United News of Bangladesh

Two motorcyclists were killed after being hit by a truck in Ashuganj upazila of Brahmanbaria on Wednesday night. The accident took place in the Sonarampur area of the upazila on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. The deceased were identified as Saimon, 20, son of Shahidul Islam of Lakshmipur village in Bhairab upazila of Kishoreganj district, and Abdur Rahman, 23, son of Makrul Molla of the same village. Shafiqul Alam Chowdhury, Officer in Charge of Ashuganj Police Station, said the two youths were travelling from Bishwaroad in Sarail towards Ashuganj when their motorcycle collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction in the Sonarampur area. Young man shot in Brahmanbaria Both riders were seriously injured in the crash and were taken to the Ashuganj Upazila Health Complex by local people. Doctors on duty declared them dead on arrival. After receiving the news, family members went to the hospital and took the bodies home. “Legal action in this connection is underway,” the OC added.

Two Rohingya women were arrested with 14,000 yaba pills in a special operation by the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) in Jashore on Wednesday morning. The operation took place around 7:20 am in the Rajarhat area under Kotwali Model Police Station. Officials conducted the raid on the north side in front of B.K. City Hotel and Resort, located south of the Rajarhat crematorium on the Jashore-Khulna highway. The arrested women were identified as Sokina Akter, 30, daughter of Shabbir Ahmed, and Shukutara, 20, daughter of Fazal Ahmed. Both are from Kutupalong Registered Camp under Ukhiya Police Station in Cox’s Bazar District sheltering Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. During the raid, authorities recovered a total of 14,000 yaba tablets, with one suspect carrying 6,000 and the other 8,000 tablets. Two mobile phones used by the suspects were also seized. BNP leader Alamgir murder case: fourth suspect arrested in Jashore DNC Sub-Inspector M. Rafiza Khatun filed a regular case under the Narcotics Control Act against the suspects at Kotwali Model Police Station. DNC Jashore Deputy Director Parveen Akhtar said anti-drug operations are ongoing and strict legal action will be taken against drug traffickers under a zero-tolerance policy.

A dockyard security guard was stabbed to death allegedly  by muggers in  Bashundhara River View Balur Math area of South Keraniganj early Wednesday. The victim was identified as Ahmed Dewan, 60, son of late Mofa Dewan of South Pangaon, Keraniganj. He worked as a security guard at Pangaon Dockyard. His daughter Rekha said a group of muggers intercepted him in Balur Math area around 5:30 am and stabbed him in the left side of his abdomen before fleeing with his mobile phone. He was later taken to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 9:30am where doctors declared him dead, she said. Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of the DMCH police camp, said the body has been kept at the hospital morgue and the death has been reported to Keraniganj South Police Station. 2 youths found dead in Atrai River in Dinajpur  

Ferdous Ara, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Bancharampur Upazila in Brahmanbaria, died on Wednesday at a hospital in Dhaka. She breathed her last around 7 am, said Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Ranjan Chandra Dey. He said Ferdous Ara fell sick on Monday and was admitted to a hospital in the capital with severe migraine pain. According to family sources, her janaza and burial will take place at her in-laws’ house in Daudkandi. She is survived by her husband and a daughter. Read More: Three injured in Brahmanbaria clash over local dominance Deputy Commissioner Sharmin Akhter Jahan expressed deep sorrow over her untimely death. In a condolence message, she said members of the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association, Brahmanbaria district branch, are deeply shocked and saddened at the death of UNO Ferdous Ara. DC Sharmin Akhter said Ferdous Ara was a dutiful, honest, skilled and talented officer She also prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul.

A crude bomb went off outside the rented house of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Advocate Yakub Ali Chowdhury, who is contesting the election from Khagrachhari. According to Jamaat-e-Islami, the explosion occurred around 10:00pm on Tuesday in the Shalbagan area of Khagrachhari town, near the Development Board rest house. Condemning the incident, Khagrachhari District Jamaat Ameer Prof Syed Abdul Momen alleged that miscreants carried out the cocktail attack in an attempt to disrupt a fair election environment. “The attackers must be identified immediately and brought to justice,” he said. Read More: Jamaat nominee Abdul Haque reenters Dhaka-2 election race Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station Mohammad Kay Kislu said police visited the spot after receiving the complaint. “The house owner and nearby residents heard a loud sound resembling an explosion, but no visible evidence was found at the scene,” he said, adding that a piece of plastic was collected for forensic examination. The OC also said the sound could have originated from a firecracker or fireworks. “Since a formal complaint has been lodged by Jamaat-e-Islami, the matter is being investigated seriously,” he added.

More than 50 workers of Garments Export Village Limited in Tongi fell ill on Wednesday, prompting panic at the factory. The affected workers, from two factories located in Ma Tower and Alam Tower of the industrial complex, were taken to nearby hospitals after falling sick one after another. Most were admitted to Tongi Government Hospital, while others received treatment at local medical facilities. Dr Nahid Sultana, Emergency Medical Officer at Tongi Government Hospital, said the workers showed symptoms of panic attacks, vomiting and respiratory problems. “Most of the workers are now out of danger,” she said. Factory sources said the workers had staged strikes on Monday and Tuesday over arrears of their November wages. Some reportedly fell ill during the demonstrations. Read More: Hotel workers threaten strike over unpaid minimum wage After resuming work on Wednesday, several workers suddenly became ill. Mehedi Hasan, officer-in-charge of Tongi East Police Station, said the factories were temporarily closed following the incident. Police are investigating to determine the cause of the illness, he added.

