United News of Bangladesh

A Chattogram court on Thursday framed charges against BNP leader Aslam Chowdhury, his wife and two others in a case filed for embezzling Tk 325 crore of bank loan. Chattogram District Special Judge Munshi Abdul Majid passed the order during a hearing on the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), said Kazi Sanwar Ahmed, Public Prosecutor of ACC. The other accused in the case are Aslam Chowdhury’s wife Jamila Najnin Mowla, his brothers- Jashim Uddin Chowdhury and Amjad Hossain Chowdhury. Also read: Aslam Chowdhury's bail order stayed On July 17, 2016, Manik Lal Das, Deputy Assistant Director of the ACC, filed the case against BNP’s Joint General Secretary Aslam and his family members on charges of embezzling Tk 325.74 crore loan of AB Bank, Agrabad branch. On August 7, 2017, Deputy Director of ACC in Dhaka Md Mosharraf Hossain Mridha submitted the charge sheet in the case after investigation. Also read: BNP's Aslam Chowdhury gets bail in two 2013 sabotage cases

Miscreants allegedly abducted a 40-year-old man after killing his wife at Rajbila in Sadar upazila of Bandarban district in the early hours of Thursday. The deceased was identified as Chinganu Marma, 30. The abducted man has been identified as Rethoai Marma, a resident of Thongjoma Para of the upazila. Read: Young man gunned down in Bandarban Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station, said that some five to six men barged into the house of Rethoai around 3am and tried to abduct him at gunpoint. When his wife resisted, the miscreants stabbed her to death. "The motive behind the abduction is not clear," the OC said.

Four of a family were killed while another was injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on the Cumilla-Noakhali regional highway on Thursday morning. The deceased were identified as Bahar Mia, 50, his wife Parul Begum, daughter Jannatul Mawa, and his mother-in-law Golap Nahar. All the victims were occupants of the auto-rickshaw. The accident occurred around 8am on the high-speed corridor near Kaliacho in Cumilla's Laksham upazila when the BRTC bus hit the auto-rickshaw. Read:Four, including 3 students killed in Dinajpur road crashes "The impact of the collision was such that it left Bahar and his mother-in-law dead on the spot," said Jasim Uddin, a sub-inspector at the Lalmai outpost of Laksham Highway Police. Parul and her daughter Jannatul succumbed to their injuries on the way to Cumilla Medical College and Hospital, where the critically injured auto-rickshaw driver is currently undergoing treatment. Police have seized the killer bus and the auto-rickshaw. However, the bus driver is on the run, said SI Jasim. Road accidents in Bangladesh As many as 413 lives were lost and 532 people sustained injuries in 379 road accidents across the country in November last year alone, according to a report of Road Safety Foundation (RSF), a body that campaigns for safer roads. As per the RSF report, 407 people were killed in 346 road accidents in October 2021. In November, motorcycle accidents turned out to be the deadliest as those alone caused the deaths of 184 people, which is 44.55% of the total fatalities. Read:Expatriate, 2 others killed in Barishal road crash The total number of motorcycle accidents was 158 during the last month, which is 41.68% of the total accidents. According to the RSF findings, at least 96 pedestrians were killed in road accidents, which account for 23.24% of the total deaths. The RSF pointed out 10 major reasons behind the increasing number of road accidents -- faulty vehicles, reckless driving, scant regard for traffic rules and poor traffic management being some of them.  

