United News of Bangladesh

A woman on Tuesday night died in Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) where she was undergoing treatment after being caught in a fire caused by a gas-line leakage explosion in Chattogram’s North Kattoli area on Monday. The deceased was identified as Sajeda Begum, 49, resident of Maryam Villa in North Kattoli. Officer-in-charge (OC) of Akbar Shah Police Station Zahir Hossain said Sajeda Begum, who was undergoing treatment at CMCH with 85 percent of her body burnt, died at around 7.45 pm. Read: Six of family injured in Ctg building fire In the early hours of Tuesday a fire broke out at Maryam Villa at around 12:30 am burning six members of the family including Sajeda. Owner of the house Jamal Sheikh said that the gas accumulated in the house ignited as soon as he switched on the electric bat to kill mosquitoes.

Restaurant owners in Sylhet have called off their indefinite strike in protest against mobile court raids, following assurances from the local administration and ruling party politicians. On Tuesday afternoon, restaurants owners across Sylhet declared to go on an indefinite strike from Wednesday in protest against the mobile court drives against "substandard" food and non-possession of a licence by some eateries. Sylhet administration officials spoke to the aggrieved restaurant owners at night. They were also contacted by the ruling Awami League leaders.  Read:Sylhet restaurants to go on indefinite strike from Wednesday The restaurant owners withdrew the strike after the administration assured them of halting the drive. Shanto Deb, president of the Sylhet Caterers' Owners Association, said, “The administration has assured the restaurant owners that they would not be harassed in anyway. Hence, we have withdrawn the strike." However, most of the restaurants in Sylhet have remained closed since Tuesday evening after the strike was called in the afternoon. During the drive on Tuesday, magistrates ordered the closure of three eateries for "serving substandard foods" and not having a licence and detained two staff members. The drive led restaurant workers to immediately take to the streets and block  Zindabazar Road in the heart of the city for about an hour, causing a long traffic jam. They demanded that the drive be halted and the detained workers be released soon. Shanto had said the drive led by a mobile court of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Tuesday sealed Bhojon Bilash restaurant and detained its manager and supervisor, while Pach Bhai and Panshi eateries were fined Tk 80,000 each. Meanwhile, magistrate Palash Kumar Bashu who led the drive, said the foods served in the restaurants were of substandard quality. Read: Freight transport strike in Sylhet on November 9 and 10 Bhojon Bilash had not renewed their trade licence since 2019 and they possessed no legal documents authorising them to serve food, he said. “Temporarily we have sealed the restaurant and taken two officials of other restaurants into custody for interrogation,” said the magistrate. Magistrate Palash claimed during earlier drives too, they found stale foods in the restaurants.

An alleged Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) leader has been found dead at the Whykong Rohingya refugee camp in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar district. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Hashim, 32, son of late Nurul Amin of Camp No 22 of Unchiprang in Whykong union. Read:Drug case: 5 Rohingyas sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in Cox's Bazar Whykong police outpost's sub-Inspector Mahabubur Rahaman said Hashim was probably lynched by a mob. "However, the exact cause of death will be clear after post-mortem," he said. According to police sources, Hashim used to assault Rohingya Muslims, identifying himself as an ARSA leader. Read: Rohingya camp murders: 4 more arrested from Ukhia Hashim was one of the masterminds behind the recent assassination of top Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah, the sources said, not ruling out his involvement in the madrasa attack. Md Hafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of the Teknaf police station, said the body was sent to the Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy.

Restaurants in Sylhet will remain shut for an indefinite period from Wednesday in protest against a mobile court drive against substandard food and alleged irregularities by some eateries. During the drive on Tuesday magistrates ordered closure of three eateries for serving substandard food and not having licenses and detained two staff members. The drive led restaurant workers to immediately take to the streets and block the Zindabazar road at the centre of the city for about an hour causing long traffic jam. They demanded that the drive be halted and the detained workers be released immediately. Shanto Deb, President of Sylhet Caterers Owners’ Association said a mobile court drive conducted by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Tuesday sealed Bhojon Bilash restaurant and detained its manager, supervisor while Pach Bhai and Panshi restaurant were fined Tk 80,000 each. Read: Freight transport strike in Sylhet on November 9 and 10 “When the restaurant business has only started recovering from the losses of Covid-19 pandemic, they are harassing the restaurant owners in the name of conducting drives. If there is any problem they can fine but there is no rule of sealing off a restaurant,” he said. From Wednesday all the restaurants in Sylhet will remain shut and the strike will continue until the demands are met, he said. The decision of going on strike was taken at a meeting held at the Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries hall room earlier in the day attended by Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Ariful Haque, President of SCCI ATM Shoeb, leaders of Sylhet Restaurant Owners’ association and Sylhet Caterers Owners’ Association. Meanwhile, Magistrate Palash kumar Bashu who led the drive said, many irregularities were found in the food quality of the fined restaurants. Read: RUB protest: Student on hunger strike tries to kill self in public Bhojon Bilash did not renew their trade license since 2019 and they had no legal documents that authorize them to serve food, he said. “Temporarily we have sealed the restaurant and taken two officials of other restaurants for interrogation,” said the magistrate. Magistrate Palash Kumar claimed in earlier drives they found three to five days old stale foods in these restaurants but they still did not change.

