United News of Bangladesh

At least 17 shops were burnt in a fire at Kadirdi Bazar in Boalmari upazila of Faridpur Saturday night. According to locals and fire service officials, the fire erupted around 10:15 pm at Nasir Darzi’s shop in Bachchu Mollar Market. The fire originated from an electrical short circuit in the shop and it quickly spread to nearby markets including Bachchu Mollar and Aziz Mollar markets. Shahjalal Airport Fire: Flights being diverted to Ctg, Sylhet, Kolkata The affected-shops included garment store, medicines, seeds, footwear, and restaurants. On information, two firefighting units from Madukhali and Boalmari rushe to the spot and managed to bring the flame under control after one and a half hours of efforts. However, some traders  alleged that the fire services arrived about an hour after the fire began. Local UP member Bulbul Hossain said the fire caused damages of several lakhs of taka adding that the damage could have been much worse if firefighters had not arrived in time.  

A 20-year-old youth, Shiplu Mia, was stabbed to death by assailants in Dapunia area of Mymensingh sadar on Friday evening. The incident occurred around 7 pm near the Government Pukurpar Bazar. Shiplu, son of Helal Uddin of the area, was taken to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital in critical condition but died while undergoing treatment. His body has been kept in the hospital morgue, confirmed Sofik Uddin, in-charge of the hospital police camp. According to Shiplu’s uncle, Aki Mia, Shiplu had married Mim, daughter of Syed Mia from nearby Suheli village, about a year ago. Their marital disputes had continued and recently Mim went back to her father’s home after an argument. Shiplu went to his in-laws’ house on Wednesday to bring her back, but was held captive there by the family. His parents later rescued him and a reconciliation meeting was scheduled for Friday, which did not take place as the in-laws did not attend. Son kills parents over financial dispute in Mymensingh On Friday evening, Shiplu was at Pukurpar Bazar when three to four youths on two motorcycles lured him to a secluded spot and stabbed him before fleeing. Locals rescued the injured youth and rushed him to the hospital where he later died. Inspector Saiful Islam of Kotwali Model Police Station said, “Our team is at the scene and investigating the motive behind the murder.”    

A 55-year-old woman was found dead with her throat slit inside a rented apartment in Cumilla city’s Racecourse Kathpukur area on Friday evening. The deceased was identified as Milan Bibi, hailing from Shikarpur village in Burichang upazila. Police recovered her body from under a bed, wrapped in a bedsheet, and sent it to Cumilla Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy, confirmed Mohinul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Cumilla's Kotwali Model Police Station. According to the victim’s daughter, Tanzina Akter, they had gone to Noakhali for a visit, leaving her mother alone at home. In the afternoon, neighbors called to inform them that their apartment door was open and the furniture was overturned. Upon returning, they found Milan Bibi’s body hidden under the bed. NGO worker's body found hanging in Cumilla’s Homna Tanzina alleged that some relatives had financial disputes with them and suspects that her mother was murdered over that issue. OC Mohinul Islam said, “We are investigating the motive and those involved in the killing.”  

A massive fire broke out at the switching control room of the Rural Electrification Board in Fenchuganj, Sylhet, leaving five surrounding upazilas without power. The fire started around midnight on Thursday, October 16 at the control room located in the Palbari area of Fenchuganj upazila. Firefighters rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control, but key electrical equipment was destroyed. Shamsul Islam, Assistant General Manager (AGM) of the Fenchuganj Rural Electrification Area Office, said that although the fire has been extinguished, many essential components of the control room were burned. “As a result, power supply to parts of Fenchuganj, Osmaninagar, Rajnagar, Golapganj, and Balaganj upazilas remains disrupted,” he said. He added that the extent of the damage is yet to be determined, but efforts are underway to restore electricity as soon as possible. Residents in the affected areas have been suffering due to the overnight power outage. Authorities have assured that repair and restoration work is progressing on an urgent basis.

A 67-year-old woman was strangled to death after burglars ransacked her home in Talora Bazar, Dupchanchia upazila of Bogura on late Thursday night. The deceased, Bimala Poddar, was the elder sister of Himu Poddar Agarwala of the area. According to her family, four to five assailants cut through the tin roof to enter the house, tied up and beat two brothers and three sisters at gunpoint, and stole cash worth several lakhs along with three mobile phones. The robbers also destroyed household furniture. Bimala was killed when she tried to resist. Four die drinking alcohol on Durga Puja in Bogura Faridul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Dupchanchia Police Station said, “The five siblings, aged 60 to 70, ran a rice and husk business together. None were married, and two siblings are disabled and unwell, limiting their ability to provide clear statements.” The victim’s body was recovered and sent to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Police confirmed that an investigation is underway.    

