United News of Bangladesh

An elderly woman was killed as a bus ran over her on Chandpur-Cumilla regional highway at Sengaon area of Sadar upazila on Friday noon. The deceased was identified as Anowara Begum, 65, a resident of Raldia village in Ashikati union of the upazila. Quoting locals, officer-in-charge (OC) of sadar police station, A Rashid, said a Cumilla-bound bus hit Anowara around 12pm while she was crossing the highway after buying essentials from a grocery shop, leaving her dead on the spot. Read: Couple killed in Madaripur road crash On information, police recovered the body, he added. The bus was seized but the driver managed to flee, the officer said. Legal action will be taken in this regard,  added the OC.

Police rescued 17 tourists as they lost their way while visiting a hill in Sitakunda of Chattogram early Friday after they called  the national emergency service number 999. Suman Banik, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sitakunda Model Police Station, said a group of 17 tourists came to enjoy a waterfall at the hill in Panthichhila area of Sitakunda and decided to spend the night camping here.  Read: Crack down on syndicates of essential commodities, HC asks govt However, four of them lost their way while walking on the hill. Later, the remaining tourists fell in danger while searching for the four and called on the helpline number 999. Being informed, Sitakunda police rescued them safely at 1:30am from the hill, he added. The OC also said the hill is so inaccessible that no one goes to the area at night usually. "Even if anyone goes there during the day, they have to come back in the daylight."

A fire that broke out Friday in a plastic pipe factory in Nimtoli, a neighbourhood of Bongshal in Old Dhaka has been doused. The fire started around 4:43pm at Ma-Babar Doa plastic factory on Majed Sordar road, said Shahjahan Shikder, Deputy Assistant Director (media cell) of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters.

An 18-year-old boy drowned in a river while on a school picnic to Mohanpur Tourism Centre in Matlab Uttar upazila of Chandpur Thursday. The deceased was identified as Tutul Hossain Nayan, a 10th grade student of Dhaka’s Nabarun School and College, and son of Anwar Hossain, a police officer. Md Azizul Haque, the school headmaster, told UNB that 140 students had gone for the picnic to Chandpur. READ: Twin sisters drown in Goalanda pond AKM Kawsar, in-charge of Mohanpur Naval Police Outpost in Matlab Uttar upazila, said that the boy drowned while taking a bath in the river with his three classmates at 3pm. “After searching for hours, naval divers found his body around 6pm. The body was later handed over to his father. A general daily was lodged in this regard," he added.

Two persons died allegedly after inhaling toxic gas inside the septic tank of an under-construction building in Chuadanga on Friday morning. The deceased were identified as sanitation worker Shariful Islam, 30, son of Ansar Pramanik of Kalyanpur village in Kushtia, and Sagar Das,15, the grandson of the building owner. Around 10am, Shariful got down into the septic tank of the building owned by Nipen Das in Anandadhap village of the Alamdanga municipality area. When he failed to return, Sagar entered the tank to check on him. Also read: Septic tank workers: 2 dead after going down without protective equipment When both failed to return, Sagar's family members informed the Alamdanga Fire Service and Civil Defence.  A team came and pulled the duo out of the septic tank and rushed them to Alamdanga upazila health complex, where doctors declared them dead on arrival, said Mokhlesur Rahman, officer-in-charge of the Alamdanga fire service station. Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge of Alamdanga police station, said a team was sent to the spot for a probe. Also read: Two die after inhaling toxic gas inside septic tank in Bhola

A massive fire that broke out on Thursday in a godown of a spinning mill at Meghna Ghat of Sonargaon in Narayanganj has been brought under control. The fire started around 4:30 pm in a godown of Shan Fabrics Ltd. On information, seven units of firefighters rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control around 7:30pm, said Abdullah Al Arefin, deputy assistant director of Narayanganj fire service. Read: Jam-free Dhaka streets Thursday, Thanks to holidays Fortunately, no casualties were reported, he added. The fire might have originated from electric short circuit, said the fire service officials. However, the exact cause of the fire and the extent of damage are yet to be known, Abdullah Al Arefin said.

Officer-In-Charge of Chakaria police station Muhammad Osman Gani has been suspended for celebrating his birthday at his office with some fugitive accused. Md Hasanuzzaman, Superintendent of Cox’s Bazar police confirmed the matter to UNB Thursday afternoon. He was suspended as the police force’s image was hampered after photos of OC Gani’s birthday celebration with some fugitive accused at the police station went viral on social media recently and evoked controversy, said Md Rafiqul Islam, Additional Superintendent of police. Also read: SB man suspended for beating up DU student-journalist at campus OC Osman Gani has been attached to Cox’s bazar Police Lines, he said. On March 2, the OC celebrated his birthday by cutting a cake at Chakaria police station. In the viral photos, two absconding accused of a muder attempt case- Arhan, Alif -and some others were seen standing beside the OC and feeding him cake. Also read: Habiganj: Drug peddler escapes from custody, 3 cops suspended The UNB reporter could not contact OC Gani for a comment after several attempts.

Three people were killed on Thursday as a truck collided with an autorickshaw at Kalyanpur in Rajbari. The deceased were identified as autorickshaw driver Sujon,35, of Goalanda upazila, passengers Momin Pramanik,24, of sadar upazila, and Saiful Sheikh,20, of Modhukhali upazila in Faridpur. The collision occurred around 4:30 pm on Rajbari-Faridpur regional highway in Alipur union in the district, leaving the driver and the two passengers of the autorcikshaw injured, said Delwar Hossain, officer-in-Charge of Ahladipur police station. Read: Man held with 10 gold bars at Ctg airport The injured were rushed to Faridpur Medical College Hospital where they died, said the OC. The truck was seized but its driver and his assistant managed to flee. Legal action will be taken in this regard, said the OC.

A fire broke out in  a godown of a spinning mill at Meghna Ghat of Sonargaon in Narayanganj on Thursday. The fire started around 4:30 pm in a godown of Shan Fabrics Ltd. Read: 3-year-old dies in Bhairab fire On information, seven units of fire tenders rushed to the spot and are trying to bring the blaze under control, said Md Shahjahan Shikdar, Deputy assistant director (media cell) of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters. However, no casualties have been reported so far and the origin of the fire is yet to be known, he said.

Customs officials on Thursday detained man along with 10 gold bars at Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport. The detainee was Sazzad Hossain, a passenger of BG-4136 flight that landed at the airport from Jeddah. Also read: Man detained with gold bars & foreign fags at Ctg airport The gold bars were detected while scanning the luggage of Sazzad, said Md Salauddin Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Airport Customs. The bars were hidden wrapped in scotch tape in lithium battery carbon inside a toy car, he said. Legal action will be taken against the detainee, he said. Also read: CAAB cleaning staff held with 41.76 kg gold bars at Dhaka airport