United News of Bangladesh

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has detained a woman and seized 490 Yaba pills from her possession in Khidirpur village of Chattogram on June 29, the elite force said on Friday. The detainee, Taslima Akter, 25, wife of Ariful Islam, bought the seized Yaba pills to frame her husband so as to take revenge over a property matter, and informed Rab, according to a release. Rab personnel conducted a drive in her house and detained Taslima, and seized the Yaba pills. During preliminary questioning, Taslima revealed that she married Ariful for money and property.   But her husband was depriving her of the properties. Being angered by this, Taslima decided to take revenge on her husband, the elite force said. The detainee was handed over to the Boalkhali police for legal action, as per the release.

A 22-year-old college student has been stabbed to death allegedly by some people in Khulna city. The deceased was identified as Syed Tahmidunnabi, a student of Rayermahal College and son of Syed Towhidunnabi from the city’s Shahpara area. Around 2pm on Thursday, Palash, a neighborhood carpenter, called Tahmid out of his home in the Daulatpur area. Also read: Young man stabbed to death in Chattogram As soon as he stepped out, Palash and four-five others started thrashing Tahmid, said Md Nazrul Islam, OC of Daulatpur police station. "They assailants later stabbed him multiple times." As locals gathered hearing Tahmid's screams, the attackers fled. A severely injured Tahmid was later admitted to Khulna Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries around midnight, said Robiul Gazi, Tahmid’s brother-in-law. “Efforts are on to arrest all the attackers though locals caught one of them -- Palash’s nephew Piyal -- and handed him over to us," said OC Nazrul Islam.

A 24-year-old man died after being hit by a speeding train in Khulna city on Thursday night, police said. The deceased youth was identified as Md Alamin, son of Anwar Munshi of Khulna. The accident occurred around 10.30pm when Alamin was taking a stroll on the railway track in the Daultapur level crossing area, said Molla Kabir Ahmed, an inspector at Railway police station. Also Read: Eid advance train ticket sales begin Locals immediately rushed a severely injured Alamin to Khulna Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. “The body has been sent for an autopsy. He was probably hit by Sundarban Express as it left for Dhaka from the station around 10.15 pm,” said inspector Kabir.

Faiyaj, the brother of murdered BUET student Abrar Fahad, has passed the admission test for the varsity's engineering courses for 2021-22 session. Abrar was tortured to death by some Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders on Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) premises three years ago. His brother Faiyaj has secured 450th position in the admission test result, the result of which was published on Thursday, and will get a chance to study mechanical engineering at the university. Also read: 20 to die for killing Buet student Abrar Faiyaj said, “I will make the final decision after discussing the same with my family.” His mother, Rokeya Khatun, however, said that she was reluctant to send her second son to Buet. In 2019, Abrar, then 21, a second-year student of electrical and electronic engineering, was beaten to death by some Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders at Sher-e-Bangla Hall of the university. He was found dead on the staircase of the hall in the early hours of October 7, after he was taken to room No-2011 around 8pm on October 6 and beaten mercilessly. On October 7, Abrar’s father Barkat Ullah filed a complaint at the Chawkbazar police station accusing 19 people of her son's death, following which a murder case was registered. On November 13, 2019, Detective Branch (DB) inspector and investigation officer of the case Wahiduzzaman submitted a chargesheet against some 25 accused. On September 15, 2020, the court framed charges against the accused. The court recorded the statements of 47 of the 60 witnesses in the case. On March 14, 2021, the arrested 22 accused in the case pleaded not guilty. Three of them – Jishan, Rafid and Tanim – however remained absconding. Also read: Abrar murder case: HC accepts 17death-row convicts' appeals for hearing On December 8 last year, a Dhaka court sentenced 20 of them to death and five others to life imprisonment for killing Abrar in October 2019. On January 6, some of the convicts moved the High Court against the trial court's judgment.

Around 50 spotted doves have been poisoned to death at an Aman paddy field at Charpuramukhi village under Haimchar upazila of Chandpur. On information, Haimchar upazila agriculture officer Debbrato Sarkar visited the spot Wednesday afternoon. Debbrato Sarkar told UNB that these ill-fated doves used to come to the Aman paddy seedbed in search of food. Some locals killed the doves by giving poison. Also read: Two bulls poisoned to death in Kushtia “It is inhumane. Killing birds is a crime and a threat to the environment. I have asked the locals not to kill birds like dove,” he said. An investigation is underway to find out the culprits and bring them to the book, added the agriculture officer.    Earlier on February 25, more than a hundred of doves were poisoned to death in the same upazila. Farmer Swapan Dewan was fined Tk 2,000 for committing the crime, said Debbrato Sarkar.   Also read: 16 monkeys poisoned to death in Madaripur  The spotted dove is a small and somewhat long-tailed pigeon that is a common resident breeding bird across its native range on the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia including Bangladesh.

