United News of Bangladesh

At least 15 houses were gutted in a major fire that broke out at a residential home in the Ibrahima Madrasa Road area of Khulna on Tuesday night. The blaze began in a house belonging to a person, named Khaleque, near Labanchara Switchgate around 9pm and soon engulfed the adjoining houses, said Nazrul Islam, senior station officer of Khulna Tutpara Fire Service and Civil Defense. Read: 3 killed in Brahmanbaria road accident On information, several fire tenders were pressed into service and it took them nearly an hour to douse the flames, he added. Fortunately, no casualties were reported. The actual amount of losses couldn’t be known immediately. "A probe has been ordered," Nazrul said.

Three people were killed and two others injured in a collision between a van and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Brahmanbaria on Wednesday morning. The deceased were identified as Morsheda Begum, 50, Hosne Ara, 50, and Dudu Mia, 62, all residents of Ibrahimpur village in Bijoynagar upazila of the district. Read: Fake magistrate held in Jashore The accident occurred in the morning when the Sylhet-bound van of Pran RFL Group hit the CNG-run auto-rickshaw at a high speed on the highway in the Rampur area of the district's Bijoynagar upazila. The impact of the accident was such that one of the occupants of the auto-rickshaw died on the spot while four others sustained injuries, said Shahjalal Alam, officer-in-charge of Khatihata Highway Police Station. Two of the injured died on the way to hospital, he added. "The bodies have been kept at the Sadar Hospital morgue for post-mortem," the OC said.

Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) on Tuesday arrested the owner of the pick-up van that hit nine siblings walking back home from a temple in Cox's Bazar, leaving six dead. The arrestee is Mahmudul Karim. PBI Cox's Bazar Special Superintendent of Police Sarwar Alam said the PBI team arrested the pick-up owner from Chakaria of Cox’s Bazar. Read: Cox's Bazar road tragedy: Another brother dies of injuries at Ctg hospital He was later produced before a court in the afternoon, the official added. Earlier on February 16, Chakaria Senior Judicial Magistrate Rajib Kumar Dey directed the PBI to investigate the case. On February 11, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained the driver of the pick-up van from Dhaka's Mohammadpur area. On February 8, the fatal accident occurred near Memorial Christian Hospital in the Malumghat area of Chakaria when the nine siblings were crossing a road, leaving five of them dead on spot. Four other siblings were also injured in the accident. The deceased were Anupam Shil, 47, Nirupam Shil, 45, Dipak Shil, 40 Champak Shil, 30, Smaran Sushil, 32, and Raktim Shil, 33 sons of late Suresh Chandra Shil of Dulahazra union in Chakaria upazila. Read:RAB detains driver of pick-up van that killed 5 brothers in Cox's Bazar On February 22, Raktim Shil died at Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). The nine, all Hindus, had gone to a nearby temple to offer prayers for their father who was killed a day before. Plaban Sushil, another brother lodged a complaint with Chakaria Police.

A 35-year-old pregnant housewife was found with her throat slit at a house in Shantinagar in Fatullah of Narayanganj district on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Rabeya Begum, a mother of four children and wife of Sohel Ahmed of the area. Rakibuzzaman, officer-in-charge of Fatullah Model Police Station, said Sohel along with his family lived there. The couple used to lock into altercations over family feuds. For the past one and half months, Sohel used to live in different places following a fight with his wife. On Monday night, Sohel came to their house. According to the four sons of the victim, they said their father came to the house in the night and they found the body of their mother with her throat slit in the morning. They did not know how it happened as they were all asleep in another room. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to the local hospital morgue. Police are investigating the incident to unearth the reason, said OC.

Commuter train services on Chilmari Ramna Bazar-Rangpur and Kaunia-Ramna Bazar routes in Kurigram district resumed on Tuesday, two years after suspension of the operation.  State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossain inaugurated the ‘Chilmari Commuter train’ at Ramna Bazar Station amid cheers from the locals. Read: Commuter train services resume on Kurigram-Ramna railway The train communication on the route was suspended on March 8, 2020, citing Covid-19 pandemic, shortage of drivers, manpower and station master. The resumption of the service came as a great relief for the locals who endured communication difficulties for past two years. The government introduced train communication from Chattogram to Chilmari on August 2, 1968 and there were eight stations in the 43-km railway in Kurigram. Four trains were in operation since then. Read:Teen wearing headphones killed by speeding train in Kurigram In 2002, the railway authorities suspended the operation of three trains and since then one train from Parbatipur-Ramna route was active. Khalidunnesa, divisional traffic superintendent of Bangladesh Railway, Lalmonirhat, said hoped that resumption of the operation will reduce commuters’ sufferings.

