United News of Bangladesh

A fire swept through a kitchen market on Saturday morning gutting 30 shops in Vatiari union of Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram. The locals called Kumira Fire Service and Naval Fire Service immediately after the fire broke out around 7am at Uttar Bazar area. Also read: Fire guts 70 shops in Patuakhali New Market Station Officer of Kumira Fire service said a total of 30 small and big shops were destroyed before the blaze was brought under control. “The actual amount of losses or the origin of the fire couldn’t be known immediately. An investigation is underway,” he said. However, the local traders claimed they incurred losses of around Tk 50 lakh. Also read: Slum in Chattogram city catches fire

A six-hour hartal called by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council in protest against an attack on a Durga Puja pandal, began in the port city on Saturday. No untoward incident was reported till the filing this report at 9.30am. The Council on Friday called for a half-day hartal in the port city to protest against the attack on JM Sen Hall Puja pandal in the Andarkilla area of Chattogram district earlier in the day. In protest against the attack by a group of miscreants, the Council had also briefly deferred the immersion of idols in Chattogram. Ashish Kumar Bhattacharya, president of the Chattogram Metropolitan Puja Celebration Committee, told UNB that they had withdrawn their decision to suspend the immersion of idols upon assurance of safety from the local administration. Also read: “Desecration of holy Quran” in Cumilla, govt urges calm All hell broke loose after Jum’a prayers on Friday when demonstrators marched into the Andarkilla temple and vandalised it in the presence of the law enforcers, Ashish claimed. However, police said they had quickly brought the situation under control following a clash with the demonstrators, which left several people injured, including cops. Also read: Mandap attack: Half-day hartal called in Ctg for Saturday When contacted, senior police officials declined to comment.

A ruling party activist was arrested in Manikganj on Friday  for beating up an independent candidate and snatching their nomination paper before Union Parishad elections. The arrestee, Faizul Islam, is the son of Upazila Awami League general secretary and Baldhara UP chairman Abdul Majed Khan. Witnesses say that Upazila Swechchhasebak League president Mohammad Obaidur Rahman was beaten when he went to submit his nomination papers to the Upazila Election Officer on Friday. His nomination paper was snatched during this time. The aggrieved  filed a case in this connection with local police accusing Fazlul and his supporters. When contacted, Shahidur Rahman, joint general secretary of Singair Thana Awami League said,”Obaidur was about to submit nomination paper as an independent candidate. The matter could have been peacefully resolved by dialogues.” “ He(Obaidur) is one of us. If true, beating him up was unfair,” Shahidur added. Confirming the information, Singair Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shafiqul Islam Mollah said,”Fazlul was arrested promptly after the case was filed. Details on the matter will be investigated further.”

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council called a half-day hartal in the port city of Chattogram for Saturday, protesting an attack on JM Sen Hall Puja mandap in Andarkilla. In a press release, the council announced the hartal programme from 6 am. Miscreants attacked the JM Sen Hall Puja mandap around 2 pm. In protest against the attack, they had also postponed the immersion of idols in Chattogram, but they resumed it after a four-hour suspension. Also read: “Desecration of holy Quran” in Cumilla, govt urges calm

Rapid Action Battalion has arrested two members of a smuggling syndicate with 18 deer hides from Bagerhat. The arrest was made during a raid at Kashem Plaza Market in Barakpur Bazar of Bagerhat Sadar on Thursday night. Read: 4 ‘deer poachers’ held in Sundarbans The arrestees are Abdul Hakim, 50, son of Rafiz Uddin of Baharbunia village in Morelganj upazila of Bagerhat and Kamrul Islam, 35, son of Ali Mia Hawladar of Sonatala village in Sharankhola upazila. According to RAB, they are members of a syndicate of deer meat and hide smugglers. Two smartphones, Tk 2,000 cash and 18 deer hides were seized at from the smugglers, said a RAB-6 media release on Friday Khulna RAB-6 Assistant Director (Media) ASP Bazlur Rashid said that the RAB on a tipoff trading deer hides, raided the market. Sensing the presence of the RAB, the members of the syndicate tried to flee. However, RAB team managed to arrest the two smugglers and found 18 deer hides in two large plastic bags, he said. The ASP further said that the smugglers over primary interrogation admitted that they used to collect deer hides and meat from the Sundarbans and sell it in different parts of the country. The two smugglers, including deer hides, have been handed over to Bagerhat Sadar Model Police Station for legal action, he added. Read: Father-son arrested with deer meat in Bagerhat Earlier on January 23 this year, Bagerhat district police raided Sharankhola and arrested two poachers with 19 deer hides. Deer hunting has increased in the Sundarbans since the time of the Covid pandemic. Poachers use traps and poison baits to hunt deer. Slaughtering those inside the forest they sell the meat at the locality and the hides are smuggled.

