United News of Bangladesh

An elderly man died after falling from the rooftop of a three-storey building during a sudden nor’wester coupled with rain in Chuadanga on Tuesday. The storm also uprooted trees in several areas, disrupting traffic, while farmers fear extensive crop damage. The severe winds swept through the district from 7:55pm to 9:05pm. The deceased was identified as Mokhlesur Rahman, 65, son of late Moazzem Hossain of Sardarpara village. Locals said the elderly man lost his balance while removing corrugated iron sheets from the roof of the building and fell. He was rushed to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. The storm caused trees to fall along Chuadanga-Jhenaidah Road, including near Dingedeh and the BGB camp, temporarily blocking traffic. Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel, assisted by locals, cleared the roads. Reports of fallen trees also reported on Chuadanga-Jibannagar and Chuadanga-Meherpur roads.

Two fishermen went missing when a boat capsized in the Shakbaria River in Koyra upazila of Khulna after being caught in a storm on Tuesday. The missing fishermen are Upen Mridha, 50, son of late Sudhir Mridha, and Mukunda Mondal, 42, son of late Dhona Mondal, both residents of Jorshing village. The accident occurred at Jorshing village in South Bedkashi union in the evening. Local Union Parishad Member Abu Bakar Siddique said the storm struck unexpectedly, leading the boat to sink. Another fisherman, Bipul Roy, 35, managed to swim ashore. Rescue teams and local villagers were searching for the missing men.

A mobile court on Tuesday demolished an illegally operated lead production factory in Bhedarganj Upazila of Shariatpur. The operation, conducted by Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) K.M. Rafsan Rabbi, took place in Mahishkandi area with assistance from the Department of Environment, Fire Service, and local police. According to the mobile court, a group had long been collecting used batteries illegally in Mahishkandi and extracting lead, which was sold to various companies. The factory caused environmental pollution and reportedly killed livestock due to poisoning. Although previous administrative actions, including fines and jail terms, were taken, the operators resumed activities at night. The factory was demolished over several hours using an excavator. Assistant Director of the District Environment Department, Russel Noman, said lead pollution poses severe threats to public health, agriculture, and livestock. AC (Land) K.M. Rafsan Rabbi added that the factory operated without any valid license and that legal action against the landowner is underway.

Farmers in Natore are fearing extensive crop damage after the first seasonal nor’wester accompanied by hail swept through parts of the district Tuesday. Thick dark clouds suddenly covered the sky in the afternoon, followed by strong winds, lightning, and heavy hail. According to local sources, boro paddy, mango, and banana crops were severely affected in Natore Sadar, Singra, Baraigram, and Bagatipara upazilas. In Singra’s Chalanbil area, villages including Ramanand-Khajura, Itali, Chaugam, Jormallika, Teligram, and Khormokuri saw major damage to maize fields and boro paddy. Natore railway employees block rail tracks demanding 9th pay scale Habibul Islam Khan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture, said officials are working to assess the full extent of the losses.

A Dhaka court on Tuesday sent former speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury who was arrested from capital’s Dhanmondi area early Tuesday to jail in an attempt to murder case during the July uprsising. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana passed the order when DB inspector Mohsin Uddin produced her before the court with a two-day remand prayer. The court also rejected the petition submitted by her lawyer seeking her bail.. Earlier, Shirin was produced before the court around 2 pm amid tight security. According to the case statement,  Ashraful alias Fahim suffered bullet injuries in his left eye in front of Azimpur Bus Stand on July 18, 2024. Later, he filed a case naming 25 people including Shirin Sharmin and 120 unnamed people. She resigned on September 2, 2024, 27 days after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. Abdul Hamid was elected Speaker after the Awami League came to power in the 2008 elections. Following his election as President, Shirin Sharmin was elected Speaker on April 30, 2013. Shirin Sharmin was a Member of Parliament from Rangpur-6 constituency.

A tag officer was allegedly attacked and seriously injured by a group of youths in Khagrachhari town after refusing to provide extra octane, officials said. The incident took place around 3:30 pm on Monday in the Mahajan Para area, Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Faria Sultana confirmed. The injured Hemant Chakma is an employee of the Khagrachari Sadar Upazila Land Office. According to sources, fuel distribution began at Meherunnesa filling station in the town around 9:00 am, where octane was being sold at Tk 500 per allocation. At one stage, some youths demanded additional octane in plastic containers, but the tag officer refused. Later, when Hemant Chakma went to a nearby eatery in Mahajan Para for lunch, the youths allegedly dragged him out and beat him with sticks, breaking his hand. Locals rescued him and took him to Khagrachari Sadar Hospital. UNO Faria Sultana said efforts are underway to identify those involved and take legal action against them.

