United News of Bangladesh

A housewife was killed allegedly for refusing to pay extortion money in Barishal city on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Afia Khatun, 45, wife of former army member Gias Uddin and a resident of Khasipur Fishery Road area of Barishal city.  Deceased’s husband Gias Uddin said local terrorist Md. Monu had been demanding extortion from him for building a new house in the area. Read:2 held for raping minor girl after kidnap in Barishal As he did not pay the extortion money, Monu beat up Gias at first and later hit Afia Khatun with a brick, he said. Seriously injured Afia was rushed to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. Barishal Airport Police Station officer-in-charge Kamolesh Halder said on information, a police team has been sent to the spot.

The number of diarrhoea patients, mostly children, has been rising alarmingly in Faridpur hospitals for the last one month. Besides diarrhoea, hospitals are struggling to manage the huge flow of patients suffering from fever, cold, and pneumonia. Read:Diarrhoea hospitalisations continue to rise in Dhaka, other districts During a visit on Sunday, the UNB correspondent found that more than 300 children are being given treatment at the indoor and outdoor units of Dr. Zahed Memorial Shishu Hospital in Faridpur town daily on average. Besides, Sadar General Hospital, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital, and different private hospitals and clinics have been flooded with diaarohea patients. Around 200 patients are being treated in these hospitals daily on average. Dr. Emdadul Haque Shamim, the resident medial officer of Dr. Zahed Memorial Shishu Hospital, said, “Children are being afflicted with diarrehoea due to weather change.” He also suggested the parents to take special care of their children during this hot weather. Only 10 beds are available for diarrhoea patients at Faridpur Sadar General Hospital. But, more than double patients were admitted to the hospital, creating huge pressure on the hospital authorities . This scenario is almost the same at all the public and private hospitals and clinics in the district.    Farida Yeasmin, a senior nurse of Sadar General Hospital, said, “We are trying to give services to the patients despite our limitations. Patients are arriving at the hospital daily with severe diarrhoea with vomiting and most of them are children.”   Day labour Akter Sheikh has come to the hospital from Madaripur with his two kids suffering from diarrhoea. Read:Diarrhoea outbreak grips Barguna “I have admitted my two children at Faridpur Sadar General Hospital but getting a bed here is very tough as the number of patients is very high. We are staying on the floor. However, my children are better now,” he said. District Civil Surgeon Dr. Siddiqur Rahman said, “The situation is still under control. The number of diarrhoea patients has increased in the district. Doctors are struggling at some places to give treatment to the patients. Weather change has caused the diarrhoea outbreak.” He, however, has suggested that people should avoid stale food during this summer and drink pure and clean water always.

Three people were killed and 12 others injured in a collision between a battery-run auto-rickshaw and a bus in Mohammadpur upazila in Magura on Sunday noon. The deceased were identified as auto-rickshaw driver Rabbi, 22, Jashim, 24, and Nirmal Kumar Biswas, 60, of the upazila. Ikram Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Mohammadpur police station, said the accident occurred around 12pm near Kanutia on Mohammadpur road when the auto-rickshaw was hit at high speed by the bus coming from the opposite side, leaving around 15 people injured. Also read: Road accidents claim 166 lives, Covid 85 in Bangladesh in March: BHRC Among the injured, four were rushed to Magura Sadar Hospital where the doctor declared Rabbi and Jashim dead, said the OC. Nirmal succumbed to his injuries on the way to Jashore hospital. The vehicles were seized. However, the bus driver managed to flee the scene, he said. Also read: Two killed, 6 injured in Tangail road accident A case was filed at Mohammadpur police station in this regard, he added.

Boro crops on 500 acres land of haor areas in Khalijuri upazila of Netrakona district went under water due to the onrush of hill water. If the situation continues for one week more, 21,000 hectares of crops land will be submerged, said local people. Read: Untimely rain damages crops in Faridpur Already 1013 hectares of land have been damaged by the hill water from March 30 to April 2, according to the upazila agriculture officials. Monir Hossain, a farmer of Khaliajuri sadar upazila headquarters said the hill water entered into the low lands of Kirtankhola haor, Chinai Haor, Badiarchar Haor, Taktarer Haor, Manijan Haor, Lebria Haor, Hemnagar Haor, Gangabando Haor, Nayakhal Haor, Bagani Haor, and Dakatikhal Haor, damaging boro crops. Twenty acres of boro crops have been damaged by the onrush of hill water, he said. This year, a total of 21,120 hectares of land have been brought under boro cultivation. The farmers also feared damage if the situation continues. ML Soikat, Executive engineer of Netrakona Water Development Board, said the resource of the hill water is Cherapunji in India and the water enters through Dhanu River after crossing Jadukata and Surma rivers in Sunamganj district. The water level of Dhanu River increased six feet while in the past three hours it has increased by three feet more. Read: Incessant showers damage lentil, wheat & mustard crops in Narail Netrakona Deputy Commisioner Kazi Mohamamd Abdur Rahman, said every year, the local administration has built an embankment for protecting floods and on line with that, the dam was constructed maintaining a fixed height. We are taking preparation to make a list of the affected farmers for providing necessary assistance from the government, he said.

