United News of Bangladesh

Saleha Begum, popularly known as “Saleha Pagli,” a beggar from Sirajganj, passed away on Friday night while undergoing treatment at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogura. Saleha Begum, wife of the late Abdus Salam from Masumpur colony in Sirajganj, had been staying in a local house due to illness. On October 9, locals recovered two bags of money from an abandoned government quarter, and on October 11, they found another bag at the same place. The total amount counted was around Tk 1,74,080. According to locals, Saleha Begum had begged for 40 years but never spent her earnings. She lived a very frugal life, saving every penny she could. During her illness, she was treated at a local hospital, then moved to Sirajganj Sadar Hospital and North Bengal Hospital. Alarming rise in HIV/AIDS cases in Sirajganj; 255 infected this year She was later admitted to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, where she was diagnosed with liver cancer. She was buried at Kandapara Cemetery on Saturday morning after salat-al-janazah. Many locals reflected on her life, saying that in the end, everyone leaves this world empty-handed, just like Saleha Begum, who departed leaving three bags of money behind.  

Former president of Nabinagar upazila unit of Jubo Dal, Mofizur Rahman Mukul, was shot and injured by unidentified assailants in Brahmanbaria on Friday evening. The attack took place around 7pm in the Padmapara area of Nabinagar municipality. According to locals, Mukul was on his way home when a group of unidentified attackers opened fire on him, leaving him seriously injured. He was rescued by locals and first taken to Nabinagar Upazila Health Complex. Later, he was referred to Dhaka for advanced treatment. Police visited the scene after the incident. However, the motive and identities of the attackers remain unknown, said Nabinagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahinur Islam, adding that an investigation is underway. Local BNP and affiliated organizations have strongly condemned the attack and demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible.

Three children drowned in a pond in Parua union, Rangunia upazila in Chattogram, on Friday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Sumaiya Akter, daughter of Md Raju; Habiba Akter, daughter of Md Kalu; and Jannat Akter, daughter of Md Naser — all residents of North Parua village. Parua Union Parishad Chairman Ekhtahar Hossain said the children were playing near a pond beside their homes when they accidentally fell into the water. 2 JCD leaders stabbed dead in Chattogram After they went missing, family members began searching for them and later found the three floating in the pond. They were rescued and taken to a local doctor, who declared them dead on arrival. “The tragic deaths of these innocent children have left the entire community in deep shock and grief,” the chairman said.  

Three children drowned while playing near a beel (wetland) in Austagram upazila of Kishoreganj on Friday evening, casting a pall of grief over the area. The incident occurred at Paschim Alinagar village under Deoghar Union. The deceased were identified as Mishkat (5), son of Abul Kalam; Mahin (6), son of Masuk Mia; and Tanil (5), son of Sattar Mia — all from the same neighborhood. According to locals, the three children were playing in front of their homes in the afternoon when they accidentally fell into the nearby waterbody. When they went missing for a long time, family members began searching for them and later found Mishkat and Mahin in the beel. They were rushed to Austagram Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared them dead. Around 7 p.m., firefighters recovered the body of Tanil from the same beel. Kishoreganj businessman murder: Former UP member gets life term Mahin’s uncle, Mobarak Hossain, said the children were playing as usual, but no one noticed when they fell into the water. “After searching for a long time, we found two of them first, and later the other one,” he said. Confirming the incident, Deoghar Union Parishad Chairman Md. Akhtar Hossain said, “It’s a heartbreaking tragedy — the deaths of three children from the same neighborhood have left the entire area in mourning.” Austagram Police Station Officer-in-Charge Ruhul Amin also confirmed the incident.  

Two people including a woman were killed in a head-on collision between a CNG-run auto-rickshaw and a tractor on the Gobindaganj–Nakaihat road in Gaibandha on Friday evening. The accident occurred in the Chotrogacha area of Gobindaganj upazila. The deceased woman was identified as Lipa Begum, 28, wife of police constable Sumon Mia of  Chotrogacha village. The identity of the other victim could not be confirmed immediately. Lipa was returning home by a CNG-run auto-rickshaw after shopping at Gobindaganj when the vehicle collided with a wood-laden tractor coming from the opposite direction. Clinic vandalised after death of mother, newborn in Gaibandha The impact hurled the victims off the auto-rickshaw, killing them on the spot. Bulbul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gobindaganj Police Station, said, “Police visited the spot after receiving information about the accident.”    