Five members of the highway police in Rangpur were beaten by passengers of a bus on suspicion of extortion after stopping a vehicle on the Bishmail section of Pirganj upazila. A video of the incident that went viral on social media on Sunday shows. The incident occurred around 9:00 am on March 19, but came to light only after the video circulated on social media, sparking discussion across the district. The policemen involved, including Sub-Inspector Shamidullah Sarker of the Bara Darga Highway Police, were withdrawn from duty on April 2 and attached to the office of the District Highway Police Superintendent. 88 cases files, 50 vehicles seized in 48-hour drive in Rangpur city According to police sources, traffic congestion caused by two overtaking long-distance buses led to a buildup of vehicles, which passengers misinterpreted as an attempt by police to extort money. An argument between passengers and police escalated into a clash, during which the officers were attacked. One policeman reportedly jumped into a nearby pond to save himself. Later, locals and other policemen came to control the situation and the injured were rescued. Eyewitnesses said that while allegations of bribes at the check post exist, no money was taken on the day of the incident. Authorities said the clash was triggered by traffic congestion and passenger frustration ahead of Eid, not extortion. An investigation committee led by an Assistant Superintendent of Police has been formed, and five policemen involved have been temporarily withdrawn. Meanwhile, police have filed a case against 60 to 70 unidentified individuals, including bus staff, for obstructing government work. Rangpur Highway Police Superintendent Abu Tayyab Shamsur Rahman said the matter is under their attention. “Action will be taken based on the committee’s report. We maintain zero tolerance against injustice. Any wrongdoing by police members will not be condoned,” he said.

A fire that broke out at the Millgate slum in Tongi area of Gazipur on Monday evening was brought under control. The fire originated around 6:30 pm, said Md Shahin Alam, senior station officer of Tongi Fire Service. On information, four units of the fire service rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control within 30 minutes, he added. The cause of the fire could not be determined immediately.

Vast tracts of boro paddy fields have been inundated due to heavy rainfall over the past few days in eight unions across three upazilas of Habiganj district. Alok Kumar Chand, Assistant Agriculture Officer of Baniachang Upazila, said that a total of 33,705 hectares of land in the upazila had been brought under boro paddy cultivation. Around 218 hectares of boro fields in various unions, including Sujatpur, Mandari, Muradpur, Poilar Kandi, Bhugli, Bhalluara, Rajakhai, Hijli, Bali, and Bager Agar haors, have been submerged. Detailed information on the crop losses is yet to be determined, officials said. Shahadul Islam, Agriculture Officer of Lakhai Upazila, said that six hectares of boro paddy along the bank of the Dhaleshwari River in No. 1 Lakhai Union have been submerged.

A Cumilla court on Monday ordered the authorities concerned to conduct a cross-match of DNA profiles of three former army personnel with those earlier collected from the clothing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a Cumilla Govt Victoria College student who was killed in 2016. Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate Md Mominul Haque passed the order after Inspector Tariqul Islam of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), also the investigating officer of the case filed over the murder, appeared before the court and sought permission to carry out the DNA cross-matching. According to the IO, DNA profiles had previously been extracted from Tonu’s personal clothing soon after the incident. However, those samples were never matched with any suspects at the time. “The court has now directed that the DNA profiles of three individuals be cross-matched with the samples collected earlier,” Tariqul said, adding that the three suspects are former army personnel who have since retired. However, the identities of the suspects were not disclosed. Earlier in the day, the PBI officer submitted a progress report to the court, which also instructed him to place an updated report on the next date of hearing. Tonu, a second-year student of the history department at Victoria College, went missing on March 20, 2016, after leaving for private tuition inside Cumilla Cantonment. Her body was later recovered from a nearby forest area, prompting her father Yar Hossain to file a murder case at Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station. The case has since seen multiple changes of investigating agencies, moving from local police to the Detective Branch, then Criminal Investigation Department, and later to the PBI, but no breakthrough has been achieved so far. Family members have long alleged a lack of transparency in the investigation, claiming that earlier DNA tests were conducted but their results were never made public. Tariqul is the sixth officer to lead the probe.