United News of Bangladesh

A woman was killed in a clash centering the election to Chandpai Union Parishad in Mongla upazila on Sunday night. The deceased was identified as Fatema Begum, 70. Witnesses said supporters of Chandpai Union Parishad member candidate Matiar Rahman Moral and supporters of rival candidate Shafiqul Islam locked into a clash over the polls, leaving Fatema dead on the spot and four others injured. The wounded are Matiar Rahman Moral, Borhan Sheikh (35), Israfil Sheikh (28) and Awal Moral (40). Read:UP elections: Voting underway in 160 union parishads, 9 municipalities Police detained two suspects from the spot. Officer-in-charge of Mongla Police Station Mohammad Monirul Islam said ,” The matter is under investigation. How she died would be known after an autopsy. We have detained two for interrogation.” Voting is underway in 65 UPs under nine upazilas in a peaceful environment. Voters have gathered in the polling centers since Monday morning to exercise their voting rights. However, out of 65 union parishads in the district, 39 candidates of Awami League have been elected as chairman unopposed. Read: 2 dead, dozens shot in Cox’s Bazar gun violence centring election According to the Bagerhat District Election Office, polling is going on in 65 out of 75 unions of Bagerhat District. As many as 3,121 candidates are vying in the elections. Of them, 98 are for the post of chairman, 768 for the post of member in the reserved ward and 2,255 for the post of member in the general ward. The total number of voters in these unions is 9,45,188. Voters are casting their votes in 599 polling centers. Besides, electronic voting machines (EVM) have been deployed for four unions of Fakirhat, Rampal and Mongla upazilas. Bagerhat District Election Officer Faraji Benozir Ahmed said no untoward incident has been reported so far.

Balloting at 160 union parishads spread across six districts began at 8am Monday and will continue till 4pm without any break. In Bagerhat, voting  is underway in 65 Union across nine upazilas in a peaceful environment. Voters gathered in the polling centers since morning to exercise their voting rights. However, out of 65 union parishads in the district, 39 candidates of Awami League have been elected as chairman unopposed. According to the Bagerhat District Election Office, polling is going on in 65 out of 75 Unions of Bagerhat District. As many as 3,121 candidates are fighting in the elections. Of them, 98 are for the post of chairman, 768 for the post of member in the reserved ward and 2,255 for the post of member in the general ward. The total number of voters in these unions is 9,45,188. Voters are casting their votes in 599 polling centers. Besides, electronic voting machines (EVM) have been deployed for four unions of Fakirhat, Rampal and Mongla upazilas. Read:Bagerhat UP polls a microcosm for the nation Bagerhat District Election Officer Faraji Benozir Ahmed said no untoward incident has been reported so far. Each polling center has five full-time policemen and 15 Ansar members and two PCs with a total of 22 members. Similarly in Cox’s Bazar, voting started in the 1st phase of elections in Chakaria and Maheshkhali municipalities of Cox's Bazar and 14 union parishads of four upazilas. Voters have alleged that the balloting is moving at a snail’s pace. After a visit at the Saborong High School polling center in Teknaf, the UNB correspondent found there is some truth behind the allegation. Till 11am, 3 hours into voting, just 150 out of nearly 3,000 voters registered to vote at the centre had cast their vote.  Both men and women were seen standing in long queues waiting impatiently to exercise their right to franchise. Read:BNP senior leaders seek party’s pre-election roadmap If the status quo continues, the voting scenario at the district might turn chaotic real soon, observed the correspondent. According to the Cox's Bazar District Election Office, the number of voters in Maheshkhali municipality of the district is 19,484 and in Chakaria municipality 48,724. There are 59 booths in 10 polling stations in Maheshkhali and 139 booths in 16 polling stations in Chakaria municipality. Eight candidates are contesting for the post of mayor in 2 municipalities. The total number of voters in 14 unions of Pekua, Kutubdia, Maheshkhali and Teknaf upazilas of the district is 3,11,234 people. There are 780 permanent and 113 temporary polling booths in 140 polling stations of four upazilas. Meanwhile, 8 platoons of BGB with 4 platoons for each municipality and 24 platoons BGB for 14 unions have been deployed in Cox’s Bazar. Read:By-election to Cumilla-7 on Oct 7 RAB, police, and Ansar members have also been deployed. Coastguards have been deployed for coastal areas. Besides, executive and judicial magistrates have been appointed in the constituencies, sources said. In Satkhira, voter turnout has been a bit low in the morning due to heavy rainfall. Polling is being held in 21 unions of Kalaroa and Tala upazilas at 195 centers in 189 wards. Electronic Voting machines are being used in one union of Kalaroa and 3 unions of Tala. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) decided to not take part in the polls this time around, which significantly took the excitement away from the UP polls. In early June, the commission decided to postpone elections to 167 union parishads in Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Noakhali, Chattogram, and Cox's Bazar due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The indefinite bus strike that District Road Transport Workers’ Union enforced Sunday morning demanding an end to extortion from the bus drivers on Sylhet bypass road has been withdrawn. Nurul Haque, general secretary of the union said the strike was withdrawn in the afternoon. Deputy Commissioner of the district Md Jahangir Hossain and Additional Superintendent of police (Sadar) Jaynal Abedin held a meeting with the union leaders at noon where they assured the workers that they will take step to stop extortion on Sylhet bypass road. Read: Indefinite bus strike underway in Sunamganj The workers’ leaders then decided to withdraw the strike on condition of  resolving  the issue within three days. Nurul Haque said  they will resume strike if the issue is not resolved in three days. DC Jahangir Hossain said hopefully the problem will be resolved once police are deployed in the area.

