United News of Bangladesh

A Mymensingh tribunal on Thursday sentenced three individuals to death for killing a five-year-old girl by throwing her into a river after rape last month. Judge of the Mymensingh Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Sudipta Sarkar handed down the judgement. The condemned convicts are Arif, Rakib and Siam of Dhobaura upazila in the district. The tribunal also fined them Tk 2 lakh each. Meanwhile, Judge of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Mezbah Uddin Ahmed sentenced an underage boy – Maruf, 17 – to 10 years’ imprisonment in the case. The verdict in the case was delivered within 25 days of the incident. According to the prosecution, Nisa Moni, daughter of Taju Mia of Tangahati village in Dhobaura upazila, was raped by the convicts on June 14. Later, her body was thrown into the river. On June 15, Taju Mia filed a case at Dhobaura Police Station in this regard. Police arrested the accused three days after the incident. Police submitted a charge sheet against four people within nine days of the incident. Expressing satisfaction over the judgement, the victim’s mother said, “If this verdict is executed swiftly, my daughter's soul will finally be at peace. I pray that no other mother has to endure the loss of a child as I had."

Police recovered the body of a van driver with his throat slit from Boailmari graveyard in Chatmohar upazila of Pabna on Wednesday night. The deceased was identified as Naser Ali, 44, son of late Khorshed Ali of Agshoil Toltolipara village under Haripur union in the upazila. Officer-in-Charge of Chatmohar Police Station Oliur Rahman said locals spotted the slaughtered body and informed police. Later, law enforcers recovered the body around 10:30pm and sent it to hospital morgue for an autopsy. "We suspect that unidentified miscreants killed him and dumped the body in the graveyard," the OC said.

Rising water levels in three rivers in Feni fuelled by heavy rainfall and upstream hill runoff from India's Tripura state have heightened fears of  flood among thousands of people in riverside areas. Residents of Parshuram, Fulgazi and Chhagalnaiya upazilas spent a sleepless night watching vulnerable embankments, fearing that any breach could inundate their homes as has happened repeatedly in previous years. According to the Feni District Weather Office, the district recorded 56 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours until 9 am on Thursday. District Weather Officer Mujibur Rahman said rainfall influenced by the active monsoon is likely to continue for the next few days. The situation has been worsened by upstream water flowing down from Tripura. Data from the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) showed that the water level of the Muhuri River at the Parshuram point rose to 10.66 metres at 9 am on Thursday from 10.40 metres at midnight, an increase of 0.26 metres within seven hours. Although the river is still below its danger level of 12.55 metres, officials said the rapid rise in water levels has increased concern among local residents. People living along the Muhuri, Kahua and Silonia rivers said embankment breaches during the monsoon have become a recurring problem, often causing extensive damage to homes, cropland, fish enclosures and livestock. "We are most afraid during the night. We cannot sleep because we fear the embankment may collapse at any moment and flood our homes," said Sahab Uddin, a resident of Fulgazi. In response to the growing risk, the district administration has stepped up preparedness. An emergency meeting of the District Disaster Management Committee was held at the deputy commissioner's conference room on Tuesday to review the situation and prepare response measures. Deputy Commissioner Monira Haque said water levels in the district's rivers are rising due to heavy rainfall in Tripura and  the administration is taking maximum advance preparations to tackle any possible emergency. She said government officials, medical teams and volunteer organisations have been instructed to remain prepared while efforts are underway to clean cyclone shelters and stockpile dry food. BWDB Executive Engineer Monirul Islam said officials are monitoring river water levels and embankments round the clock and keeping emergency repair teams ready for vulnerable points.

Two farmers were killed in separate lightning strikes in Raninagar and Manda upazilas of Naogaon on Thursday morning amid heavy rainfall. The deceased were identified as Sakhawat Hossain, 55, son of Mohammad Khoybor Ali of Malshan village in Raninagar upazila and Ismail Sardar, 50, son of Tahir Sardar of Elenga Mridhapara area in Manda upazila. Officer-in-Charge of Raninagar Police Station Mohammad Zakaria said Sakhawat was working on his farmland near his house when lightning struck him, leaving him dead on the spot. In Manda, Ismail was killed as a thunderbolt struck him  in his cropland, Prasadpur Union Parishad Chairman Md Abdul Matin Mondal said. Raninagar Upazila Project Implementation Officer (PIO) and Manda Upazila PIO Ariful Islam said families of the deceased would receive Tk 20,000 in financial assistance each from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

