United News of Bangladesh

Truck owners and workers in Dinajpur have announced an indefinite strike from May 12, demanding an end to alleged extortion in the name of collecting toll on roads. The decision was announced by the Dinajpur Truck Owners’ and Workers’ Joint Council, which said all types of vehicles operated by its members, including trucks, covered vans, pickups and tractors, will remain off the roads during the strike. In a joint statement, council President Syed Sapu Ahmed, who also heads the Dinajpur Truck Owners’ Group, and General Secretary Sadaqatul Bari of the Truck, Tank Lorry, Covered Van, Pickup and Tractor Workers Union alleged that toll collection outside the designated truck terminal has effectively turned into “extortion” by municipal authorities. They claimed that instead of collecting tolls from the official truck terminal, the municipality has assigned two staff members and two outsiders to collect tolls from highways and roads. The leaders said despite repeated verbal protests, the practice continued, and they were even threatened with legal action for opposing the toll collection. The issue was discussed in a meeting of the joint council held on May 5, where leaders decided to enforce the strike from May 12 if the alleged irregularities are not stopped. Meanwhile, Dinajpur municipality Administrator Riaz Uddin said two rounds of tenders were invited through national and local newspapers in January and February for appointing an operator to collect tolls at the truck terminal, but no bidder responded. Following a decision taken at a monthly general meeting on March 30, a four-member committee, including municipal market inspector Md Mostafizur Rahman, collector Shamim Ahmed, and two truck workers – Rasheduzzaman Rashed and Shahid Jamil – was formed on April 20 to manage toll collection at the terminal. The municipality said the committee has faced obstruction to collecting tolls, resulting in the failure to meet revenue target. It said legal action will be taken if the committee’s work continues to be obstructed, and sought cooperation in toll collection activities.

Four people were killed as a dump truck rammed an auto-rickshaw on Pekua-ABC regional highway at Dhaniakata in Pekua upazila of Cox’s Bazar on Thursday. Three of the deceased were identified as Firoz Ahmed, 45 and his wife Sharmin Akter, 29, of Hathazari upazila and Manirul Mannan, 22, auto-rickshaw driver while the identity of another victim could not be known immediately. Five killed in Kishoreganj road accident Sirajul Mustafa, officer-in-charge of Pekua Police Station, said the accident occurred around 7 am when the truck crashed into the auto-rickshaw, leaving four people dead and two others injured. On information, police recovered the bodies and sent those to local hospital morgue. Woman killed, husband injured in Meherpur road accident

Six people were killed and 10 others injured in separate road crashes on Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Raipura and Shibpur upazilas of Narsingdi district on Friday night and early Saturday. In Shibpur upazila, three people were killed and seven others injured when a truck rammed a microbus on the highway at Srifulia in Shibpur upazila around 2 am. The deceased were identified as Efazul Haque, 50, son of Abul Kashem, Mostakim, 18, son of Efazul and Sagar Chandra, 32, son of Subhas Chandra of Chandpur district. Read: HC commutes death sentence of 4 in Narshingdi garment worker rape case Abul Kaheyr, sub-inspector of Itakhola Highway Police said the accident occurred around 2 am when the speedy truck hit the Narayanganj-bound microbus from Sylhet, leaving three people dead and three others injured. Read: 4 killed in Narshingdi road crash The injured were taken to Narsingdi 100- bed Hospital. The victims went to a shrine in Sylhet and met the tragedy accident while returning home by  the microbus. In Raipura upazila, three people were dead and three  injured when a truck hit a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Shimultoli in Raipura upazila of Narsingdi district on Friday. The deceased were identified as Dolna Begum, wife of Kashem; Arian, Dolna’s grandson, of Borochar village in Raipura upazila; and Rana Mia of Belabo upazila. Read more: 2 farmers die from snakebites in Dinajpur Quoting witnesses, Tapar Uddin, sub-inspector of Raipura Police Station, said the accident occurred at 9:45 pm when the truck crashed into a CNG-run auto-rickshaw carrying five people, leaving three dead on the spot and three others injured. The injured were taken to a local hospital.

An auto-rickshaw driver died and a passenger was injured after being hit by a truck in Chapainawabganj on Thursday night. The deceased was identified as Rabiul Islam (27) of Narendrapur area of the district, confirmed Sajjad Hossain, officer-in-charge of Chapainawabganj Sadar Police Station. Read : Two die in separate road accidents in Savar The incident happened around 8:00 pm on Thursday when the truck hit the autorickshaw from behind, killing Rabiul on the spot at Shibtola area beside Sonamasjid highway of the city, said the OC. Read : Two bikers killed in separate road accidents in Dhaka The injured passenger, Selim (19) of Narendrapur area, was rescued by locals and admitted to the 250-bed district hospital, said the police official. After being informed, police went to the spot, seized the truck, and arrested its driver, Gaffar Ali (55), OC Sajjad added. Read : Traffic police killed in Gaibandha road accident; 3 arrested

Three women were killed and 10 people injured when a truck rammed into a pick-up van carrying devotees towards the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal(Rh) on Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj district early Saturday. The deceased were identified as Manjila Begum, 45, Tanzila Begum, 35 and Shahinur Begum, 45 of Hossainpur village in Kishoreganj district.   Also read: Habiganj clash leaves one dead, 25 injured Rakibul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bahubal Model Police Station, said the pick-up van with 15 devotees on board was heading towards the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal(Rh) from Gobindapur village. When the pick-up van reached near Mouchak Mohona Community Centre, a stone-laden truck crashed into the vehicle around 1:45 am, leaving three women dead on the spot and 10 others injured. The injured were taken to Sadar Hospital.