Police have arrested Parvez Hossain, the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a mother and daughter in Ramganj upazila of Lakshmipur, unraveling the mystery behind the widely discussed case. During a press briefing at the district police superintendent’s office on Friday afternoon, SP Md Akhtar Hossain said that Parvez killed his aunt Julekha Begum and cousin Tanha Akhter Mim over money and gold. Police also recovered over seven bhori of gold ornaments from his possession. Parvez, who returned from abroad about two months ago, was under financial strain and struggling to repay NGO and bank loans. On the day of the incident, he bought a knife, visited his uncle’s house in North Chandipur, and fatally attacked Mim when she screamed after seeing the weapon. He then murdered Julekha Begum similarly and fled with the gold ornaments. Drug addict father kills 5-year-old daughter in Lakshmipur Police later arrested Parvez from Dhaka’s Turag area through digital tracking. He has confessed to the murders before a court, police said, adding that a detailed report will be submitted soon. Earlier on October 9, Julekha and her daughter Mim were found dead with their throats slit at their home in North Chandipur village.    

A 17-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a road accident in the Dholbhanga area of Palashbari upazila in Gaibandha on Friday afternoon. The deceased was identified as Rakib, son of Nazrul Islam of Asmatpur village under Kishoregari union in Palashbari upazila. Local Union Parishad member Morshed Alam said that the accident occurred around 4pm near the brick kiln area east of Dholbhanga Bus Stand on the Gaibandha-Palashbari regional highway, when a Gaibandha-bound passenger bus collided head-on with a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction. Autorickshaw in wedding entourage collides with bus in Gaibandha; 1 dead, 8 injured “Rakib was thrown off the motorcycle and died on the spot,” he added. “On information, police from Palashbari Police Station recovered the body and brought it to the station,” said Zulfikar Ali Bhuttu, Officer-in-Charge of Palashbari Police Station, confirming the incident.    

Two people were killed and at least 20 others injured when a passenger bus overturned while descending a hill in the Sapmara area of Khagrachhari’s Matiranga upazila on Friday morning. The deceased were identified as Abdur Razzak and Anil Chakma, residents of the Kabakhali area in Dighinala. A Chattogram-bound Shanti Paribahan bus lost control and overturned on the side of the road while going down the Sapmara hill in Alutila around 10:30 am, said Matiranga Circle Assistant Superintendent of Police Kazi Wazed Ali. Upon receiving the information, army personnel, police, and local residents rushed to the spot and helped rescue the injured, he added. Some of the injured were admitted to the Matiranga Upazila Health Complex, while others were taken to Khagrachhari Modern District Sadar Hospital. The injured undergoing treatment at Khagrachhari Modern District Sadar Hospital include Md Raidul Islam, 30, Md Ataur Rahman, 61, Shahana Begum, 50, Suparna Chakma, 3, Rehana Chakma, 30, and Moni Chakma, 18. Md Shahidul Islam, Line Controller of the Khagrachhari Road Transport Owners’ Group, said the Shanti Paribahan bus was travelling from Baghaihat to Chattogram with approximately 40 passengers on board. Thirteen to fourteen of them were seriously injured. With the help of the administration and locals, the injured were quickly rescued and taken to hospital, he added. Dr Jaya Tripura, on-duty physician at Khagrachhari Modern District Sadar Hospital, confirmed that six injured individuals had been admitted so far. “All of them are under treatment. Although most have visible injuries, none are in critical condition,” she said.

An extremist group leader was shot and hacked to death by rivals in a clash over establishing local dominance in Faridpur upazila of Pabna on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Abdul Matin, 46, son of Azimuddin Biswas from the Srikol Battala area under Ataikula Police Station in Pabna Sadar Upazila. He was reportedly a leader of the outlawed extremist group ‘Naxal’. The attack occurred around 4:30pm in front of a madrasa at Mangalgram Bazar in the upazila. Faridpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shakyul Azam said that long-standing tensions between two Naxal factions over territorial control led to the fatal attack. Abdul Matin was ambushed, shot, and hacked by members of a rival group. Locals rushed him to Pabna General Hospital in critical condition, where he later died while undergoing treatment. Police visited the scene after receiving information about the incident. However, the OC said the identities of the attackers have not yet been confirmed, and an investigation is currently underway.    

Police recovered the hanging body of an NGO worker from a rented house in Homna upazila of Comilla on Thursday morning. The deceased was identified as Mahamuda Akter, 29, a field officer at the Ramkrishnapur branch of Manabik Unnayan Kendra (Padakkhep). She was the daughter of Aziz from Leshiara Madhyapara village in Kasba upazila of Brahmanbaria. Her husband, Robiul Awal, is a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia. The couple have two children — a 6-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. Md Rafiqul Islam , Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Homna Police Station, said, “Police recovered the body from a three-storey house in Araliakandi village and sent it to Cumilla Medical College Hospital for autopsy.” Fish trader injured in gun attack in Cumilla “Initial evidence suggests that Mahamuda died by suicide. She last spoke to her husband on Wednesday night. The incident likely happened between Wednesday night and Thursday morning,” the OC added. He added that preliminary findings suggest family disputes may have led to the suicide, and police are awaiting the autopsy report while legal action is underway.