At least four people were killed and 30 others injured on Friday in a clash between supporters of two rival candidates in the upcoming Union Parsishad election at Jagodal village in Magura Sadar upazila. The killed were identified as member candidate Sabur Molla, 50, his brother Kabir Molla, 55, his cousin Abdur Rahman, 50, and Imran Ali, 32. Police said a clash broke out between supporters of both parties around 4pm for establishing dominance. Read: Quran desecration: Protesters clash with police in Baitul Mukarram area Tensions had been simmering in the area for the past three days as Sabur Mollah and his rival Nazrul Islam contesting for the same post in the upcoming UP elections. Nine of the 30 injured have been admitted to Magura Sadar Hospital. Police have been deployed in the village as tension is prevailing in the area. Manjurul Alam, Officer-in-Charge of Magura Sadar Police Station, said the bodies were sent to the morgue for autopsy. A case has been filed with Magura police station in this regard. No arrests have been made so far, the OC added.

A 17-year-old pregnant mother, who set herself on fire pouring kerosene over her body on October 8 in an attempt to kill herself, finally succumbed to her burn injuries on Thursday, after giving birth to a still baby. Suraiya Newaz Labanya, daughter of Ariful Islam of Rahimpur village in Netrakona, breathed her last around 7:40pm at Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), said Partha Sankar Paul, a resident doctor of the hospital. Earlier at 7am, she gave birth to a lifeless girl child, he said. Harassed for dowry by her husband and in-laws, Suraiya set fire to her body on October 8 pouring kerosene in the kitchen at her father’s house. Also read: Dowry culture still thrives in Bangladesh; Ctg woman the latest victim Dr Ayub Hossain, another resident doctor of the institute, said Suraiya was six months’ pregnant and admitted to the hospital with 90 percent burn injuries. “Her child died in her womb before birth when she got her body burned,” Dr Hossain said. Suraiya’s father, Ariful, said he married his daughter off with Shahin Alam, a private car driver from Dhobaura upazila in Mymensingh, after their long relationship on October 2 last year. Since then, Suraiya had been staying with her in-laws in Mymensingh. After a few days, Ariful said, they started torturing her mentally and physically for dowry. They demanded Tk 2 lakh for Shahin as dowry to start a business. Suraiya, meanwhile, got pregnant but that did not prevent her husband and in-laws from torturing her.  She was even denied her regular meals. On August 1 last, Ariful visited her in-laws’ house in Mymensingh and found her daughter very sick. Deeply worried, Ariful brought her beloved daughter back to Netrakona. But Suraiya’s husband, Shahin, is not a man to spare her so easily. Shahin then started calling her over phone regularly and used to abuse her verbally. Having failed to endure the torture, Suraiya set fire to her body pouring kerosene in the kitchen of her father’s house on October 8. Also read: Woman ‘kills self’ to escape ‘torture for dowry’ in Magura Hearing her screams, Suraiya’s grandmother, Sadia Khatun, came forward and rescued her with the help of locals. She was then taken to Mymensingh Sadar Hospital. She was transferred to Sheikh Hasina Plastic and Burn Institute the following day as her condition turned critical. Suraiya’s father said he did not inform the police yet but blamed Shahin and his family members for her daughter’s death. He, however, said he will file a case against Suraiya’s in-laws soon. Meanwhile, the dead child was buried at Azimpur graveyard Friday morning. Suraiya’s body was sent for an autopsy, said Bachchu Mia, in-charge of the police outpost at the DMCH. Dowry culture in Bangladesh Dowry culture that arises from the pervasive greed still thrives in Bangladesh. Around 50 percent of the violence against women in the country are reported due to the dowry culture, according to a study. Odhikar, a human rights body, says as many as 5,699 women faced dowry-related violence from 2001 to 2017 and the rate of homicides and suicides owing to dowry incidents has been high too. To replace the 1980 law, the government enacted Dowry Prohibition Act-2017, but the number of cases filed is still low compared to the number of violent incidents. Though the country achieved significant development in women education and empowerment, the dowry violence is far from dying down, data suggests. The modern feature of dowry is to provide large sums of money, jewellery, and other goods from the bride's family to the groom's one as Bangladesh is fighting a losing battle against the menace despite having a law.  

