United News of Bangladesh

Headteacher of Daul Barbakpur High School in Naogaon’s Mahadebpur filed a general diary on Sunday accusing 150 anonymous people for spreading rumors about a teacher beat up students for wearing hijab in school and vandalising school property. Dharani Kanta, headteacher of the school, filed the GD at Mahadebpur police station three days after the incident of vandalism on the school property triggered by a rumor,  said Ajam Uddin Mahmud, officer-in-Charge of Mahadebpur police station. Also read: Hijab Row: Show-cause notice issued to Naogaon teacher for beating students “On April 7, the school was attacked after spreading rumors about a trivial incident in the school. Many people from the villages around the school attacked and vandalized chairs and tables of the school,” the head teacher wrote in his GD. Additional troops of police have been deployed and  Daul Barbakpur area is under surveillance since the incident to ensure no one creates further disorder, said OC Ajam Uddin. Earlier on April 6, Amodini Pal, assistant headmistress of the school allegedly beat 16-18 students in the 8th, 9th and 10th classes of the school around 11am for not wearing school uniforms. Also read: Couldn’t believe a teacher got arrested for giving rational answer in class: Zafar Iqbal Later, it turned into a "hijab" row and spread on social media. On Saturday, a show-cause notice was served to the accused teacher for beating up female students for not wearing uniform to school by the school authority ordered by the Upazila Secondary Education Officer. A three-member investigation committee was also formed to probe the incident by the upazila administration.

School teacher Hriday Mandal was released from Munshiganj jail after securing bail in a case over ‘hurting religious sentiment’ on Sunday. Hriday was freed from Munshiganj jail around 5pm, said Jailer Abul Bashar. “We received the bail papers of Hriday Mandal at around 4pm,” the jailer added. His arrest sparked protests from rights group from home and abroad calling for his immediate release. Also read: Hriday Mandal gets bail after 19 days in jail The rights groups denounced his arrest as an attempt to curtail freedom of expression and science education in the country After his release, Hriday said the allegations brought against him are false. He said, “I was teaching science in class that day. They were purposely questioning me about religious feelings. I didn't say anything that could be an issue. I didn't even notice that they were recording on mobile.” He said, “Some misguided students  who do not study have done it together with misguided teachers. I can't name anyone at the moment. They might have done this with me over private tutoring.” Besides, he sought security from the state. Earlier in the day, Additional District and Sessions Judge Motahar Akter Bhuiya granted the teacher bail after 19 days of his arrest in the case. Hriday Mandal, a Science teacher of Binodpur Ramkumar High School, was arrested on March 22 after Asad Mia, an electrician of the school, lodged a complaint with Sadar Police on charge of hurting religious sentiment. However, Babita Haldar, wife of Hriday, claimed that the false allegation was brought against him to oust him from the school due to  enmity with some colleagues. Also read: Amnesty demands immediate release of school teacher Hriday Earlier on March 20, some tenth-grade students of Binodpur Ramkumar High School (science section), recorded a class conversation of Hriday on science and religion where. On March 22, some students staged demonstrations outside the school calling for punishment for Hriday. Later that day, an office assistant (electrician) of the high school filed a case with police against the teacher, who was subsequently arrested.

A man and his son were killed on Sunday as their motorcycle was hit by a tractor on Panchagarh-Kahrurhat road in Panchagarh sadar upazila. The deceased were identified as Abdul Aziz alias Kalu, 55, a retired Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member and his son Arif Hossain, 25, a BGB member from Barabari area in Haribhasa union in the upazila. Also read:Bogura road crash leaves two dead Arif was returning home with his father in the afternoon from Chaklarhat Bazar on a motorcycle when a tractor coming from the opposite side of the road hit their motorcycle. Arif died on the spot while his father died on the way to Rangpur Medical College Hospital, said Md Rasel Ali, member of ward-4 of Chaklahat Union Parishad. Also read: Father-son killed in Ctg road accident Arif’s family said he was on leave from duty as he recently got married on March 24. Md Abdul Latif Mia, Officer-in-Charge of Panchagarh sadar police station said the tractor has been seized but its driver and his assistant managed to flee.

The death of a 55-year-old woman due to alleged negligence of some doctors at Khulna Medical College and Hospital (KMCH) sparked protest on Sunday. A scuffle took place between the interns and two sons of the patient when they want to ask them why they didn’t come to see their patient despite their repeated request before her death at 3 am, alleged the relatives of the patient. Later, the interns handed the two sons over to police and kept the body at the mortuary instead of handing it over to family, they claimed. Also read: Doctors, nurses of Maa-O-Shishu Hospital go on strike in Chattogram Abdur Razzak, husband of the patient Piarunnesa of Doulatpur upazila, said her wife was admitted to the hospital’s no 11-12 ward as she complained of chest pain on Friday morning. On Saturday, the condition of Piarunnessa deteriorated and her son Mostakim went to call a doctor to see her but they didn’t come.  Piarunnesa breathed her last at the hospital at 3am. Angered by the incident, Mostakim went to the interns’ room and sought explanation for their negligence. A heated argument took place that led to a scuffle among them. On information, police rushed in and detained  two other sons of Piarunnessa —Tariqul Islam Kabir and Saddam Hossain---in this connection. Intern Kamrul also beat up Saddam and tore down his shirt during the scuffle, Razzak alleged. They are now under the custody of Sonadanga Police Station. Also read: Sher-e-Bangla nurses go on strike over police attack on colleague Razzak also said the hospital authorities refused to hand over the body to the patient’s family. Resident Medical Officer of Khulna Medical College and Hospital Dr Suhash Ranjan Haldar said, “The body will be handed over after completing necessary formalities.” Asked about the detention of the two sons of the patient, he said police detained them for bringing the situation under control.

