United News of Bangladesh

A motorcyclist and two pillion riders, including a UP member, were killed when a truck hit their motorbike at Mangalpur in Bochaganj upazila of Dinajpur early Monday. The deceased were identified as Rakibul Islam Rakib, 42, member of Atgaon Union Parishad No. 4 in Bochaganj, Noajim, 16, and Shamim Osman, 22, of Thakurgaon district. Also read: Journey home ends in tragedy: Mother killed, son hurt in Turag road accident The accident occurred when the trio was returning from a petrol pump with fuel for their microbus that ran out of fuel on their way home with family. A truck from opposite direction hit the motorcycle at Mongalpur around 12am and fled the scene, leaving them dead on spot, said Fakhrul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Birol police station. The bodies were handed over to their respective families, he added. Road crashes in Bangladesh As many as 376 lives were lost while 1500 people were injured in 283 road accidents across the country during Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, according to a report. Road Safety Foundation (RSF), an organisation that campaigns for safer roads, on May 12 revealed this information in a new report on accidents on Bangladesh’s roads from April 25 to May 8. A total of 156 people were killed in 128 accidents involving motorbikes, which accounted for 41.48 per cent of the total deaths. Also read:Perilous roads: 4 including 3 of family killed in Rajshahi According to the RSF findings, at least 54 pedestrians were killed in road accidents, which accounted for 14.36 percent of the total deaths. Some 49 drivers and their assistants were also subjected to road fatalities and that is 13 per cent of the total deaths. Of the total accidents, 132 accidents occurred on the national highways, 87 on regional highways and 41 on rural roads and 23 on city roads, the report said.

Police have recovered the body of a auto-rickshaw driver from Ghatchilan area of Lalpur upazila in Natore district. The deceased was identified as Milon Hossain, 30, of Mahishbhanga of Boraigram upazila. Also read: Youth’s body recovered from Natore madrasha Milon went out with his battery-run auto-rickshaw asusual on Saturday afternoon and he remained missing since then, said police. Based on a complaint, police started investigation and recovered the body from a roadside sugarcane field in Ghatchilan area on Sunday night, said Monoaruzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Lalpur police station. Also read: 105-yr-old woman charred to death in Natore There were several injury marks on Milon’s body, said the OC. Muggers might have killed him for snatching his auto-rickshaw, he added.

Police recovered the body of a tourist from Moheshkhali Channel on Sunday after he went missing two days ago from Cox’s Bazar sea beach while bathing.The tourist was identified as Saidul Islam Jahir,18, son of Abdur Rahman from Lohagara area in Chattogram, by his brother Jamir, said Abdul Hai, Officer-in-Charge of  Moheshkhali police station.On Friday morning with his four friends Jahir reached Cox’s Bazar and he went missing as they were taking a bath in the sea at Sugandha point of the beach.  Also read: Missing tourist’s body fished out of Karnaphuli river“We immediately informed the matter to the tourist police and lifeguard but they thought he was just missing and announced it on the mic,” said his friend Sakib.Meanwhile, Md Shukkur, a lifeguard appointed at Sugandha point during the incident said, “There was a high current in the sea during the low tide and a lot of tourists went into the sea so we couldn’t notice if anyone drowned. As his friends informed us in the afternoon we could not conduct a rescue operation then.”OC Abdul Hai said the body will be handed to the family if they have no complaint

A 20-year-old woman was raped allegedly by an official of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) at Mirzapur road in Khulna city on Sunday. Police said a college student came to PBI Inspector Majurul Ahsan Masud five days ago following a cyber-issue. The crime occurred on Sunday noon when Inspector Masud took her to a newspaper office at Mirzapur Road promising her to solve the problem. Also read: Female UP member ‘raped’ in Rajshahi: 5 held The victim immediately lodged an FIR at the Khulna Sadar police station, said Hasan Al Mamun, officer-in-charge (OC) of Khulna Sadar police station. The woman was sent to the One Stop Crisis Center (OCC) of Khulna Medical College Hospital for medical examination, he added. The evidence of the crime was found primarily, said the OC. Also read: College student accuses former lover of rape with promise of marriage in Kurigram Processes are underway to file a case in this regard, he added, saying, “Efforts are on to nab the police official.”

An imported high-speed patrol boat for Chattogram port’s internal communication has arrived from Italy MV Songa Cheeta, the container ship carrying the boat, was berthed at the CCT jetty of the port on Sunday, said the port authority. It arrived at outer anchorage on Saturday completing a 26-day journey starting from Italy’s Salerno port on April 18. The speed boat bought from Italy has cost the port authority Tk 22 crore. It will be used for fast movement of port pilots from Patenga to Matarbari deep sea port and to avoid unexpected accidents at outer anchorage. Also read: First container ship leaves for Italy from Ctg port with RMG goods The boat with 16.5 meters length and 1.2 meters depth was made at FB Design yard in Italy. The boat has modern navigational equipment, satellite radar, satellite compass, two engines, three generators and other necessary instruments. The boat can carry 16 passengers at a time and will be able to turn on its own if it capsizes due to catastrophic weather, said the authority. Also read: Crew of sunken ship stranded in Kolkata for 5 weeks; out of money, may stop getting food Md Omar Faruq, Secretary of Chattogram port authority said, “The boat can be unloaded after 300 containers. A total of 10 staff, officials of the port’s shipping department are being trained to operate the boat.” “The boat will be sent for trial operation after unloading and clearance from customs. After trial it will be kept at the service jetty of berth-1,” he said.