Police detained a young man on charges of allegedly killing his grandmother after failing to get money for drugs in Sylhet’s Kanaighat upazila. The incident took place late Monday night at Kalinagar Dharmatila village under Lakshiprashadpashim Union. The accused was identified as Abdus Samad, 20. He was arrested following the incident. According to loacals, the victim, Amirun Nesa Hari, was found with severe head injuries. They suspect she was attacked with a sharp weapon while she was asleep. According to local sources, Abdus Samad is the son of Akmal Hossain of the same village and has long been addicted to yaba. His parents live in Beanibazar upazila where they work as caretakers at a house of an expatriate. On Monday night, Abdus Samad allegedly went to his grandmother and asked for money to buy drugs. When she refused, he became angry. Later, he allegedly entered her room and attacked her while she was sleeping. Body of elderly woman found near shrine in Sylhet On Tuesday morning, neighbours found Amirun Nesa Hari lying dead inside her house after getting no response from her. Police recovered the body and sent it to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Aminul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Kanaighat Police Station, said Abdus Samad has been detained in connection with the murder case. A case is being filed by the family, he added.      

Police have arrested another suspect in the murder case of BNP leader Alamgir Hossain in Jashore following confessions from the victim’s son-in-law and the main shooter. The accused, Shahin Kazi, 25, was caught Monday night (Jan 12) from Lon Office Para area of Jashore town. On Tuesday afternoon (Jan 13), he was presented in court and confessed his involvement in the killing. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Asadul Islam accepted his statement and ordered him sent to jail. Shahin Kazi is the son of Kislu Kazi from Chanchra Raipara (Tulotola Mor) in Ward-6 of Jashore municipality. He was living in a rented house in Lon Office Para at the time of arrest. According to the source of investigatiuon, the victim’s son-in-law and main planner of the murder, Based Ali Porosh, and his associate Asabul Islam Sagar mentioned Shahin Kazi’s name while in police remand. Later, the main shooter Tridib Chakraborti Mishuk, arrested last week, also named Shahin Kazi in his confessional statement to the court. Based on this information, case investigator SI of DB Alok Kumar De arrested Shahin Kazi from Lon Office Para around 4:45 pm on Monday. According to police,  CCTV footage and information from previously arrested suspects indicate Shahin Kazi acted as a key accomplice. He coordinated with hired killers and planners and was present at the crime scene. Shahin Kazi also faces three previous cases, including extortion. Alamgir Hossain was shot dead on January 3 evening in Shankarpur area of Jashore town. Main shooter in BNP leader Alamgir murder arrested in Jashore His wife Shamima Begum filed the murder case at Kotwali police station. So far, four people have been arrested in connection with the case – the victim’s son-in-law Parash, associate Sagar, main shooter Tridib, and Shahin Kazi. Case investigator SI Alok Kumar De said, “Police are continuing their operations to arrest others involved and recover the weapons used in the murder.”

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has expelled its Sherpur district joint convener Md Shafikul Islam Masud for ignoring party directives and running organisational activities on his own. The decision was confirmed in a press release signed by BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Tuesday. The statement said Masud was expelled from primary membership and all party posts for violating party discipline and carrying out organisational activities against party instructions. Sherpur district BNP Member Secretary ABM Mamunur Rashid Palash also confirmed the matter. Masud could not be reached for comment. His mobile phone was switched off. Over 300 SAD leaders join BNP in Sherpur Masud is a former president of district Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal and was serving as joint convener of district BNP. He submitted his nomination as an independent candidate for Sherpur-1 seat defying party decision. BNP has nominated another district joint convener, Dr Sunsila Jabrin Priyanka, as its candidate for the seat.

A departmental investigation has been launched into allegations of cooking inside an operation theatre (OT) and other irregularities at the 250-bed Feni General Hospital, following the suspension of two nurses over the incident. A three-member probe committee, formed by the office of the Chattogram Divisional Director (Health), visited the hospital on Monday and questioned doctors and nurses concerned. The committee is headed by Dr Farid Uddin Chowdhury, superintendent of Noakhali General Hospital, with Dr Rajib Ahmed Chowdhury, RMO of the same hospital, as a member and Feni Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Rubaiyat Bin Karim as member secretary. Hospital sources said the committee was formed to verify allegations of long-running mismanagement, including the establishment of a kitchen inside the labour ward OT, and to recommend punitive action against those responsible. The committee has been asked to submit its report within this week. Meanwhile, two senior staff nurses, Nursing Supervisor Kalpana Rani Mondal and Senior Staff Nurse Rani Bala Halder, were temporarily suspended on Sunday through separate orders signed by Nursing and Midwifery Directorate Director General (additional charge) and Health Services Division Joint Secretary Md Anwar Hossain Akand. The suspension orders cited the circulation of a video on social media showing cooking on a gas stove inside the OT, terming it “extreme irresponsibility, indiscipline and unacceptable conduct” that seriously endangered patient safety, public health and the image of the nursing profession. Couple jailed for 3.5 years for filing false rape case in Feni Feni General Hospital Superintendent Dr Mohammad Saiful Islam said, we have received the suspension orders. Further action will be taken after the investigation committee submits its report. The incident triggered widespread criticism across the district after media reports highlighted the heightened infection risk to mothers and newborns due to unhygienic practices inside the OT.