A fisherman was shot dead  and five others injured in a clash between river police and fishermen who were allegedly fishing in the Meghna River defying a government ban in Sadar upazila of Laxmipur district early Sunday. The deceased was identified as Ameer Hossain of Kutubpura Matlab Bari in Bhola district. Kamal Hossain, sub-inspector of River Police,  said a team of River Police conducted a drive in the Meghna River as a two-month ban on catching fish is going on. READ: 22-day Hilsa fishing ban: 5,533 jailed, Tk243 crore net seized When the patrol team of River police reached at Maju Chowdhury Haat, 50-60 fishermen from five-six boats encircled the team and started to hurl brick chips targeting police. To bring the situation under control, police fired bullets, leaving Ameer injured. He was taken to Sadar Hospital but the doctors referred him to Dhaka following deterioration of his condition. Meanwhile, Ameer died on the way to a Dhaka Hospital.   Five people including four policemen were injured during the clash and they were given first aid.

Two people were killed as a truck collided with a motorbike on Naogaon-Bogura highway in Dupchachia upazila of Bogura on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Sakhawat Hossain Palash, 48, an electrician and his friend Shoaib Mahmud, 42, a work assistant at the LGD office. Dupchachia Police SI Niyaman Nasir said Shoaib was transferred to Porsha in Naogaon. When Shoaib and his friend Palash were going to Porasha on a motorcycle the truck coming from the opposite direction hit it near the Bus Stand area around 8 am, leaving Shoaib dead on the spot. READ: Lawyer killed in Bogura road crash Palash was rushed to Dupchachia Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared him dead. The bodies were kept at the upazila health complex morgue. The truck driver and his helper managed to flee with the truck, he said.

Miscreants cut down 500 bottle gourd plants on one acre and five decimals of land at Nargun village in Haripur upazila of Thakurgaon district on Saturday. Md Biplab, son of Azizur Rahman, lodged a written complaint against five people with Haripur Police saying they have damaged his bottle gourd plants over land dispute and previous enmity, said Inspector Tajul Islam of the police station. The accused are Jewel, 38, GM, 35, Munna, 25, Shohagh, 40 and Badiuzzaman, 65 of Nargun village. READ: Miscreants cut down mango trees in Manirampur According to the complaint, Biplab and Jewel had been at loggerheads over the ownership of a piece of land. A case was filed in this regard which is under trial. As a sequel to the enmity, Jewel and his associates cut down the bottle gourd plant on the land, causing a loss of TK 9 lakh. Police are investigating the incident, said Inspector Tajul.

A 19-year-old boy was stabbed to death allegedly by some miscreants in front of Sylhet Osmani Medical College in Sylhet city on Saturday. The deceased was identified as Nazim Ahmed, a hotel employee and son of Nur Mia of Darga Mahalla in the city.  Local people rescued Nazim as he was bleeding profusely in front of the emergency unit gate of the hospital around 9 pm, said Mohammad Ali Mahmud, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Model Police Station. READ: Youth stabbed to death in Munshiganj Later, he was taken to the hospital where doctors declared him dead. Police arrested a young man suspecting his involvement in the killing from the area at night, said OC Mahmud.

A show-cause notice has been served to a teacher of Daul Barbakpur High School in Naogaon’s Mahadebpur for beating up female students for not wearing uniform to school. The accused teacher is Amodini Pal, an assistant headmistress of the school. A letter signed by Upazila Secondary Education Officer Habibur Rahman was sent to the headmaster of the school asking him to confirm the notice. Based on the letter, the authorities of the school issued a show-cause notice to Amodini on Saturday. The school authorities also asked Amodini to explain herself within seven days after the incident last Wednesday. Regarding the notice, Amodini Pal said on her mobile phone, "I have received a letter signed by the headmaster." The letter will be answered in a couple of days, she added. Read: Couldn’t believe a teacher got arrested for giving rational answer in class: Zafar Iqbal She alleged that a “certain quarter circulated baseless lies with an intent to spread communal hatred and hide major problems”. A three-member investigation committee has already been formed to investigate the incident, said Mizanur Rahman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Mahadebpur. After getting the investigation report, "we will be able to decide what to do next", he added. Earlier on April 6, Amodini Pal allegedly beat 16-18 students in 8th, 9th and 10th classes of the school around 11am for not wearing school uniforms. Later, it turned into a "hijab" row and spread on social media.

A two- day  Ashtami Snan(bathing festival), a  Hindu religious ritual,  has triggered a 17 kilometers long tailback  on Dhaka Chattogram highway on Saturday. The number of Hindu devotees crossed 10 lakh this year as they gathered on the bank of Brahmaputra River at Langalbandh in Bandar upazila of Narayanganj after the bathing festival remained suspended for two years due to the Covid pandemic, said the local administration. Meanwhile, Jayedul Alam, Superintendent of Narayanganj police said, “ Some 9 lakh devotees who have arrived here from different  corners of the country have parked vehicles carrying them haphazardly and went to take a bath which has created gridlock on the highway.” Also read: 20km long tailback on Dhaka-Ctg highway following road crashes However, police are trying to ease the traffic movement by sending the vehicles to the designated  parking areas, he said.