandalism during Durga Puja: Obaidul Quader asks AL members “People from the area wait every year for this festival to commence. Our hearts become content each time we visit the place,” he said. This year, Durga Puja is being celebrated in 144 mandaps in Sherpur district. To avert any untoward incident, security has been beefed up at the festival sites. While all the mandaps have been brought under CCTV surveillance, a large number of police and Ansar personnel have also been deployed. Read 5 Durga Puja Bhog Recipes to try this festive season Besides non-stop patrolling by the law enforcement agencies, volunteers from the Puja Udjapon Parishad are also working tirelessly to ensure security in Sherpur’s Palbari Puja Mandap, organisers say.

On the first day of its 'recommenced' drive against illegal or unregistered clinics/healthcare centres, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Monday sealed shut seven such illegal clinics and diagnostic centres in Sherpur district alone on Monday. The hospitals were sealed during a drive conducted in Sherpur's Sadar upazila, led by Civil Surgeon Dr Anupam Bhattacharya. Also read: DGHS drive against unauthorised hospitals, clinics starts Monday The institutes announced shut are Bandhan Diagnostic Centre, RH Diagnostic Centre, New Insaf Diagnostic Centre, Siddik Diagnostic Centre, Syria Diagnostic Centre, Central Diagnostic Centre, and lastly New Life Private Hospital & Diagnostic Centre. "Institutes that have been running hospital businesses completely disregarding any registration requisites, have been shut, said Dr Anupam. Also read: Stop operation of all illegal clinics, diagnostic centers in 72 hrs: DGHS “The institutes with expired licenses have been asked to renew these as soon as possible. Our drive against illegal clinics and diagnostic centres will continue,” he added.