Four people were killed and 12 others injured when a truck fell into a ditch after being hit by another truck near Kamla Bazar in Ruma upazila of Bandarban district on Monday. The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. The truck carrying a group of women plunged into the ditch after being hit by another truck around 1: 30 pm while heading towards Romacri union, leaving four dead on the spot, said sub-inspector Md Morshed of Ruma Police Station. Also Read: Bus falls into ditch in Madaripur: Death toll now 19 The injured were taken to a local hospital. The women met the tragic accident while they were going  to  Romacri union  on a truck to collect money under Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) programme. On information, police and local people rushed to the spot and they were trying to rescue the victims. However, the rescue operation is being disrupted due to rains in the area.    

Authorities in Bulgaria have detained seven people in connection with an abandoned truck in which 18 people believed to be migrants were found dead, police said Saturday. The bodies were discovered Friday in a secret compartment below a load of lumber in the truck, which was left on a highway not far from Bulgaria's capital, Sofia. Borislav Sarafov, director of Bulgaria's National Investigation Service, confirmed that all the victims had died of suffocation. He called the case the country's deadliest involving smuggled migrants. Police also found 34 survivors in the truck, most of them in very poor physical condition, Bulgarian Health Minister Assen Medzhidiev said. All the passengers originally were from Afghanistan and had entered Bulgaria from Turkey while hoping to reach Western Europe, authorities said. Sarafov said the people who died had perished 10 to 12 hours before the truck was found and that the smugglers had fled the scene after they noticed the deaths. The seven suspects were detained at different locations across Bulgaria. Investigators were working to determine if the truck's driver was among them. Also Read: Bodies of 18 migrants found in abandoned truck in Bulgaria The investigation indicates the suspects belonged to a organized crime ring involved in smuggling migrants from the border with Turkey to the Bulgaria-Serbia border, Sarafov said. Passengers paid 5,000-7,000 euros each, he said. Bulgaria, a Balkan country of 7 million and the poorest member of the European Union, is located on a major route for migrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan seeking to enter Europe from Turkey. Very few plan to stay, with most using Bulgaria as a transit corridor on their way westward. Bulgaria has erected a barbed-wire fence along its 259-kilometer (161-mile) border with Turkey, but with the help of local traffickers many migrants still manage to enter.

Five people were killed and one was injured in a collision between a truck and a CNG run auto-rickshaw at Malipara in Khetlal Upazila of Joypurhat district on Monday morning. The deceases were identified as Nafis Hossain, Nafis Hossain, 18, a HSC 1st year student of Govt. Sayeed Altafunnesa College and a resident of Sakharunj Chowdhuripara area, Amzad Hossain, 42, the auto-rickshaw driver and resident of Itakhola Bazar of Khetlal upazila, Shahnaz Parvin, 45, a resident of Khaddogudam area of same upazila, Shahinur Akter, 38, field staff of Khetlal Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) office and Sirajul Islam, a resident of Dhamoirhat upazila of Naogaon district. Razibul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Khetlal Police Station, said the auto-rickshaw carrying five passengers collided with the truck coming from the opposite direction, leaving two died on the spot. The rest were rushed to a local hospital where three others succumbed to their their injuries, said the OC.

A 33-year-old man was killed and another critically injured on the Bypass Road in Khulna city Friday morning after police said a truck mowed them down with their motorcycle. The deceased was identified as Mithun Chowdhury from Lakhohati village of Dighalia upazila, Md Wahiduzzaman, officer-in-charge of Aranghata Police Station, said. "The injured, Md Mamun (29), is also from the same area." The accident occurred while Mithun and Mamum were trying to enter the main road. The truck rammed into their motorcycle, leaving them severely injured. Locals rushed Mithun and Mamum to Khulna Medical College Hospital where Mithun succumbed to his injuries around 10:30am. Mamun was sent to Dhaka in a critical condition.

Two people were killed in Sadar upazila after a truck rammed into a motorcycle Wednesday, police said. The deceased were identified as 40-year-old Rashedul Islam and 30-year-old Md Arshad from the Shahapara area of Thakurgaon municipality. "The accident occurred around 4pm as a Dhaka-bound truck from Panchagarh mowed Rashedul and Arshad down with their motorcycle in front of a filling station. The duo died from the impact of the crash," Md Kamal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Thakurgaon Sadar Police Station, said. Read more: Transwoman found dead in Thakurgaon "We seized the truck, but its driver managed to flee," he added.