United News of Bangladesh

A fire broke out at the main power grid line in Satkhira, disrupting electricity supply in Satkhira district since Saturday morning. According to the Fire Service sources, the fire broke out at the Binapota 132/33 KV power grid line around 11:10 am as a transformer exploded with a big bang. On information, two firefighting units rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after an hour. No casualties were reported. 17 shops gutted in Gazipur fire Russel Islam, in-charge of Satkhira power grid line, said the explosion led to a complete power outage across the district. Efforts are underway to restore electricity and supply is expected to return to normal by the evening, he said. Nurul Islam, warehouse inspector at Satkhira Fire Service, said in preliminary investigation shows that the fire originated due to overheating or an electrical short circuit in the transformer. The power outage has severely disrupted life in the district affecting mills, factories, businesses and daily activities.  

Police have recovered the body of a third grader three days after she went missing in Khetlal upazila of Joypurhat. The deceased was identified as Tasnia Akter, daughter of mason Ershad Ali of Shalban village and student  of Sunrise Pre-Cadet School at Bottoli Bazar. Her body was found in a sack inside a cowshed at the house of her neighbor Ekramul Haque on Friday evening, said Khetlal Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Karim. Police arrested two women—Kumkum Begum, wife of Ekramul and his aunt-in-law Anjuara Begum while Ekramul managed to flee. Woman’s hanging body recovered at Dhaka’s Chawkbazar Police and locals said  Tasnia went missing on Wednesday evening and her father filed a general diary (GD) with Khetlal Police Station the next day. On Friday, locals detected a foul smell coming from Ekramul’s cowshed and later found the body of the girl in a sack. Police were informed and later they recovered it. OC Abdul Karim said the body was sent to Joypurhat 250-bed General Hospital morgue for autopsy. The motive behind the killing is yet to be known, he added.

A worker died after being electrocuted while cutting a mango tree in Bauphal upazila of Patuakhali district on Friday afternoon. The incident occurred around 1:30pm near the Kagujipul area in Ward No. 1 of Bauphal Municipality. The deceased was identified as Abdul Hakim, 35, son of Babar Ali. Eyewitness Sujan Pal said that four workers, including Abdul Hakim, were cutting a mango tree at the house of local resident Shahjahan Bender. During the work, Hakim was electrocuted while attempting to move a live electric service wire inside the house. ‘Robber’ killed in Patuakhali lynch-mob attack, another injured He was immediately rescued and taken to the Bauphal Upazila Health Complex, where on-duty doctors at the emergency department declared him dead. Aktaruzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Bauphal Police Station said, "We have been informed of the incident. An officer was sent to the hospital to collect more information."

A pregnant woman and her five-year-old son were found dead on Friday evening in Purbokandi village of Krishnapur union under Faridpur Sadar upazila. The deceased were identified as Sumaya Akter, 22, who was expecting a cesarean delivery on September 26, and her son Huzaifa, the only child of Sumaya and her husband, Ramjan Munshi. Family members said Ramjan had returned from Singapore two years ago and was preparing to go abroad again. Ramjan’s father, Motaleb Munshi, said he was nearby feeding cows when he heard screams from the house. Rushing inside, he found his grandson with his throat slit and his daughter-in-law hanging. Both were taken to Faridpur Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Motaleb claimed that Ramjan and Sumaya shared a good relationship with no serious disputes. However, some neighbors said they had occasionally heard arguments between the couple. On information, Additional Superintendent of Police (Bhanga Circle) Asif Iqbal and a police team visited the scene. Faridpur violence: Case filed against Nixon Chowdhury, 28 others Sudeb Ray, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sadarpur Police Station, said, Ramjan could not be reached as he is currently at a hospital in Faridpur. "It is difficult to determine what exactly happened without an investigation,” he added.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has seized a large consignment of Indian smuggled goods from the Sylhet branch of SA Paribahan Courier and Parcel Service, alleging the company’s involvement in distributing the contraband to various parts of the country. According to a press release issued by the BGB on Friday, a special patrol team from the Sylhet Sadar Battalion, assisted by the army, carried out a raid in the Nayorpool area of Sylhet city on Wednesday. The team recovered a significant quantity of Indian sarees, blankets, skin brightening cream, and Nivea body lotion. The BGB said that legal action is underway in connection with the seizure. Meanwhile, SA Paribahan has not issued any statement regarding the incident. The Nayorpool branch has remained locked since Wednesday, and repeated calls to the contact number displayed on their signboard have gone unanswered.