Five members of two families including a four-year-old child were killed after landslides triggered by heavy rainfall buried their homes in Lama upazila of Bandarban district early Thursday. The victims were asleep when chunks of mud collapsed onto their houses in remote Mission Para area of Aziznagar Union around 4 am, said Aziznagar Union acting chairman Mobarak Hossain. The deceased  were Md. Yunus, 28, his wife Ranu Akter,22, their four-year-old son Md. Soleman, Md. Jewel ,27 and his wife Kulsuma Akter ,23. Mobarak Hossain said police, fire service personnel, and local residents conducted rescue operations but all five victims had already died before they could be recovered. Lama Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Kaiser Hamid said the bodies have been recovered and handed over to the victims' families. In a separate incident around 1:30 am, another landslide hit the home of Aziznagar Union Parishad reserved female member Rehana Begum, leaving her seriously injured. Continuous downpours  and water from upstream hills have also caused flash floods, inundating around 1,000 houses in Lama municipality and several unions. More than 200 houses have been destroyed by landslides while key roads have suffered extensive damage, disrupting communication throughout the upazila, according to local administration. Floodwaters submerged sections of the Lama–Alikadam road in the Kearajhiri, Repara Residential, and Linejhiri areas, bringing traffic to a complete halt. Landslides have further severed internal road links, leaving many communities isolated. Seasonal seedbeds and croplands in different unions have gone underwater, threatening the livelihoods of local farmers. Local public representatives said that flash floods submerged low-lying areas across all seven unions and the municipality, inundating homes, markets, government and private offices, and educational institutions. Water levels in the Matamuhuri River and several hill streams including Lama Khal, Bamu Khal, Yangcha Khal, Bagaichhari Khal, and Popa Khal rose abnormally, leaving nearly 12,000 people stranded in their homes, they said. Local administration has been urging residents living in landslide-prone hills to evacuate to safer locations. The upazila administration, municipality, union parishads, and several non-governmental organizations have also launched disaster preparedness activities. A total of 55 educational institutions have been opened as temporary emergency shelters, where several hundred displaced families have already taken refuge. By Thursday afternoon, the water level of the Matamuhuri River has exceeded the danger mark. Fasiakhali Union Parishad Chairman Omar Faruk said nearly 50 houses in his union have been damaged by landslides. Lama Sadar Union Acting Chairman Shahidul Islam reported that another 50 houses were destroyed by landslides while approximately 100 houses were flooded, leaving  around 1,000 families marooned. Lama Municipality Administrator and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md. Moin Uddin said local authorities haave been issuing warnings since the onset of heavy rainfall, urging residents in vulnerable hillside areas to evacuate. Officials also visited homes to encourage people to move to safer locations. "Despite our repeated warnings, five people, including a child, lost their lives in Mission Para. Around 1,000 houses and business establishments have also been inundated," he said. He added that the municipality is distributing food and safe drinking water among flood-affected residents and those staying in emergency shelters. However, disrupted mobile network services and damaged roads have made it difficult to assess the full extent of the destruction as of Thursday. The administration has warned that if the rainfall continues, the risk of further landslides and flash flooding will remain high across Lama and surrounding areas.

A 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death allegedly by his younger brother following a dispute over the death of a pet bird in Lakshmipur on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Al Amin, son of Jafar Ahmed of Dilshadpur village in Sadar upazila. According to police and locals, Al Amin’s younger brother, aged 10, had been grieving since Wednesday morning after his pet bird was killed by a cat. Man stabs wife to death a decade after killing her mother in Gaibandha When Al Amin asked him to stop crying, an argument broke out between the two, and Al Amin allegedly his younger brother. At one stage, the little brother brought a knife and stabbed Al Amin in the chest, leaving him injured. Family members rescued the boy and took him to a Noakhali hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment. Additional Superintendent of Police of Lakshmipur Hossain Mohammad Raihan Kazemy said they were taking necessary legal action in this regard.