District Transport Workers Union went on an indefinite bus strike on Sunday morning demanding an end to extortion from the bus drivers on Sylhet bypass road, causing immense sufferings to people. Nurul Haque, general secretary of Sunamganj District Transport Workers Union, said some extortionists have been realizing Tk 50 per bus on Sylhet bypass road from September 1. Read: Bus services in Chandpur halt amid transport workers’ protest They also informed the matter to local administration but they did not pay any heed to resolve their problem, forcing the workers union to enforce the strike, he said. “The strike will continue until our demand is met,” said Nurul. Mizanur Rahman, superintendent of Sunamganj Police, said he suggested the transport workers to inform the matter to Sylhet police and Sylhet bypass is under their jurisdiction. “ I have nothing to do as it is not happening in my district.”

An army person was killed as a bus hit him at Shajahanpur in Bogura district on Saturday night. The deceased was identified as Shamim Ahmed, 36, son of Abdur Rashid of Dolvita village in Sarishabari upazila of Jamalpur district. He was a member of the FI unit of Bogura Cantonment. Read: Chapainawabganj road crash leaves 2 dead Witnesses said a Chattogram-bound bus hit Shamim around 9pm when he was returning home riding a bicycle after shopping at Majhira port with his eight-year-old son. Injured Shamim was immediately rushed to Bogura Combined Military Hospital (CMEH) where doctors declared him dead. However, the child survived the accident. Read: 3 die in Cumilla road crash Army personnel seized the bus and detained bus driver Mostafa Azad, 40, and supervisor Aminul Islam, 38. Baniul Anam, in-charge of highway police camp, said the driver and its supervisor were handed over to police.

A deadly Russell's Viper, one of the most lethal snake species known to mankind, was safely released back into the wild on Saturday night, after being rescued from the Gorai River in Kushtia. The snake was released in a remote sandbar of Kushtia after nightfall, with the help of a local nature lover and the Forest Department. The Russell's Viper is identified as one of the 'big four' species of venomous snakes belonging to India's historic geography (that includes lands now in Bangladesh, Pakistan). It is also found commonly around farmland further east, from Indonesia to Taiwan.  Read: Rare red coral kukri snake spotted again in Panchagarh It is one of the genera responsible for causing the most snakebite incidents and deaths among all venomous snakes due to many factors, such as their wide distribution, general aggressiveness, and frequent occurrence in highly populated areas.  Locals said Mridul Sheikh from Mangalbaria area of the town went fishing in the Gorai River on Wednesday and a five feet long snake got stuck in his net. He kept it in the bucket and brought it home as he found it to be rare. The snake's stomach was full of eggs and it was not moving much. The fisherman was trying to sell the snake. Being informed, Shahabuddin Milon, a nature lover and social worker from Thanapara area of Kushtia town, along with Kushtia Forest Department rescued the snake. Read:Tk75 crore snake venom seized in Dhaka Abdul Hamid, an official of the Kushtia Forest Department, said the snake was believed to have come from India with floodwater. Earlier, around a week ago, another Russell viper was caught in a fishing net from the Gorai river at Chheuria in Kumarkhali area of Kushtia.

