United News of Bangladesh

Gas supply to the national grid resumed on Monday morning from Well No. 3 of the Rashidpur gas field in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj, following renovation work. Surman Bikash Das, deputy general manager of Rashidpur Gas Field, said around 8 million cubic feet of gas will be supplied daily from the well. Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex) began the renovation of the decades-old well on July 12, completing the work at a cost of approximately Tk 73 crore. Titas cuts off 2,370 illegal gas connections in 3 cities Following this, a new gas layer was discovered on September 5. Officials estimate the newly accessed layer could yield about 25.55 billion cubic feet of gas over the next 10 years. Condensate will also be extracted as a by-product. Currently, an average of 62 million cubic feet of gas is being supplied daily to the national grid from 7 of the 11 wells in the Rashidpur gas field.    

Three people including two members of a family were killed and ten others injured when a bus hit an auto-rickshaw on Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway at Dohazar of Chandanaish upazila of Chattogram district on Monday. The deceased were identified as Fatema Begum, 47 and her daughter-in-law Shamima Akter, 25 of Chandanish municipality and Md Sharif, 36 of Mymensingh district. Mahbub Alam, officer-in-charge of Dohazari Highway Police Station, said the bus of ‘Eagle Paribahan’ from Cox’s Bazar crashed into the auto-rickshaw, leaving three dead on the spot and ten others injured. The injured were taken to Dohazari Hospital and BGS Trust Medical College and Hospital.

Protesters went on a rampage in Bhanga upazila of  Faridpur district on Monday opposing the demarcation of Faridpur-4 constituency by the Election Commission. They vandalised Bhanga Police Station, Upazila Parishad building, highway police outpost, Bhanga municipality building, set local Election Commission office and some vehicles on fire , said witnesses. The violence erupted around 1 pm when  several hundred people equipped with sticks and lethal weapons attacked the police station.

A grocer was hacked to death by unidentified miscreants while returning home from his shop in Jangi Shibpur area of Raypura in Narsingdi  district early Monday. The deceased was Manik Mia, 65, of Jangi Shibpur village under North Bakhrnagar union. Family members and locals said when Manik Mia was returning home after closing his shop some miscreants attacked him with sharp weapons near the bank of the Arial Khan River and hacked him to death. On information, Raipura police visited the spot and sent the body to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. Man hacked to death in Habiganj The motive for the killing could not be known yet. His brother Arif Miah said he went out around 1:30 am in search of his brother and found him lying on the road with his throat cut. Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Sujan Chandra Sarker along with Raypura Circle officer Bayezid Bin Monsur and other police personnel visited the victim’s house and the crime scene.

Three people including a police officer were killed in a road accident on Jashore-Bagharpara highway in Bhangura Bazar area of Bagharpara Upazila on Sunday night. The deceased were identified as Sub-Inspector (SI) Nikkan Adhya of Lahuria Investigation Center under Lohagara Police Station in Narail, Akhtar Hossain, son of Ahmad Ali of Basundia area in Jashore Sadar,  and Abu Jafar, son of Abdul Majid of Vekutia area in Jashore town and former joint general secretary of the central committee of BNP’s volunteer wing Swechhasebok Dal. Tularampur Highway Police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sheikh Sekandar Ali said when a bus crashed into a stationary truck loaded with bamboo around 10:45 pm on Sunday some of the bamboos pierced into the bus, leaving Akhtar Hossain dead on the spot. 2 killed in M’singh road crash Locals rescued Abu Jafar and police officer Nikkan Adhya and took them to Jashore General Hospital in critical condition. Abu Jafar was declared dead on arrival while Nikkan Adhya was referred to Dhaka for advanced treatment. But his condition deteriorated en route and he was taken to Narail Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead. OC Sekandar Ali said proper legal action will be taken.