Demonstrating workers of Barapukuria Coal Mine have suspended their two months long movement for returning to work and demanding arrears after getting partial acceptance from the authority. Robiul Islam, President of Barapukuria Coal Mine Miners' and Workers' Union said on Friday night in a meeting the authority agreed to let the workers join work in phases. “Regarding the payment of eight months' arrears a decision will be taken after a meeting with the workers’ representative in Petrobangla in Dhaka,” he said. Also read: Barapukuria coal mine workers continue demo demanding arrears “On Saturday, in the first phase 212 workers’ samples were sent for Covid-19 test. If they test negative they will be able to rejoin work after staying in quarantine for a week to 1o days inside the mine premises,” said Kamruzzaman Khan, Managing Director Engineer of Barapukuria Coal Mine. He said all the 850 workers will be allowed to join work again. The workers have been holding different programmes since March to press home their demands. Robiul Islam Robi, president of Barapukuria Coal Mine Miners' and Workers' Union said,”Around 1100 local miners excavate coal from the mine under three Chinease contractor companies CMC, XMC and JXMC.” Also read: Barapukuria Coal Mine workers give 72 hour-ultimatum for payment of arrears Of them 700 were supposed to get monthly Tk 4,000 each as allowance during their lay off due to Covid-19 pandemic but in the last 8 months they neither received any allowances nor were allowed to rejoin work. Meanwhile, the contracting companies forced 400 workers to stay inside the mine and work without allowing them to meet their families.

Police Sunday recovered the body of a food warehouse official hanging from the ceiling of his office in Madaripur. The deceased Mohammad Kamrul Islam, 40, was from Gosairhat, Shariatpur district. He used to work as the officer-in-charge of Charmuguria Food Warehouse at Nayachar in Madaripur Sadar upazila. When employees of the office found Kamrul's body hanging in front of a bathroom in the morning, they contacted the police. Police then took the body down and sent it to Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy, Madaripur Additional Superintendent of Police Chaulai Marma said. "We are trying to find out if the death was a suicide or murder." Later, the Sadar upazila administration sealed off the warehouse.

Mother fish of different species have released 'sample eggs' at several places in the Halda River, the only natural fish spawning centre in South Asia. The fishers said they found 50 to 200 grams of eggs in some places, including Machuaghona and Nayahat, in the coast of Halda after 12 pm on Saturday. Also read:Halda River under CCTV surveillance Hathazari upazila administration and local egg collectors confirmed the release of sample eggs. The indigenous fish species including Ruhi, Mrigel, Katol and Kalbaush started releasing eggs after heavy rain with thunderbolts due to cyclone ‘Asani’ for the last few days. Egg collectors and persons concerned were waiting in the river as the full breeding season started from the beginning of May. They are hoping that if there is heavy rain with thunderstorms on the current full moon day, mother fish can start releasing eggs in full swing in the river during high tide or low tide.

Two policemen were injured in an attack by an accused and his associates when they raided a house at Adharmanik Nalarkil in Lohagarah upazila of Chattogram district on Sunday. The injured were Jony Khan, 30 and Shahadat, 27—two constables of Lohagarah Police Station. They are now undergoing treatment at Chattogram Medical College and Hospital. Of them, the left hand of Jony was severed during the attack. Also read:Two cops among 4 stabbed by drug peddlers in Lalmonirhat Atiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Lohagarah Police Station, said a team of police led by sub-inspector Bhakta Chandra Datta raided the house of Kabir Ahmed, an accused in different cases, to arrest him in the morning. At one stage, Kabir along with his associates attacked the police team and severed the left wrist of Jony. “Efforts are on to arrest the attackers,” said the OC.

A human trafficking gang has asked for Tk 8.5 lakh each for sparing the lives of four illegal Italy immigration seeker men from Habiganj.  The missing men were identified as MD Sajanur Rahman, 35, son of Abdul Mukit Khan from Paschimbagh village in Ajmiriganj upazila, Afzal, son of Sajlu Mia from the same village, Md Nasir Mia,20, son of Sekular Mia, and Ujjal, 27, son of safar Ali from noabad area in Habiganj city, according to their families.  The gang asked for the money over phone calls on Wednesday and said they would dump their bodies in the Mediterranean Sea if they don’t get it by Monday, said the family members of the hostage immigration seekers.  Read: 9 killed in Gopalganj road crash “Sajanur left for Italy on February last year and reached Benghazi in Libya with the help of a broker named Marutza but he sold my brother to another broker named Sabu Mia But Sajanur got caught by Coast Guards there and had to pay Tk 3 lakh as fine. Later another broker named Taimur who used to live in Noabad in Habiganj city took the responsibility of sending him to Italy,” said Md Asiur Rahman, a primary school teacher and brother of Sajanur Rahman.  Asiur Rahman said different brokers have so far taken around Tk 12 lakh from them and now they are worried how they will pay the ransom money.  “My brother took up the illegal way to change the economic condition of family only. My brother told on phone the traffickers have kept nine people from Habiganj in a boat at Mediterranean Sea and were torturing them.” Said Asiur Rahman.  Martuza Hasan, Chairman of Ajmiriganj Upazila Parishad confirmed his relative Sajanur’s family received calls from some traffickers demanding money. “But I have no idea about other people who were threatened, “he said.  Afzal’s father Sazlu Mia, Nasir’s father Sekular Mia and Ujjal’s father-in-law Md Faruq Mia claimed all of them were kept hostage by a gang of broker which is led by a local broker named Taimur Mia. They said they are all too poor to pay the ransom money and fearing their relatives will be killed soon.  Meanwhile Taimur’s wife claimed she has no idea about such incident and she has no contact with her husband for a long time.