At least 30 people were injured, 11 of them with bullet wounds, after supporters of winning and losing chairman candidates in Gopalganj union parishad polls clashed on Tuesday morning. Locals said there had been rivalry between the two centering the UP election at Parchandra Dighalia village of the union. Read: 20 injured in AL-BNP clash in Laxmipur As a sequel to the enmity, defeated chairman candidate Sheikh Md Abed Ali's supporters attacked the supporters of newly elected chairman of Rana Molla in the morning, leaving 30 people injured. Eleven of the injured, who suffered bullet wounds, were undergoing treatment at Gopalganj General Hospital, said Dr Bichitra Kumar Biswas, an emergency unit doctor of the hospital. Read:20 people injured in worker-police clash in Tongi Besides, six houses were vandalized during the clash. Sheetal Chandra Paul, Inspector (Investigation) of Gopalganj Police Station, said a large number of police personnel have been deployed at the village to keep the situation under control.

A final-year law student was found dead in her rented accommodation in Natore municipality on Tuesday, police said. The deceased was identified as Poly Khatun, 27, a student of Rajshahi Law College and daughter of Naldanga municipal ward councillor Shamsunnahar. Police said that neighbours found Poly's body hanging from the ceiling of her room in the morning and alerted them. Read: Mother, daughter killed in Madaripur road crash Poly’s mother Shamsunnahar alleged that her son-in-law, Shariful Islam Piash, another ward councillor of Naldanga municipality, used to torture her daughter regularly. Munsur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said the body has been sent for an autopsy. "The allegations are being investigated."

At least 40 auto-rickshaws and seven cycle rickshaws were gutted in a major fire that broke out at an auto garage in the Boalia Sapura Koyardara area of Rajshahi on Tuesday morning. The blaze originated from an electrical short-circuit around 9am and soon engulfed the entire garage, said Abdur Rauf, senior station officer of Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defense. On information, fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was subsequently brought under control, he added. The garage owner claimed that the extent of the loss caused by the fire is around Tk 60 lakh. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

Three policemen were on Monday closed to the police lines in a punitive action after a trader complaint that he was mugged by them in Companiganj upazila of the district. The action was taken against assistant sub-inspector of Feni Model Police Station Zahirul Haque and two constables of Adarshagram police camp—Kawsar and Anwar Hossain, said assistant superintendent of police (Sonagazi circle), Mashqur Rahman. Sheikh Farid, a trader of Chotodhali village in Companiganj upazila, said three policemen riding a CNG-run auto-rickshaw waylaid him on his way home from business establishment around 12 am. Also read: 2 cops among 8 sued for murdering Bangladeshi-American in capital They snatched away Tk 48,600 from him, he said. As he demanded the money back, the policemen tried to pick him up threatening to implicate him as a Yaba trader, said Farid. When Farid raised hue and cry for help, local people caught them and handed them over to police. Sajedul Islam Palash, officer-in-charge of Sonagazi Model Police Station, however, denied that the trader was mugged by the cops. A probe body has formed to look into the matter and action will be taken after investigation, said ASP Mashqur. Also read: Cop, 3 others arrested for raping woman in Noakhali

A woman and her daughter were killed on Monday as a truck hit an engine-driven van carrying them at Shibchar upazila in Madaripur. The deceased were Jasmine Akter,33, and her daughter Mahfuza,8, from Jaduar Char village in the upazila. The speeding truck hit the van from behind  around 9:30 am near Jaduar Char area on Shibchar-Madaripur road, leaving them severely injured, said Md Miraz Hossain, Officer-in-Charge of Shibchar police station. Read: 2 killed in B’baria road accident Local people took them to the upazila health complex where doctors pronounced them dead on arrival. Legal action will be taken  in this regard, said the OC.