Three members of a family, including a child, were found dead in Savar’s Ashulia on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Rubel Ahmed, 35, his wife Sonia Akter, 30, and their five-year-old daughter Jamila. The family hailed from Boritoli area of Dhunot Upazila in Bogura district. Rubel was found hanging from a ceiling fan, while the bodies of his wife and daughter were recovered from the bed, police said. The bodies were recovered around 8:00 pm from a tin-shed room belonging to Abul Hossain, located near Gate 3 of Hameem Garments in Narsinghpur. Locals said Rubel had been living in the rented tin-shed room with his wife and daughter. Neighbours grew concerned when no sound was heard from the house on Sunday afternoon and informed the police. Upon arrival, the police broke into the room and recovered the bodies. Police suspected that Rubel killed his wife and daughter before taking his own life.Rubel and Sonia, both garment workers, were reportedly under pressure due to mounting debts in their village, said neighbour Ruhul Amin. No close relatives could be reached immediately. Ashulia police SI Mojibur Rahman said the bodies were sent to Dhaka’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for postmortem. He said the exact cause of death would be confirmed by the autopsy report.

The Teesta River started to swell again due to heavy rainfall and onrush of water from upstream on Sunday, triggering fresh flood fears among farmers in the northern districts. The water level at Dalia point in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat rose by 13 centimeters from 7am to 6pm, flowing just six centimeters below the danger mark, according to the Water Development Board (WDB). Officials warned that the river could cross the danger level at any time. All 44 sluice gates of the Teesta Barrage have been opened to control the flow while round-the-clock monitoring has been intensified. The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said Teesta’s water is likely to rise further in the next 24 hours and may inundate low-lying and char areas in Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, and Gaibandha districts.

A political platform protesting the decision to reduce parliamentary seats in Bagerhat district on Sunday announced a revised schedule for a three-day hartal demanding the restoration of four parliamentary constituencies in the district. The announcement was made at a press briefing in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office by M.A. Salam, co-convener of the All-Party Combined Committee and former president of Bagerhat BNP. According to the announcement, the hartal will be observed on Monday from 6 am to 6 pm and on Tuesday and Wednesday from 6 am to 12 pm. Shops, markets, and businesses will remain open, and public convenience vehicles such as rickshaws, e-rickshaws, and motorcycles will operate. However, no passenger buses or goods trucks will be allowed on highways. The Election Commission on September 4 announced to reduce Bagerhat’s four seats to three despite local protests. The final gazette placed Bagerhat-1 (Bagerhat Sadar-Chitalmari-Mollahat), Bagerhat-2 (Fakirhat-Rampal-Mongla), and Bagerhat-3 (Kachua-Morrelganj-Sarankhola). Previously, Bagerhat-1 included Chitalmari-Mollahat-Fakirhat, Bagerhat-2 Bagerhat Sadar-Kachua, Bagerhat-3 Rampal-Mongla, and Bagerhat-4 Morrelganj-Sarankhola.

A Sirajganj court on Sunday sentenced a man to death for killing his father in 2020 over a family feud. Judge of Sirajganj Additional District and Session Judge Court-3, Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman handed down the punishment. The convict is Rezaul Karim Labu, son of Idris Ali of Ullapara upazila. The court also fined him Tk 50,000, in default, to suffer six months more in rigorous imprisonment. Besides, the court also sentenced two more accused--- Ismat Ara, wife of Labu and Labu’ step mother Renuka Begum-- to three-month jail each. According to the prosecution, Idris Ali had gone missing from his house on March 3, 2020. Later, police recovered the body of Idris Ali with his hands and legs tied up with rope from a pond in Olidah village on March 4. Rezaul Karim Labu, son of Idris, filed a case with Sirajganj Police Station. During investigation, police found involvement of Labu, his wife and step mother Renuka in the murder.  

A former president of Companiganj upazila unit of the BNP, who had been suspended from the party over his alleged involvement in the ‘Sada Pathor’ looting incident, was arrested in Sylhet city on Saturday night. The arrestee was identified as Sahab Uddin, former president of the Companiganj BNP. According to a media release issued by the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab)-9, Sahab Uddin is one of the prime accused in the looting of stones from the Sada Pathor area in Companiganj and Gowainghat upazilas earlier this year. Teacher arrested after two madrasa students beaten, case filed A case was filed against him with Companiganj Police Station on 15 August. Acting on a tip-off, a Rab-9 team conducted a drive in the city’s Kumarpara area around 11:00pm and arrested him. He was later handed over to Kotwali Police Station, the release added. Sahab Uddin faces seven cases filed with Companiganj and Kotwali police stations. On 11 August, a BNP statement signed by Senior Joint Secretary General Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced his suspension from the party.