Police recovered the body of an unidentified woman stuffed inside a plastic sack from the Prantika Residential Area in Khulna city on Wednesday night. The body was recovered around 9:30pm near a seven-storey building of the residential area. According to locals, they became suspicious after noticing fresh blood oozing from a plastic sack lying on the road near the building. They immediately informed police. Missing auto-rickshaw driver found dead in N’ganj Police rushed to the scene and recovered the body of the unidentified woman from inside the sack. Assistant Commissioner of Khulna Sadar Police Station Shafiqul Islam said the motive behind the killing could not be known immediately. Expert teams from the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have been called in to help identify the victim and investigate the case.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Wednesday distributed relief among flood-affected families and rescued more than 100 stranded tourists in Bandarban's Thanchi upazila following heavy rainfall and rising water levels in the Sangu River. Continuous downpours and an abnormal rise in the river's water level have inundated large parts of the upazila, including Balipara, Baganpara, Antanipara, Hindupara and Muslimpara, as well as several low-lying areas. Floodwaters halt power supply to Dighinala, Sajek tourist spot According to BGB, around 200-250 people from more than 50 families are stranded by floodwaters and facing severe hardship. A BGB team, led by Major Md Imamul Azim, deputy commanding officer of Balipara Battalion (38 BGB), visited the affected areas on Wednesday. The team assessed the situation and distributed essential food items, including rice, lentils and dry food, among the affected families. Acting Adjutant Assistant Director Md Zakir Hossain of the battalion was present during the relief distribution. Meanwhile, BGB personnel rescued more than 100 tourists stranded in the remote areas of Nafakhum, Remakri, Jinnahpara and Boropathar in Thanchi and moved them to safer locations. BGB said it continues to provide humanitarian assistance during natural disasters alongside its border security duties and will maintain such efforts to support affected communities.

Power supply to Dighinala upazila and the Sajek tourist destination in Khagrachhari has remained suspended since Wednesday morning after authorities shut down the local power substation due to flooding caused by continuous rainfall and hill runoff. The outage, which began around 10:00 am, has left thousands of consumers without electricity, disrupting daily life, businesses and essential services in the area. Chattogram–Cox's Bazar rail services suspended as tracks go under floodwater According to local sources, persistent rain and flash floods from upstream hills caused water levels to rise rapidly around the transformer at the Dighinala power substation. The authorities suspended electricity supply as a precautionary measure to ensure public safety and protect equipment. Al Amin, president of the Dighinala Press Club, said the area has been without electricity since Wednesday morning. He said the prolonged outage has caused widespread suffering for residents and disrupted commercial and public services. Although rainfall has eased somewhat, water flowing down from the hills continues to rise, he added. Md Ershad Ali, sub-assistant engineer at the Dighinala power substation, said floodwater had reached the immediate vicinity of the substation transformer, prompting authorities to shut down the facility for safety reasons. "As a result, electricity supply to Dighinala upazila and the Sajek tourist spot has been suspended. Power will be restored after the floodwater recedes and the substation is declared safe," he said. The outage has also affected tourists and business operators in Sajek, a popular hill resort destination. Meanwhile, resort owners in Sajek have decided not to charge accommodation fees for tourists stranded there due to the flooding, according to local sources. Authorities said electricity supply will be restored as soon as the floodwater subsides and the substation becomes safe for operation.

A government college teacher from Noakhali suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer has appealed to the government and the public for financial assistance to undergo life-saving treatment. Shafiqul Islam Saju, popularly known as Saju, is an assistant professor of Philosophy at Kabirhat  Government College in Noakhali. A resident of Subarnachar upazila, he joined the Education Cadre through the 35th BCS. According to family members, he began experiencing health complications several months ago. Following a series of medical examinations, doctors diagnosed him with stage-IV pancreatic cancer. Physicians have advised him to undergo chemotherapy in Bangladesh initially. They have also recommended that he be taken to India or Thailand for advanced treatment as soon as possible. Saju, a father of two, has sought financial support from the Prime Minister , the Education Minister and people across the country, expressing hope that collective assistance will enable him to receive the treatment needed to save his life. His family said those wishing to support his treatment can contribute through his personal account at Sonali Bank's Kalamunsi Bazar Branch in Kabirhat, Noakhali, or via his personal bKash and Nagad accounts. Interested donors have been requested to contact the family to obtain the account details. Md. Shafiqul Islam, Sonali Bank, Kalamunsi Bazar Branch (Kabirhat, Noakhali), Account No.-381210102672 (Routing No.- 200751270), bKash and Nagad Account-01701300500 (Personal)