Hundreds of students and teachers from different educational institutions in Savar formed a human chain at Savar Bus Stand area demanding capital punishment of the killer of college teacher Utpal on Thursday. Later, a delegation of teachers submitted a memorandum to Savar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mazharul Islam with several demands including capital punishment of suspected killer Jitu. Mazharul said that security has been beefed up at schools and colleges in Savar after the incident. Also read: Farmers’ suicide ‘for irrigation water’: Human chain demands justice Jitu beat up Utpal indiscriminately with a cricket stump on Saturday, leaving the latter critically injured. Utpal died at Savar Enam Medical College Hospital the next day while undergoing treatment. The deceased’s family logged a complaint with Ashulia police station against Jitu. Jitu’s family fled the area after filing of the case. A team of Rab-1 arrested Jitu from Gazipur’s Sreepur and his father was arrested from Kushtia’s Kumarkhali on Wednesday. Also read: Freedom fighters human chain demanding expulsion of Quader Mirza

Major rivers in Sylhet including the Surma and the Kushiyara have started swelling again due to incessant rains since Tuesday, creating panic among local people already devastated by worst flood in living memory. The Surma and the Kushiyara rivers are flowing above their danger levels at some points Thursday morning following heavy downpour in two days since Tuesday. Read:Over 30 lakh homeless, 40,000 houses destroyed in flood-hit Sylhet The floodwaters in the areas adjacent to Surma, Dhalai, Piyain, Sari and Lova river banks almost receded till Tuesday afternoon. But the Surma River is flowing 0.84cm above the danger level at Kanaighat point while the Kushiyara is flowing 1.12cm above the red level at Amalshid point  Thursday morning, according to Sylhet Water Development Board. The water level of the Kushiyara River is in rising trend at Sheola and Fenchuganj points. AKM Niloy Pasha, sub-divisional engineer of Sylhet Water Development Board, said, “It is raining in Sylhet as well as in upstream. As a result, the water of these rivers is rising.” In Sunamganj, rains started again from Monday after a week. Rivers are swelling again due to onrush of water from upstream triggered by rains in Meghalaya and Cherrapunji of India. The water level of the Surma River has increased by 32 cm in the last three days. According to Sunamganj Water Development Board, the Surma river was flowing 3 cm below the danger level near Sunamganj town at 12 noon on Thursday. However, the river is flowing 83cm above the danger level in near Chhatak upazila as the district recorded 195mm rainfall in the last 24 hours.

A van veered off the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Narsingdi and ploughed into a group of people walking along the high-speed corridor on Thursday morning, leaving  five of them dead. Police suspect the van driver dozed off at the wheel. The deceased were identified as Faruq Mia,50, Mashakin, 45, Ripon Mia, 35, Shahjahan Mia, 50,  and Bacchu Mia,30, all residents of the district's Raipura upazila. Read: Road accidents kill 4, injure 7 in five districts The accident occurred around 8am when the driver suddenly lost the control of the speeding van and hit the pedestrians near the Mahmudabad Bazar Machine House area, leaving three of them dead on spot, said Mozammel Hossain, officer-in-charge of Bhairab highway police station. Two injured were rushed to Bhairab Hospital where doctors declared one of them dead on arrival and another after few hours of admission, he said. Read: 2 killed, 10 hurt in Rajshahi road crash The bodies have been kept at the hospital morgue for post-mortem, the OC added. "Legal steps are underway in this regard."  

A youth has been detained with 10 gold bars in Magura, anti-narcotics cops said on Thursday. The detainee has been identified as Sakib Hossain, 22, of Sharsha upazila of Jashore. Read: 6 held with gold bars worth Tk 13.58 cr in Jashore Acting on a tip-off that drugs were being transported to Jashore from Chattogram, a team of the Narcotics Control Department detained the youth with the gold bars from a bus of ‘Eagle Paribahan’ at Parnanduali bus terminal on Wednesday afternoon. During primary questioning, Sakib admitted that he was carrying the gold bars from Dhaka to Jashore, said Magura Narcotics Control Department inspector Kabir Ahmed. Sakib was later handed over to Magura Sadar police station. “A case has been filed in this regard,” said the official.

Over 30 lakh people have been rendered homeless and as many as 40,000 houses destroyed in the recent floods in Sylhet, officials said on Thursday. All the 13 upazilas of the district, including five municipalities, have been affected. Read: Another spell of flood looms over northeastern region According to the local administration, over 2.5 lakh people are living in over 610 shelter homes across the district.