United News of Bangladesh

Eight business establishments were gutted in a fire at Kachakata Bazaar in Nageshwari Upazila of Kurigram early Friday. On information, a unit of the Nageshwari Fire Service rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control within an hour, said Saiful Islam, team leader of the fire service. By the time the fire was controlled, most of the shops were completely destroyed. The fire may have originated from an electrical short circuit, said the officer. Business owners estimated losses at over Tk 40 lakh and urged authorities for immediate rehabilitation and compensation.  

Four men, impersonating Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel, looted around Tk 8 lakh from Islami Bank staffs in Daganbhuiyan upazila of Feni on Thursday. The incident took place around Matubhuiyan Bus Stand on the Feni-Noakhali road. According to the bank sources, Islami Bank agent staffers Mokbul Ahmed, 56, and Wasim Uddin, 25, withdrew Tk 817,000 from Daganbhuiyan branch for its Beker Bazar agent banking outlet. According to the Mokbul's statement, when they reached Matubhuiyan Bus Stand, four men wearing RAB uniforms handcuffed them, tied black cloth over their faces, and took them into a private car, before taking the money. Mokbul Ahmed also said, “When we screamed for help, they beat us brutally. Later, they dropped us off at an unknown place. A local man untied us and told us that it was Senbagh area in Noakhali. With the help of locals, we managed to return to our area.” Feni Jubo Dal activist arrested in Dhaka for robbery case Feni RAB Camp Commander Mizanur Rahman said, “The incident was carried out by a fraud group trying to tarnish law enforcement’s reputation.” Police Superintendent Habibur Rahman said, “The police have begun an investigation and hope to bring the criminals to justice soon.” Bank agent Mohi Uddin said that he is filing a complaint with Daganbhuiyan Police Station.    

The body of a 46-year-old man abducted from Chattogram in 2019 was recovered in Feni on Wednesday. The deceased, Abdul Ahad, son of Imani Mia of Daudpur village in Hajipur Union under Kulaura Police Station, Moulvibazar, was found in Chhagalnaiya Upazila of Feni District. According to police, locals discovered an unconscious man in front of the main gate of Chhagalnaiya Upazila Health Complex on the morning of October 29 and took him to the hospital’s emergency department. Doctors later declared him dead following medical tests. A police team led by Officer-in-Charge Md. Abul Bashar inspected the body and documents and found a check from Uttara Bank, Birinchi branch, Feni, bearing the name Abdul Ahad. Later, bank authorities confirmed his identity. Talking to UNB, Abdul Ahad’s younger sister, Naima Nasrin Moni, said her brother had served as a lecturer in political science at Sylhet Britannica Women’s College and later as a customs auditor at Sylhet, Dhaka, and Chattogram airports. She recounted that on May 1, 2019, while on duty at Chattogram Airport, Abdul Ahad went missing. The family received a ransom demand of Tk 2 lakh, which they paid, but could not trace him despite filing a missing diary. Two women among three killed in Feni road crash   Md. Shah Alam, sub-inspector (SI) of Chhagalnaiya Police Station, said the body showed no signs of injury and it is initially believed he died of a stroke. The body has been sent to Feni General Hospital for autopsy to confirm the cause of death. Abdul Ahad’s body was handed over to his brother Abdul Noor on Thursday afternoon.    

A young man was beaten to death on late Wednesday night two days after being taken away on suspicion of motorcycle theft in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur. The victim collapsed and died shortly after being returned to his family. Police recovered the body Thursday afternoon and sent it to Rangpur Medical College Hospital for postmortem. The victim, Sohel Mia, 27, was the youngest son of Azadul Haq aka Kyata Mia of Purbo Borolba village in Borobala union. According to his family, on Monday, local village police member Monarul Islam called Sohel from his home and took him to Balua Bazar. There, several youths beat him and forced him onto a motorcycle, taking him to the house of Ashraful Member of Milonpur village. Ashraful held Sohel for two days, suspecting him in a motorcycle theft case involving Ashraful’s niece’s husband, and beat him severely. On Wednesday night around 11pm, Sohel’s parents were called and forced to take him home with a signature in a blank paper as his condition became critical. Soon after, Sohel collapsed and died. Movement intensifies as Teesta activists announce ‘Silent Rangpur’ campaign in 5 districts Sohel’s father, Kyata Mia, said, “Ashraful tortured my son inhumanely. Village police and a local youth, Habibur, demanded money in exchange for his safety. If my son did anything wrong, there is the law. I want justice. He left behind two young children aged 1 and 3.” Ashraful, the accused, said, “I only asked for Sohel to be taken in connection with the stolen motorcycle. I do not know how he died. He should not have died under light punishment, and we have a written statement from his family.” Nur-e-Alam Siddiqui, Officer-in-Charge of Mithapukur Police Station said, “We are preparing to file a case. Efforts to arrest the accused are ongoing.”    

