United News of Bangladesh

Power generation at Unit-1 of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Dinajpur was suspended on Sunday (January 18, 2026) after a boiler tube burst, bringing electricity production at the plant to a complete halt. As a result, all three units of the plant, with a combined capacity of 525 megawatts (MW), are now out of operation. Read more: Child killed, 15 injured as bus overturns in Dinajpur Abu Bakar Siddique, chief engineer of the power plant, said that of the three units, Unit-1, with a capacity of 125 MW, had been generating around 60 MW of electricity at the time of the incident. “The boiler tube of Unit-1 burst around 11am due to excessive heat pressure. The water flowing inside the boiler has a temperature of around 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit,” he said. He added that it may take about a week for the boiler to cool down, after which the extent of the damage can be assessed. “If repairs are completed successfully, power generation can be resumed,” he said. Meanwhile, Unit-3, which has a capacity of 275 MW, has been shut down for overhauling work being carried out by Chinese engineers, while Unit-2 (125 MW) has remained out of operation for a long time due to technical faults. As a result, the coal-fired power plant is currently completely shut down. Read more: Big push for renewables: 220 MW Sonagazi solar plant gets green light Officials warned that the shutdown may lead to load-shedding in northern districts, potentially disrupting production at electricity-dependent industries and causing hardship across the region.

Two young men whose bodies were recovered from the Atrai River in Chirirbandar upazila of Dinajpur on Monday have been identified but police are yet to determine whether they were murdered. The deceased were identified as Mohammad Russell Mia, 25, son of Saidul Islam of Subhashahar Ward No. 7 near Phulbari bus stand and his friend Al Amin, 28, son of late Nur Mohammad of Nimnagar South Balubari Line area. Police recovered the bodies as unidentified from near the Lakhitala Bridge over the Atrai River in Bhial Union’s Baniakhari Dolla village on Monday. Inspector Ahsan Habib of Chirirbandar Police Station said a special team of the Criminal Investigation Department attempted to identify the bodies through fingerprint scanning, but the effort was unsuccessful. Later in the afternoon, family members identified the bodies at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital morgue by the clothes they were wearing. Quoting family members, the police officer said Russell and Al Amin used to go out together and return home after five to seven days. They left their homes together around 9:30 pm on January 6 and did not return. Their families had lost contact with them and were preparing to file a general diary at the police station. After receiving information from the morgue staff, they went there and identified the bodies. Police said the bodies had remained in the river for several days which made identification difficult. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the deaths, he said . BNP leader’s death in custody sparks shock in Chuadanga

Three people were killed in separate road accidents in Dinajpur on Tuesday and Monday. In one incident, a motorcycle rider and his passenger were killed after being hit by a truck in Phulbari, said sub-inspector Faridul Islam of Phulbari Police Station. The deceased were identified as Abdul Motaleb, 27, son of Abdur Razzak of Joyrampur in Kaharol upazila, and Saju Islam, 33, son of Anarul Islam of Jagannathpur in the same upazila. Motaleb, a motorcycle rider based in Dhaka, was travelling to the capital with Saju when the accident occurred. 5 dead, 15 injured in Dinajpur road crash  In an earlier incident, around midnight on Monday, a truck hit the rear of a parked truck in the Bajitpur area of Bhaduria in Nawabganj, leaving driver Al Amin Alam dead, said sub-inspector Golam Mostafa of Nawabganj Police Station.

Five people were killed and at least 15 injured when a Dhaka-bound bus crashed into a mango-laden truck parked in Nurjahanpur area of Ghoraghat upazila early Saturday. The accident occurred around 4:20 am on the Dinajpur-Gobindaganj Highway, said Ghoraghat Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Nazmul Haque. He said the identities of the deceased were not immediately known. 3 killed in Dinajpur truck-microbus collision According to the OC, several trucks carrying mangoes were parked at the location.  The bus of Nabil Paribahan, travelling from Panchagarh to Dhaka, lost control and slammed into one of the trucks, he said.  Police and fire service teams rushed to the scene upon receiving information and rescued the injured. The 15 injured were admitted to a local hospital, the OC added.    

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) reportedly pushed 15 more people into Bangladesh through Achintopur border of Dinajpur district early Friday. Those pushed include three men, three women and nine children. Md Rafiqul Islam, commandant of Achintopur Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) camp in Biral upazila, which falls under the jurisdiction of the BGB-57 Battalion, said while patrolling the border the BGB members noticed these people wandering inside the border. BGB foils Indian BSF’s attempts to push in 57 People into Bangladesh’s Lalmonirhat Later, they were detained and brought to the camp, he said, adding that legal action will be taken against them accordingly. Quoting the detainees, the BGB official said that they were pushed through the Achintopur.