A mobile court in Lalmonirhat’s Patgram upazila on Friday seized 416 bags of chemical fertilizer being sold illegally. The drive was conducted around 11 a.m. near Karim Traders at Bypass Mor, with assistance from locals and activists of BNP and Jamaat. According to officials, Faruk Ahmed, a BCI dealer and owner of Agrani Traders, brought around 700 bags of urea, DAP, and potash fertilizer from the government warehouse in Mahendranagar. He was allegedly selling them to local retailers. Upon receiving a tip-off, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Executive Magistrate Uttam Kumar Das led the mobile court operation, fined Faruk Tk 30,000, and confiscated 416 bags of fertilizer. UNO Das said the fertilizers will be sold to local farmers at fair prices and that drives will continue to prevent illegal hoarding and market manipulation.

A college student was killed Friday morning after being hit by a train in Char Pathalia area of Gopalganj Sadar. The victim, Sakil Ahmed Faisal, 19, son of expatriate Kamal Sheikh and a resident of Vennabari Paschimpara village in Borashi Union. He recently passed the HSC exam from Gopalganj Government College. According to family members, Sakil was listening to music with headphones while crossing the railway line when he was struck by the Tungipara Express, traveling from Gobra to Rajshahi around 6:45 am. His brother, Rashed, added that Sakil used to take morning walks after prayers, and this morning’s walk ended in tragedy. Road crash leaves 4 dead in Gopalganj SI Safur Ahmed of Bhanga Railway Police said that an inquest report was prepared at the scene. Borashi Railway Station Manager Ratna Bedi said, “The railway police from Rajbari handed over the body to the family.”  

A two-year-old boy drowned in a pond in isolated island Monpura upazila of Bhola on Friday morning. The deceased was identified as Md Anmad, son of Md Mosleuddin of Sikdarhat village in ward No-8 of Uttar Sakuchia union. According to family members, the child was playing near the house and accidentally slipped into the adjacent pond unnoticed. After a while, relatives found him floating in the water and rushed him to Monpura Upazila Health Complex. 7-year-old drowns in pond in Maheshpur On the way, he was examined at Banglabazar Chamber where Upazila Health Complex physician Dr Kabir Sohel declared him dead. Officer-in-charge Ahsan Kabir of Monpura Police Station said an unnatural death case was filed in this connection.

Two people were killed and several others injured in a road accident in Bhanga Upazila of Faridpur district in the early hours of Friday. Habibur Rahman, sub-inspector of Bhanga Police Station, said the accident occurred around 2:30 am near Tarail Bus Stand on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway, when a Jamuna Line bus traveling from Dhaka to Satkhira first collided with an unidentified truck, damaging the front of the bus. Some passengers then got off and stood in front of the bus. After a while, a goods-laden truck hit the bus from behind, killing a man aged around 35 on the spot and injuring 10–12 others, SI added. Returnee Malaysia expat dies in motorcycle accident in Meherpur Locals rescued the injured passengers and took them to Bhanga Upazila Health Complex. Among them, Farzana, 30, from Pabna's Bera Upazila, succumbed to her injuries. Her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Jannatul, was critically injured and referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Shibchar Highway Police seized the bus and the truck involved in the accident, he added.    

A case has been filed with Pangsha Model Police Station in Rajbari, two days after a pickup truck loaded with chickens was reportedly hijacked by men posing as members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Hasanuzzaman, the owner of the pickup, filed the case, accusing 13 to 14 unidentified individuals. Mohammad Salauddin, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Pangsha Model Police Station, said the incident occurred near Maishala Bus Stand on the Rajbari-Kushtia regional highway last Tuesday. “Although the case was filed Thursday evening, police have been investigating the matter since the incident. However, neither the pickup has been recovered nor have any suspects been arrested yet,” he added. Quoting the victims, the OC said Hasanuzzaman had recently purchased the vehicle for Tk 16.65 lakh.  12 fishermen held for defying hilsa ban in Rajbari The pickup left Miraj Poultry Farm Unit-2 in Pirganj, Thakurgaon, on Monday evening, carrying 819 golden parent chickens weighing around 2,000 kg, bound for Faridpur. Early Tuesday, a white Hiace microbus signalled the truck to stop near Maishala Bus Stand in Baliapara Union of Pangsha.  Around 10–12 men, dressed in RAB uniforms, got out of the microbus, claiming there were drugs in the truck and ordered everyone to step out, the police official said. The assailants then tied up the driver, assistant, and lineman with ropes, blindfolded them, and took them into the microbus while seizing control of the chicken-laden pickup. The victims were later dropped near Swastipur Substation Gate under Kushtia Sadar Police Station after being subjected to electric shocks.  Their four mobile phones were also taken away, OC Salauddin said. Local residents rescued them and informed the owner, who initially thought the truck had gone towards  Kushtia but later learned it had been taken toward Rajbari. RAB-10 Faridpur Camp Company Commander Md Tariqul Islam confirmed that no RAB-10 Faridpur or Kushtia-12 teams were on patrol at that time and said an operation has been launched to catch the perpetrators.