A woman, who was hacked allegedly by her stepson at Sabdalpur village in Chandina upazila of Cumilla on Wednesday night, died  in Dhaka on Thursday. The victim is Halima Khatun, 34, second wife of Emdadul Haque Munshi. According to locals, Emdadul, 75 lost his first wife about three years ago. He has four sons and three daughters - all married and the four sons work in Saudi Arabia. The youngest, Shahin, returned home from the KSA eight months ago and Emdadul married Halima Khatun of Joynagar village in Daudkandi two months ago. Emdadul said that he had gone to the washroom when his wife was hacked. “When I returned, I found my wife bleeding on the bed. I called for help and family members rushed in. We took her to Cumilla Medical College Hospital and later to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared her dead,” he added. Shirin Akhter, wife of Emdadul’s third son, said, “We woke up to screams and saw Shahin leaving the room. My stepmother-in-law was lying in blood.” 5 arrested for rape of housewife in Cumilla Former Bataghasi Union Parishad chairman Shahjahan Siraj, a relative of the family, said, “There was no family dispute over Emdadul’s second marriage. No one knows why Shahin attacked his stepmother. He fled right after the incident.” Javedul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Chandina Police Station said they recovered the body from the spot. The victim’s husband has filed a written complaint, he said.    

Two children drowned in the Nabaganga River in Jhenaidah’s Sadar upazila on Thursday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Arian, 4, son of Sohel Mia, and Tasnim, 4, daughter of Imdadul Islam Tara Mia, both residents of the Katlamari Kuthirpara village under the upazila. Jahangir Al Mamun, Sub-Inspector of Katlamari Police Camp, said three children went to bathe in the river when Arian and Tasnim accidentally slipped into water and drowned. The third child ran home and informed their families who later recovered the bodies from the river, he added. Abdullah Al Mamun, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jhenaidah Sadar Police Station, said no complaint was lodged by the families and the bodies were handed over to the relatives for burial.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-4 rescued a four-year-old girl, who was abducted  using ‘devil breath’, from Pallabi area of Dhaka and arrested three people from Keraniganj of Dhaka on Wednesday. The arrestees were Swapan Sardar, 41, Beauty Begum, 40 and Nargis Begum, 30. Tipped off, a team of Rab-4 conducted a drive in Charail area of Keraniganj and rescued the girl, said Major Abrar Foysal Sadi, media officer of Rab-4. The rescued girl was handed over to her family on Wednesday. RAB-4, Mirpur sources said the victim’s mother passed away three years ago. Since then, the child had been living with her father and grandparents at a house in Mirpur-11. Robber 'ringleader' of Ranga Bahini held in Sundarbans On October 23, the four-year-old girl went missing from in front of her house. The family filed a general diary (GD) with Pallabi Police Station. On October 29, RAB conducted a drive in front of the Rongdhonu Convention Center in Pallabi area and arrested Swapan. During interrogation, he confessed that he had abducted the girl using ‘devil breath’ and handed her over to Swapan’s second wife Beauty in Mirpur-12. Based on his information, RAB conducted a drive at the house of Beauty and arrested her. During interrogation, the RAB members came to know that the abducted child had been kept confined at a rented house in the Charail area of Keraniganj under the custody of Swapan’s first wife Nargis Begum. Later, the RAB team raided the house and rescued the girl and arrested Nargis. All the arrestees are members of a child kidnapping gang, said Rab. After interrogation, the arrestees said that they had a plan to sell the abducted girl to a childless couple in exchange of Tk 2.5 lakh.      

At least seven business structures were gutted in a fire at Hazrakati Bazar in Tala upazila of Satkhira early Thursday. Officer-in-charge Mainuddin of Tala Police Station said the fire erupted from one of the shops around 3 am and engulfed adjacent others. Fire allegedly causes Tk 25 lakh loss at Sylhet hardware shop, claim proprietors Being informed, a fire fighting unit from Tala Fire Station rushed to the scene and managed to bring the blaze under control after half and hour of efforts, he said. The fire might have originated from a stove flame, the OC said. Five shops were completely damaged while two others were partially, the businessmen said, adding that affected-shops included two sweetmeat shops and several tea stalls.  

A motorcyclist was killed after his bike caught fire following a head-on collision with a truck in Mohanpur upazila of Rajshahi early Thursday. The deceased was identified as Ismail Hossain, son of Abul Hossain from Hazarapara village under the upazila. Ataur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Mohanpur Police Station, said the accident occurred around 5:30 am near the Kalitala flour mill in Kesharhat municipality. Man killed in Sharsha train accident Quoting witnesses, the OC said the motorcycle and the truck collided head-on, causing the bike to burst into flames and leaving Ismail dead on the spot. Upon receiving information, fire service personnel rushed to the scene, extinguished the blaze and recovered the body.  The victim was identified through his NID card found in his trouser pocket, the OC added. Police seized the damaged vehicles, while the truck driver and his helper fled the scene shortly after the crash, said the OC.  

The district administration sealed two restaurants and fined another Tk 20,000 in Haripur Bazar of Jaintiapur upazila for allegedly selling wild bird meat. The drive was conducted around 10:30pm Tuesday under the leadership of Jaintiapur Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Executive Magistrate George Mitra Chakma. A team from the 27th Bir Unit of Haripur Gasfield Army Camp and members of Jaintiapur Model Police Station joined the operation. Officials from the Forest Department were also present. During the raid, Shahporan Hotel and Tanvir Hotel were found selling bird meat in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act. As a result, both hotels were sealed. Teen girl abducted in Sylhet rescued from Sunamganj; 1 arrested Besides, Sonar Bangla Restaurant was fined Tk 20,000 for preparing and storing food in unhygienic conditions. Authorities said that none of the owners of the sealed hotels were present at the scene during the operation. UNO George Mitra Chakma said, “Operations will continue regularly to protect wildlife and prevent illegal sale of bird meat.”