At least 100 students of two government schools in Manikganj will get Covid jabs on Thursday as part of the government's decision to conduct a test run for Covid-19 vaccination for school students. Confirming the information, Md. Lutfar Rahman, the Civil Surgeon of the district said that the  Health Minister Zahid Malek will inaugurate the program at Manikganj Colonel Malek Medical College at 12 noon on Thursday. “Fifty students of Manikganj Government Boys High School and 50 students of SK Government Girls High School will be vaccinated with Pfizer during this time,”he added. Read: Vaccination campaign for school students to begin within a week: DGHS chief They will be monitored  after inoculation and from next week more students will be brought under the vaccination campaign. The district has already received 27,000 Pfizer vaccines for school goers . Earlier on Tuesday, DGHS chief ABM Khurshid Alam informed that a  new campaign to vaccinate school students aged 12 and above will start within a week. Read: WHO okays vaccination of those below 18 in Bangladesh: Health Minister “The inoculation drive for school children between the ages of 12 and 17 will start this week,” said the DG of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) while talking to reporters following an event at the health department. He said 21 centres have been selected at the district and city corporation levels across the country  for this purpose. “The Pfizer vaccine will be used for children,” he said, adding, “School authorities will provide us with the lists of their students. We’ll pass that onto the Surokkha app server afterwards.”

Eyes of the world's investors are on Chattogram as there are immense possibilities and fields for investment in the port city, Earl R. Miller, the U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh said on Wednesday. “The United States is also interested in investing in Chittagong. The next steps will be taken after investing and feasibility study, especially in education, health, ICT and tourism,”the ambassador said following a meeting with Chattogram City Mayor Rezaul Karim in the commercial capital of the country. "We believe that Chattogram will soon be integrated as an effective link of regional and global connectivity in the way big projects have been implemented and are being implemented." “If participation of the world's major economic powers is ensured in all the economic zones that have developed here, its positive impact will be reflected not only in Bangladesh, but globally.” Read:UK played a part in development of Chattogram: Dickson He also discussed the Rohingya and Covid-19 situation of Chattogram with the city mayor. City Mayor Rezaul Karim said that the Karnaphuli tunnel will be a game changer for the tourism and economic situation of Chattogram. There are already signs of massive industrialisation at Mirsharai, Anwara and other parts of South Chattogram because of the tunnel, he noted. “Now our biggest responsibility is to create a favorable environment for domestic and foreign investment. This requires the support and participation of global economic powers, “the mayor added.

Police in a drive have arrested a former leader of Jubo League from Bashundhara area of Dhaka in a case over money laundering. The arrestee is AHM Fuad, former Jubo League leader and a chargesheeted accused in the money laundering case. Read: 6 members of illegal kidney trading racket arrested: Rab He was an APS of ex-Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) Minister Engineer Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. Tipped off, a team of police arrested Fuad from the city’s Bashundhara area on Tuesday night, said additional superintendent of Faridpur Police Jamal Pasha. Fuad was also accused in seven more cases including one on charge of carrying out vandalism.  Read:Ringleader of human trafficking syndicate among 8 held in city Warrants for his arrest were also issued in three separate cases, he added. Fuad was removed from the post of convener of Faridpur district unit Awami League after being accused in the money laundering case.