Two Bangladeshi nationals, who returned home from India through the Benapole border in Jashore, have tested positive for Covid-19, officials said on Tuesday. Dr Ashrafuzzaman of the Benapole Immigration Health Centre, said that three people returned to Bangladesh from India through the land border on Wednesday noon. Read:Covid positivity rate marks sharp rise in Bangladesh Of them, two -- Habibur Rahman, 60, and Habibullah Sohan, 30, of Sadar upazila in Thakurgaon district -- tested Covid positive, he said. The Covid-19 positive patients were sent to Jashore 250-bed General Hospital while another returnee, Kamal, was taken to the Jashore isolation centre for a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Raju Ahmed, officer-in-charge of the Benapole checkpost, said the two Bangladeshi nationals had gone to India for medical purposes. "Already the higher authorities concerned have been informed." The world is struggling to fight off the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and the number of corona cases is increasing fast globally. Three more cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Bangladesh, taking its total tally to 10, according to GISAID, the global database for genomic data on the Coronavirus. On December 11, Bangladesh reported its first two cases of the Omicron variant in two members of the Bangladesh women cricket team. Read: COVID case counts may be losing importance amid omicron India Wednesday reported its first known Omicron death in the northwestern city of Udaipur, as the country recorded a whopping 58,097 fresh Covid cases and 534 fatalities in 24 hours. Alarmed by the rising Omicron cases, India's federal government two weeks ago warned states that "the variant is three times more transmissible than the Delta" and directed them to take action to rein in its spread.

Leaders and activists of BNP clashed with police at Jamalkhan Press Club in Chattogram city as police allegedly obstructed them during their bid to form a human chain. They gathered there to form a human chain to register the party’s protest against the ‘unilateral’ election of January 5, 2014. Meanwhile, 44 leader and activists of BNP were arrested in this connection. Mohammad Nezam Uddin, Officer-in-Charge of Kotwali Police Station, said BNP took permission saying that one hundred people will join the human chain. However, BNP leaders and activists blocked the road while delivering speeches and their programme disrupted traffic. Later, police requested them to leave the road but they locked into an argument with police and threw brickbats towards them, forcing police to charge baton, he added. The OC also four policemen were injured in the clash.

At least 20 leaders and activists of BNP were injured in a clash with police as police allegedly foiled their bid to form a human chain to register the party’s protest against the ‘unilateral’ election of January 5, 2014. When BNP leaders and activists gathered in front of the party's city office around 11am police charged batons to disperse the them, triggering the clash, said Khulna Metropolitan BNP member secretary Shafiqul Alam Tuhin. At least 20 BNP activists were injured in the clash, claimed Shafiqul Alam. Police also detained a BNP activist, he added. However, Hasan Al Mamun, Officer-in-Charge of Khulna Police Station, said the BNP men attempted to form the human chain without any permission from the authorities concerned. When police asked them to leave the road the BNP activists threw brickbats towards police, forcing them to charge baton, the OC added.