Three people were killed and five others injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a microbus in Birganj upazila of Dinajpur on Monday morning. The deceased were identified as Manik 35, the microbus driver from Hariharpur in Dinajpur Sadar and son of late Abul, Delwar Hossain 45, a treasury official from Hajipara in Thakurgaon town and son of late Hafizur Rahman. The identity of  another deceased could not be confirmed immediately. The accident occurred around 6am amid light rain on the Dinajpur-Thakurgaon highway in the Chabbish Mile area, said Md Raihan, sub-inspector of Birganj police station. Ferry services on Chandraghona-Raikhali route resume after 5 days The Thakurgaon-bound cement-laden truck collided head-on with the microbus coming from Thakurgaon, leaving two people, including the microbus driver, dead on the spot, he said. Another person died on the way to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital. The injured were admitted to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital.  

In protest of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) taking a Bangladeshi farmer from the Enayetpur border in Dinajpur, locals from the Bangladesh side apprehended an Indian farmer and handed him over to the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB). Later, in a flag meeting, both were returned to their respective countries’ border forces. This incident occurred on Friday. Tensions had risen along the border, but the issue was resolved peacefully by the concerned authorities. According to locals, six BSF personnel abducted a Bangladeshi citizen named Alamgir from near the 323 main pillar area, adjacent to the Enayetpur BOP camp, at around 10 am on Friday. Alamgir is the son of Aijuddin from the village of Dipnagar. BGB thwarts BSF’s another reported bid to install fence along Joypurhat border After the news spread, locals detained an Indian farmer, Narayan Chandra Roy (45), and handed him over to the BGB. Narayan Chandra Roy is from the Purba Mollapara village in South Dinajpur, West Bengal. Lieutenant Colonel Ahsan Ul Islam, the commander of BGB's 42 Battalion, said, “Five people had crossed into Bangladesh from the Indian side of the border. The BSF mistakenly took Alamgir, thinking he was one of the fugitives they were chasing.” The BSF returned Alamgir to BGB, while Narayan Chandra Roy was handed over to them through a flag meeting at around 3:30pm today, he added.

Authorities at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU) in Dinajpur have penalized nine students for allegedly  breaching code of conduct.   The action against the students  was taken after a syndicate meeting on Sunday, said the university’s Register Pro Dr M Jahangir Kabir. The accused students are Sajjad Ahmed of Social Science department, Sourav Kumar Kundu of Statistics, Sakibur Rahman and Sadi Md Mosabbah of Agriculture, Mas-ud Abdullah of Management, Fahmid Tanjim Fahim and Nuhas Ali Arnob of Finance and Banking, Abu Hamza of Physics and Tamjid Haq of Marketing. Former VC of KUET opts for retirement, nine officials suspended Of them, Sajjad and Sourav were suspended for one semester and one year from the dormitory. The rest accused were suspended for one year from their respective resident halls.   It was learned that on the evening of October 26, the accused entered the room No-107 of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman Hall and physically assaulted a senior student over a trivial matter. Later, the victim submitted a written complaint seeking punishment against the attackers, prompting the university authorities  to form a probe body in this regard. Special committee on politics at DU begins work University Proctor Prof Dr. Shamsuzzoha said the accused were found guilty in the investigation and actions taken against them as per the discipline. No one will be spared if found guilty of any crime to ensure a congenial atmosphere for study, he warned.    Victims of harassment or assault are encouraged to file written complaints, which will be addressed following due investigation and regulations, he said.

At least four people, including two drivers, were killed and 20 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in Dinajpur on Friday morning, said police. The accident occurred on Dinajpur-Panchagarh highway in Chakai intersection around 8:30am, said Birganj police station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Gafur. The deceased included bus and truck drivers and two bus passengers. Details about casualties couldn’t be known immediately, he said. All the injured were first sent to Birganj Upazila Health Complex, the OC said, adding that later six of them were shifted to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital for advance treatment as their condition was stated to be critical. Read: 4 killed in separate road accidents in Natore Quoting locals, OC Gafur said the paddy-laden truck collided with the Panchagarh-bound bus coming from Dhaka, leaving the four dead on the spot and some 20 others injured. On information, police and Fire Service personnel went to the spot and rescued the injured and sent them to the hospital, he said.

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained five people including a suspected human trafficker while trying to trespass into India through border in Dinajpur’s Birol upazila  and nearby Thakurghaon’s Pirganj upazila respectively on Tuesday. The detainees were suspected human trafficker Goutam Sarkar, 42, Jibon Roy, 14, Chayon Kumar, 19, Rony Chandra, 16, and Arjan Chandra Roy, 16. Read: Five arrested while trying to sneak into India through Panchagarh border: BGB A BGB media release said a team detained Goutam, Jibon and Chayon they while trying to intrude into India through Karuliapara border under Dharmapur union of the Birol upazila around 10am. Besides, BGB personnel detained Rony and Arjan while they were trying to flee the country through Bbabanipur border in Pirjganj upazila at noon, it reads. The detainees were handed over to the concerned police stations to take legal action, the release added. Read more: BGB detains two locals trying to flee through Dinajpur border