A Panchagarh court on Tuesday sent Banglabandha Union Parishad Chairman Kudrat-e-Khuda Milon to jail in a case filed over beating up a plaintiff in the court premises. Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Matiur Rahman also rejected bail for the chairman when he appeared before the court seeking bail. He was granted a six-week bail in this case previously, on expiry of which he appeared in court today seeking an extension. According to the case, Milon's associates beat up the plaintiff in the canteen of the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court on September 16. Later on that day, sub-inspector Mozibar Rahman filed a case against seven people, including Milon at the Panchagarh Sadar Police Station. The other accused in the case are out on bail. This time, Milon is contesting for the UP chairman post as an independent candidate.

Students of Barishal Brojmohun College on Tuesday threatened to bring all activities on campus to a standstill in protest against a move to increase their hall fees, apart from an 11-point charter of demands. On Tuesday at 11:30 am, hundreds of residential students of the college gathered at the zero point of the campus for a meeting and later brought out a protest rally at the Natun Bazar-Nathullabad Central Bus Terminal road. After that they submitted a memorandum with 11 points to the principal of the college and said they won’t return to class or hall until their demands are met. Professor Mohammad Golam Kibria, principal, said the demands that are within the power of the college authority will be approved. “We will sit with the students in this regard,” he said. Abu Rayhan, a protesting student, said due to some mysterious reason after the reopening followed by long closure for Covid-19 the college authority has decided to increase the hall fees. “The decision is inhuman if we have to pay more for staying in risky residential dormitories that need immediate restoration,” he said. The students demanded making the residential halls livable, reforming the electric lines, arranging dining halls, building boundary walls and reallocating the hall ponds for the dormitories in the 11-point memorandum, he said. “If the demands are not met we won’t return to class and dormitories and will go for stricter movement regardless of the consequences,” said the student.

Four people were killed and another was injured in separate road accidents in Monohorgonj and Sadar upazilas of Cumilla on Tuesday. The deceased were identified Ruhal Amin of Sakchail village in Manoharganj upazila, his wife Selina Akhter, college student Maymuna Akhter, of the same area and microbus driver Liton Mia of Nabinagar upazila of Brahmanbaria. Read: Minor boy killed in city road crash A Dhaka-bound bus hit an auto-rickshaw while overtaking another bus on Cumilla-Noakhali regional highway in Monohorgonj upazila around 11 am, leaving three auto-rickshaw passengers dead on spot. Injured auto-rickshaw driver Khokon Mia is undergoing treatment at Cumilla Medical College and Hospital. Earlier in the morning, a newspaper-carrying microbus collided with a truck on Dhaka-Chattogram highway at Kalakochua in Burichang upazila, leaving microbus driver Liton Mia dead on the spot. Read: Two killed in Cumilla road crash Mainamati Highway police OC Belal Uddin Jahangir and Lalmai outpost in-charge Masudur Rahman said the bodies were sent to Cumilla Medical College and Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) members detained a man from Keshabpur in Rajshahi city on Monday night in connection with the missing of 17 files from the Health Ministry.  The arrestee is Nasimul Goni Toton, a contractor of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital. Read:5 to die for killing college student in Rajshahi A team of CID conducted a drive at the house of Toton and detained him for interrogation, said special superintendent of police Abdul Jalil. Earlier, 17 files of the Health Ministry went missing from the ministry’s Health, Education and Family Welfare division on October 28.  The Health Ministry formed a three-member probe body in connection with the missing the files on October 30. Read: ‘Drug peddler’ held with 1.9 kg heroin in Rajshahi Shah Alam, additional secretary (administration) of Health, Education and Family Welfare division, was made the chief of the probe body, said Shahadat Hossain, additional secretary to Health, Education and Family Welfare division. A general diary was lodged with Shahabagh Police Station.

Six members of a family sustained burn injuries in a fire that broke at a building in the Kattoli area of the port city in the small hours of Tuesday.  The victims have been identified as Shahjahan Sheikh, 25, Sazeda Begum, 49, Silruba Begum, 18, Mahia Akter, 9, Jibon Sheikh, 14, and Swadhin Sheikh, 17.  Zahir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Akbar Shah police station said the fire broke out at a flat in the six-storey ‘Mariam Vila’ around 12.30am. Also Read: 3 suffer burn injuries as Gulshan building catches fire  On information, a firefighting unit went to the spot and rescued the victims. Local people helped doused the flames soon.  The injured were rushed to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital in the night. They received 80 to 40 percent burns.  Police suspect a leak from a cooking gas cylinder triggered the fire. "Anyway, a probe is on," the OC said. Also Read: Banani warehouse fire doused after 10 hrs  

The Sylhet District Truck, Pickup, Covered Van Owners-Workers Council on Nov 9 and Nov 10 has called for a 48-hour freight transport strike in Sylhet protesting additional toll collection at Lamakazi, Sherpur, Fenchuganj and Sheola bridges and ‘illegal’ collection of tolls in the name of Gowainghat Upazila and Chhatak Municipality. Abu Sarkar, president of the Sylhet divisional workers unity alliance and president of the district truck pickup covered van workers' union, on Monday announced the strike at a protest rally of transport owners and workers at Humayun Rashid Chattar in Sylhet’s South Surma. READ: Commuters hit hard by transport strike in Khulna Abu Sarkar said illegal tolls are being collected from all bridges in Sylhet, including Lamkazi Bridge, for years. As no action has been taken by the authorities even after informing the police and the local administration, a strike has been called in Sylhet district on November 9 and 10. Meanwhile, the leaders of Sylhet District bus-minibus workers union and CNG auto rickshaw union expressed solidarity with the 48-hour strike. READ: 72-hr transport strike underway in Sylhet