Eight people were killed in clashes in Chattogram, Bogura and Chandpur districts during the 5th phase of the Union Parishad (UP) elections on Wednesday, including four in police firing. In Bogura, five people were killed in during the election violence. Of them four people were killed when police fired at the mob to bring the situation under control and another person was killed during a clash with the supporters of opponent group. Of the deceased, Kulsum Akter, a member candidate and wife of Khokon of Kalaihata village in BaliaDighi union of Gabtoli upazila; Alamgir Hossain, son of Mokbul Hossain of the same village; brothers Abdur Rashid and Adur Razzak, sons of Ifat Ullah, all died in police firing. District superintendent of police Sudeep Kumar Chakrabarti said that the supporters of boat symbol with other supporters of other candidates attacked police-BGB members and the executive magistrate, and vandalised government vehicles as the election results were delayed. At this time police fired at the mob to bring the situation under control. Four people were shot dead in the incident.    Also in Bogura, another man named Zakir Hossain, 36, supporter of independent member candidate Saidul Islam, was killed in a clash between the supporters of two UP member candidates at Rameshwarpur union in Gabtoli upazila. The clash began around 2:30pm at Jaiguli Govt High School ground in Rameshwarpur between the supporters of independent candidate Saidul Islam and another candidate Ferdous Hossain Mithu, leaving Zakir seriously injured. Later, he was taken to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital (SZMCH) where doctors declared him dead. Read:Voting underway for fifth phase of UP polls Zia Rafikul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Gabtoli Model Thana, said police brought the situation under control. In Chandpur, two people were killed in separate incidents at Kachua and Haimchar upazila in violence during the UP elections. One of the deceased, identified as Sharif Hossain, 18, was stabbed dead during the clash outside Hatirbandh Kendra at Sachar Union of Kachua Upazila, said additional superintendent of police Sudip Roy. Another unidentified man, said to be in his early 40s, was killed at Ishanbala Ward-6 of Nilkamal Union in Haimchar Upazila, said Mahbubur Rahman Mollah, officer-in-charge (OC) of Haimchar Police Station. In the fifth phase, Union Parishad elections took place in 29 unions of Chandpur where 162 candidates contested the polls for the post of chairman and 1,412 for the posts of general members and reserved members. In Chattogram, a man was killed in a clash between the supporters of two member candidates at Chatori union in Anwara upazila. The deceased was identified as Omkar Dutta, 32, a supporter of member candidate Dhananjoy Biswas contesting the polls with ‘Tubewell’ symbol. Police said the clash broke out around 1:30pm at Singhora of Chatori between the supporters of independent candidate Nazim Uddin and another candidate Dhananjoy Biswas, leaving one dead on the spot and several others injured. Read: Pre-polls violence: 30 injured in Bhola Didarul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Anwara Police Station, said the situation is under control now. In Boalkhali upazila, a local Awami League leader was seriously injured in an attack by his rival party men early Wednesday at Shikdarpara in Ahla Koroldenga union. The injured was identified as Abdullah Al Harun Ripon, 32, general secretary of union unit AL. He was sent to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition, said Abdul Karim, officer-in-charge of Boalkhali Police Station.

A Cox’s Bazar court on Tuesday placed two people, including prime accused Ashiqul Islam Ashiq, on a three-day remand each in a case filed over violating a tourist in the town. Chief Judicial Magistrate Abul Mansur Siddique passed the order when police produced them before the court, said additional superintendent of Tourist Police Md Mohiuddin. Read: Writ seeks judicial inquiry into Cox's Bazar gang-rape Earlier on Monday, police filed a petition seeking remand for Ashiqu in the case. The other remanded accused is Mehedi Hasan Babu. 

Miscreants shot a man to death at Anghla Para in Lama upazila of Bandarban district early Tuesday. The victim was identified as Monkyaching Marma,35, a resident of Bangalhalia in Rajasthali upazila of Rangamati district. According to locals, Monkyaching came to visit his in-law’s family members at Ward-3 in Ruposhi Para union on Monday. Also read: Farmer shot dead in Chuadanga Around 1:30 am, six gunmen surrounded the house and fired shots at him holding other family members hostage. They left the scene firing shots, they said. Md Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Lama Police Station, said they have sent a police team to recover the body. Also read: UP polls violence: One shot dead in Sylhet

A housewife was hacked to death allegedly by her husband at her father’s house in Paikerchhara village in Bhurungamari upazila of Kurigram early Tuesday. The victim was identified as Shahida Begum, 40, daughter of Shahjahan Ali and wife of Abu Bakar Siddiqui,44, of the same village. According to Shahida’s family, Shahida came to her father’s house a few days back with her youngest daughter following a prolonged feud with her husband. Also read: Housewife stabbed to death by husband in city On Monday night, Abu Bakar, a wood trader, also came to meet Shahida, a mother of three, said Mahir Uddin, Shahida’s uncle. At the dead of night, he said, they heard Shahida’s screams and they found her dead on her bed when they reached there. Shahida’s daughter and mother also suffered injuries during the incident, said Mahir Uddin. Paikerchara union member (ward-1) Abu Md Bajlur Rahman said the injured were taken to a local hospital. Also read: Housewife murdered, family destroyed by wrath of loan shark Shahida’s body, bearing the marks of sharp injuries in her neck, was recovered around 4 am, said Ataur Rahman, a sub-inspector of Bhurungamari Police Station. Abu Bakar went into hiding right after the incident.