The body of a five-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped and killed by her cousin 10 days ago, was recovered from a septic tank at Megha village in Chatkhil upazila of Noakhali district on Saturday. Police arrested Shahadat Hossain, 22, son of Babul for his alleged involvement in the crime, said police on Sunday. Read: 3 held over gang rape of woman after abduction in Cox’s Bazar Asma Akter, daughter of Shahjahan, went missing on March 24 while playing outside her house. Shahjahan lodged a general diary with Chatkhil police station the following day.  Police on Friday arrested Shahadat and following his confessional statement, police recovered the body of Asma, wrapped in a polythene, from the septic tank on Saturday night, said Gias Uddin, officer-in-charge of Chatkhil Police Station. The body was taken to 250-bed Noakhali General Hospital on Sunday. During interrogation, Shahadat confessed that he raped the child several times before strangulating her to death. Later he dumped the body in the septic tank. Bangladesh's rape epidemic There has been no let up in the number of sexual crimes against women despite the introduction of stricter laws in Bangladesh in November 2020. Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data shows that 1,018 children were raped in 2020 alone, but only 683 police cases had been filed. Also, 116 survivors were six years old or below. Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported in 2020 and 53 of the women were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, as per the data. However, ASK's data is just the tip of the iceberg, according to aid agencies, who report that most women are too afraid to report rape. Read: Khulna gang rape: 2 more accused held In October 2020, the country was rocked by protests after a woman was allegedly attacked and raped in Noakhali. In November, 2020, Bangladesh introduced capital punishment for rape, following days of protests against sexual violence against women in several cities across the country. But human rights organisations say the move will not solve the country's rape crisis, as the survivors of the heinous crime are often stigmatised in the society.

Panic gripped the passengers of Barishal-bound launch ‘MV Prince Awlad-10’ as thick smoke filled the engine room of the launch, prompting the authorities to anchor it at Munshiganj terminal Saturday midnight. Sazzad Hossain, an employee of the launch, said the authorities noticed smoke billowing from the engine room of the launch around 11:30 pm while installing adjuster in the silencer pipe. The authorities anchored the launch at Munshiganj terminal for checking. READ: Sadarghat launch fire doused On information, a fire fighting unit rushed to the spot for examining the source of smoke. Our Munshiganj correspondent reports: Muktarpur river police in-charge Lutfur Rahman said the launch started for Barishal around 1 am as a firefighting unit found it safe after examining.  A fire broke out on the Barguna-bound launch carrying some 800 passengers from Dhaka and it engulfed the entire vessel within 10 minutes, claiming the lives of 49 people on December 24, 2021.

A 10-feet long python was rescued from a vegetable field in Sarankhola upazila of Bagerhat district on Saturday. The python weighing 12 Kg was rescued from the field in sluice gate area adjacent to Gabtala Bazar in the upazila. The python got trapped in a net set around the field of a local trader named Delwar Hossain, said Md Sadik Mahmud, station officer of Sarankhola range of Sundarbans East Forest Department. After being informed, members of Wild Team, a wild life conservation organization,  rescued the python and it was released in Sarankhola range area of the forest later, he said. The python might have crossed the Baleswar River and entered the locality in search of food, said the forest department officer.

Coastguards on Saturday  recovered the body of a Chinese national who went missing two days ago after a tugboat capsized at Matarbari Channel in  Moheshkhali upazila of Cox’s Bazar. The deceased who was identified as Ziang Hong Chen used to work at the Matarbari port, said Lieutenant Commander Abdur Rahman, media officer of Coast Guard. The body was recovered around 12:30 pm from the channel adjacent to Matarbari Coal-fired Power Plant during a rescue operation ny a diving team, he said. Also read: Missing man’s body found in Dharala River On March 31, the tugboat sank near the channel. Ashik Iqbal, officer-in-Charge of Moheshkhali police station, said a team has been sent to the spot. Also read: Missing father-daughter duo found dead in Jamalpur The body will be sent for an autopsy once they receive any complaint from Matarbari port authority, said the OC.

A human chain was held in Nilphamari town on Saturday protesting the death of two indigenous famers by suicide ‘for not getting irrigation water’ in Rajshahi’s Godagari upazila. Jatiya Krishak Samiti formed the human chain at Chowrangi intersection of the district town in the afternoon. District Workers’ Party president Tapan Kumar Roy said two indigenous farmers-Adinath Marandi and Rabi Marandi- recently committed suicide in Godagari upazila of Rajshahi as they didn’t get supply of irrigation water. Shakhawat Hossain, irrigation pump operator of  Barendra Multipurpose Irrigation Project in that area, did not supply them with water and that’s why they killed themselves, he said. “We want the government takes necessary action to ensure exemplary punishment of those responsible for their death,” he said. Also read: 2 farmers’ suicide for irrigation water: Agriculture secy vows strict action District Workers’ Party General Secretary Abed Ali and Krishak Samiti member Bulu Roy also spoke. On Mar 24 afternoon, Rabi with his brother Abhinath Marandi, 30, took poison in front of Shakhawat Hossain , operator of a deep tube well operated under Barenda Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA). Also read: Govt panel to probe Rajshahi farmers' suicides They took the decision out of anger as Shakhawat was not giving them a serial number for a long time to get irrigation water supplied to their field in Iswarpur while their seedlings were drying out, alleged the family. Abhinath Marandi died around 9 pm after reaching home while Rabi died at 8pm on the following day while undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), said Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani, director of RMCH.

Police on Saturday recovered the body of a man from the Dharala River three days after he had gone missing from Kurigram Sadar upazila. The deceased was identified as Asgar Ali, 60, resident of Uttar Nawabshah village under Panchgachhi union of Kurigram Sadar upazila. Locals found his body floating in the river informed police. Also read: Missing child's body found in Naogaon madrasa’s septic tank Azizul Haque, son of the deceased, said, "My father went out of the house around 11 am  on Thursday to feed the cattle. Though the cattle returned home he didn’t.” Kurigram Sadar Police officer-in-Charge (OC) Khan Mohammad Shahriar said the body of Asgar was recovered from the Dharala River. Action will be taken after an investigation, he said. Also read: Carpenter’s decapitated body found in Chattogram