A tourist vehicle was  attacked by miscreants on Rangamati-Bandarban road at Golachipa in Rajasthali upazila of Rangamati district on Saturday. Quoting locals, officer-in-charge of Chandraghona Police Station, Mafzal Hossain Khan, said a group of miscreants ambushed the vehicle carrying 19 tourists while passing through the area around 7:30 pm. Two tourists --Waisinu Marma and Mehaising Marma— suffered serious bullet wounds in the attack. They were taken to Chandraghona Hospital in Kaptai upazila. Read:Bandarban tragedy: Bodies of 2 children found, their mother still missing A tense situation is prevailing in the area following the incident. Meanwhile, army personnel took the whole area under their control. Additional cops have also been deployed to avert further trouble. However, the tourists, who escaped unhurt, were sent to Rajasthali Poati by another vehicle.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained two Bangladeshi men Saturday for illegally crossing the border between India and Bangladesh. The arrestees were identified as Zahidul Islam, 28, and Shahriar Ahmed, both from Bhurungamari Union. A patrol team of BGB Shingjhar camp detained them while they were entering Bangladesh near the international boundary Pillar-952 S of the border near Shingjhar Mather Par area. The offense however also includes illegally crossing into India first, before crossing back to return to Bangladesh. In itself, a Bangladeshi entering Bangladesh cannot be illegal.  Also read: Bangladesh detects first case of Indian Coronavirus strain Officer-in-Charge of Bhurungamari police station Alamgir Hossain said the two men were sent to jail after filing a case under Bangladesh Passport Act 1973 against them. Also read: Indian Covid Strain: Two more cases identified in Jessore

Four friends were detained Saturday in connection with the series of bodies washing up on the beach in Cox’s Bazar over the weekend. The arrestees have been identified as Rohan, Masud, Muhibul and Fardin, all residents of Jessore. Earlier in the day around noon, another unidentified body was recovered from  Nazirartek Point on the beach. Read:2 unidentified bodies wash ashore on Seagull Point in Cox's Bazar Later the deceased was identified as Rafiq Oishik (26). Two bodies were recovered similarly from Seagull Point of the beach on Friday. One of them was later identified as Meher Farabi Avro (24). Although initially in the dark, Cox’s Bazar police got their first breakthrough during the investigation with the discovery that Avro and Oishik were in fact friends, and belonged to a six-member tourist group that checked in at a local hotel on Thursday. Their suspicions only grew once it was established that the other four members of the group did not file any complaints or missing person reports regarding Avro and Oishik. Read: Coast Guard rescues 13 fishermen from stranded boat off Cox's Bazar As a result Cox’s Bazar police made their move to detain the four friends on Saturday. OC (Investigation) of Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station Bipul Kanti Dey said,”A group of six checked in at Beach Holiday hotel on Thursday. When two of them disappeared, the other four did not inform anyone. They even kept everyone in the dark when their bodies (Avro and Oishik) were recovered from the beach.” “We find it mysterious,” he added. Accordingly the four are currently being interrogated at the station.

With the official campaign period set to end tonight, parts of Bagerhat district are approaching Monday’s union parishad elections buzzing with anticipation. Despite the BNP’s refusal to participate significantly reducing the competitive edge to the p0lls, the presence of Awami League rebel candidates in a number of unions – more than the Jatiya Party candidates – has meant that not all the ruling party-backed candidates can afford to take things easy. Aware of the potential for embarrassment, the AL  central command has not shied away from coming down hard against their rebel candidates. So far, the party has sacked 22 chairman candidates for mounting rebel candidacies upon failing to secure the party’s official backing. Also read: BNP plans series of party central leaders’ meetings Postponed due to Covid, the elections to 161 Union Parishad (UPs) in Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Noakhali, Chattogram and Cox's Bazar, as well as to 9 municipalities, were rescheduled for  September 20.   Bagerhat district will see elections to 65 union parishads, with an electorate numbering  9,65,472 eligible to cast their vote – although a large number of them will be deprived of the opportunity even, to exercise their right to franchise.   This is because returning officers at as many as 39 of these unions have already declared the ruling party candidates as unopposed victors. In the remaining 26 unions, electronic voting machines (EVM) will be deployed for four of the UP elections, that are spread across Fakirhat, Rampal and Mongla upazilas. Bagerhat District Awami League General Secretary Bhuiyan Hemayet Uddin said that the party has taken a zero tolerance policy towards the rebel candidates – clearly the AL’s biggest, or perhaps even only headache ahead of the polls. “Already 22 have been sacked from AL, more will follow if they don’t comply,” Bhuiyan said. UNB talked separately with the chairman candidates at Lokpur Union Parishadm in Fakirhat upazila. Also read: Now state ‘backs corruption’: BNP MD Selim Reza of Awami League, Imran Sikder of Jatiya Party, and independent candidate Gazi Mohammad, all sounded optimistic of securing victory in a battle for voter’s minds. On the other hand, Sheikh Mahitur Rahman Paltan, already the chairman-elect of Karapara Union within Bagerhat Sadar thanks to an unopposed election, said that the reason behind no other candidate running for the post was their fear of certain defeat – that he at least believes to be well-founded. Talking to UNB, Bagerhat District Election Officer Farazi Benzir Ahmed said, “The Election Commission has taken all preparations to ensure a peaceful election. Police, BGB, Rab, executive magistrates and Ansar personnel will be posted at key points of the district to ensure that.”