The body of a 10-year-old schoolboy, who went missing in a flash flood in Sherpur’s Nalitabari, was recovered on Thursday evening. The boy, Humayun, disappeared around 2:00 pm while trying to catch floating logs in the Chellakhali River near Burunga Bridge. His uncle Jahangir Alam confirmed that around 8:30pm, his body was found about 500 yards downstream, stuck in water hyacinth. Family members spotted the body after the water level dropped slightly. Schoolboy goes missing during flash flood in Sherpur's Nalitabari Sohel Rana, Officer-in-Charge of Nalitabari Police Station confirmed the recovery. ‘’The family has applied for permission to bury the body without autopsy, and legal procedures in this regard are underway”, he said.

A schoolboy went missing on Thursday afternoon after being swept away by the flash flood in the Chellakhali River in Nalitabari upazila. The incident occurred around 2:00 pm near Burunga Bridge in Poragaon Union when 10-year-old Humayun Kabir, a second-grade student of Burunga Government Primary School and son of Dulal Mia, went to collect floating logs with his cousin Atik Hasan. While Atik managed to swim to safety, Humayun was carried away by the river’s strong current. Fire service teams from Jamalpur, including divers, launched a rescue operation immediately after being notified. They were able to rescue two women stranded on the riverbank, but efforts to locate Humayun were hampered by the river’s strong flow. Rescue operations are ongoing. Nalitabari police OC Sohel Rana confirmed that police and fire service teams are working together to recover the boy.

A bizarre incident occurred during the government’s VGF (Vulnerable Group Feeding) rice distribution programme in Purba Union of Nabinagar Upazila, Brahmanbaria on Thursday. The Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rajib Chowdhury left the event without inaugurating it, reportedly upset over mismanagement in the distribution and because some rice bags were emblemed with the name of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The programme was scheduled to distribute 30 kilograms of rice to each of 60 poor families. UNO Rajib, Union Parishad Chairman Helal Uddin, and other local representatives were present at the site. Union Parishad Chairman Helal said, “The UNO came to inaugurate the rice distribution. But he became upset because of disorder at the event and left. Some old rice bags from last year may have had names on them, but that was not the main issue. The disorder is what caused his frustration.” Trader hacked to death in Brahmanbaria The uno said, “I left the venue after seeing the mismanagement during the rice distribution. I do not know if any bags had the former prime minister’s name. However, I have instructed the union chairman to investigate the matter.”

Locals besieged Bagarhat election office for the third consecutive day on Thursday demanding that all four parliamentary seats in the district be retained. Protestors under the banner of the All-Party United Committee took position under tents in front of the election office in the morning. Though they will not announce any hartal or blockade programmes until the Durga Puja festival, they will observe sit-in until their demands are met. MA Salam, co-convenor of the committee and president of Bagarhat district BNP, said the protest and sit-in are ongoing. “We have submitted a petition to the High Court and the court has initially issued an order for a 10-day period. We will continue our movement until our demand is met. If necessary, we are ready to escalate with non-cooperation programmes,” he added. Constituency Demarcation: Bagerhat protesters besiege local EC office The HC issued a rule asking why directives should not be given to retain four constituencies in Bagerhat, and why the Election Commission’s decision to reduce the seats to three should not be declared illegal. The Election Commission and other relevant authorities have been asked to respond within 10 days, the protesters said. On July 30, the Election Commission proposed reducing Bagerhat’s four constituencies to three ahead of the 13th parliamentary election. Shortly after the announcement, locals launched protests and later attended EC hearings demanding restoration of all four seats. On September 4, the EC finalised the gazette keeping only three seats, sparking further outrage. According to the gazette, the new constituencies are Bagerhat-1 (Sadar-Chitalmari-Mollahat), Bagerhat-2 (Fakirhat-Rampal-Mongla), and Bagerhat-3 (Kachua-Morrelganj-Sarankhola upazila). Previously, elections were held in four constituencies.

A man was killed and five others sustained injuries in a clash between two factions of BNP in Narsingdi Sadar upazila early Thursday. The deceased was identified as Idan Mia, 55, of Muradnagar village. The identities of the injured could not be known immediately. Man killed by cousin over family feud in Sylhet; 5 others injured Additional Superintendent of Police Sujan Chandra Sarker said the clash broke out around 5 am between the supporters of Alokbali union BNP convener Shah Alam Chowdhury and expelled member secretary Abdul Kaiyum Mia over establishing dominance, leaving six people injured. One of them died on the way to a hospital, he said. Locals said tensions had been growing between the two groups since August 5, 2024 over establishing dominance.