United News of Bangladesh

A case was filed against seven people on Thursday in connection with Wednesday’s gang rape of a woman in Cox's Bazar. The woman's husband filed the case under the Prevention of Women & Children Repression Act at Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station, said Cox's Bazar police super Md Hasanuzzaman. Names of four accused and three unidentified men have been mentioned in the case. The four accused are Ashiqul Islam Ashiq, Abdul Jobbar Joy, Babu and Riaz Uddin Chhoton. The 22-year-old woman came to Cox's Bazar with her husband and their eight-month-old baby on Wednesday morning and checked into a hotel. In the afternoon, the family went out for a stroll on the sea beach. At Laboni point, the woman's husband had an altercation with one of the accused after he accidentally bumped into the latter. What started as a small argument soon snowballed into a major altercation and the young man called his accomplices to the spot. They kidnapped the family in two auto-rickshaws and took them to a desolate place near the golf club where three of them allegedly violated the woman. The woman's ordeal did not end there. The family was taken to Zia Guest Inn from the golf club area, where the three accused again took turns to rape her for hours. They released her in the early hours of Thursday and allegedly threatened to kill her family if she narrated her ordeal to anyone. Read: Mother-daughter gang raped; 2 arrested Lieutenant Colonel Khairul Islam Sarkar, commanding officer of Rab-15, said their team rushed to the family's rescue soon after they got the call from the woman.

Two forest officials were injured in an attack by suspected venison smugglers in Morrelganj upazila of Bagerhat. The incident took place on Thursday at Jhiudhora village of Chandpai Range in Morrelganj Upazila. The injured are Masud Rana,28, and Shanto Sheikh, 22, officer of Chandpai Range’s Jhiudhora station. They were given primary treatment at Mongla Upazila Health Complex. Read: Attack on rally: Habiganj police sue 2,000 BNP leaders They were attacked while a 7-member team of forest officials were going to recover venison from Sorowar Haolader’s house at Jhiudhora village early Thursday, said Enamul Haque, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) of Sundarbans East Forest Department. The attackers also damaged a rifle and looted 5 rounds of bullets from the officials and locked them in a room, he said. On information, police rescued the officials from the spot, said Superintendent of Bagerhat Police (SP) KM Ariful Haque. However, no one was arrested in this connection, he added.

Police have sued 2,00 BNP leaders and workers on Thursday over violence durung a rally here on Wednesday. Sub-Inspector of Habiganj police station Nazmul Hasan filed the case  against 65 identified persons including Abdul Hashem, district unit convener of BNP, Senior Joint Convener GK Gaus, said Masuk Ali, Officer-in-Charge of Habiganj police station. In the cases on Thursday allegations of obstructing government duty, use of bricks and local arms to attack police, breaking windows of municipal and district council building, vandalizing police vehicles, blocking roads were brought against the BNP leaders and activists, said OC Masuk. Also read: Attack on rally: BNP demands withdrawal of Habiganj SP, 2 OCs GK Gaus, Senior Joint Convener of BNP said, “Police vandalized our stage and now they are harassing us by filling false cases.” On Wednesday, witnesses said police prevented BNP leaders and activists from setting up a stage for their scheduled rally and blocked the road in front of the house of central BNP leader GK Gaus in Shaistanagar area of the city since morning. As the leaders and activists of the party and associate bodies gathered in the district town and tried to go to the rally venue, police obstructed them, triggering a clash. The BNP activists threw stones towards police forcing them to charge batons, lob teargas shells and fire several rounds of bullets, to bring the situation under control. Also read: BNP activists clash with police in Habiganj At one stage, police were forced to retreat for some time in the face of strong resistance by a huge number of BNP protesters. Amid a chase and counter-chase, senior BNP leaders, including standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, chairperson’s adviser Zainul Abedin Farroque and organizing secretary Skahwat Hossain Jibon addressed the rally. At least four police personnel were reportedly injured in the attack and received treatment at Habiganj Sadar Hospital.

A pregnant woman was raped allegedly by her brother in-law and his associate at Lama upazila in Bandarban early hours of Thursday, police said. The crime occurred around 2 am at Boidyavita area in Ruposhipara union when the woman went out to washroom. The attackers forcefully took her behind the house and locked her two children from outside. The woman used to live with her children in that house as her husband works abroad. Read: Cox's Bazar horror: Woman kidnapped & raped by 3 in front of husband & child The woman said, the miscreants also took away cash and gold jewelry from the house before they locked the house. Neighbours found her unconscious and tied with a tree on Thursday morning hearing the cries of her two children locked inside the house. They then informed police. Read: Teen housewife 'raped' on moving bus in Narayanganj, 3 held The woman filed a case against her husband’s step brother Jaynal Abedin and another unidentified person at Lama police station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act later on Thursday, said Md Shahidul Islam Chowdhury, Officer-in-Charge of Lama police station. He said legal actions will be taken against the accused soon after investigation.    

A Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinee was stabbed to death by some unidentified miscreants at Duramari in  Thakurgaon  municipality  area on Wednesday night. The deceased was identified as Mehedi Hasan, 15, a student of Thakurgaon Govt. Boys' High School and son of Abdul Malek of Sonihari village in sadar upazila. A group of miscreants attacked Mehedi on Wednesday evening behind a hotel at Duramari and fled away, said witnesses.   Also read: SSC examinee's death: Helper of killer bus held, say police Hearing his scream local people rushed in and took injured Mehedi to Thakurgaon sadar hospital where doctors declared Mehedi dead. Another youth Arman was also injured during the attack. Dr Sabrina, a physician of the hospital, said Mehedi died due to excessive bleeding and Arman is currently under treatment at the hospital Mehadi’s uncle Amzad Hossain , said Mehedi’s friend Galif called him out of his house before the incident. Also read: SSC examinee dies during exam in Netrokona Tanvirul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Thakurgaon sadar police station, said a case will be filed in this regard.

A 70-year-old man and his son were crushed under the wheels of a truck on Panchagarh-Tetulia highway at Board Bazar in Sadar upazila on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Momir Uddin and his son Rezaul Karim, 40 of Mithapukur area in Sadar upazila. Read: College student dies in Panchagarh road accident The accident occurred at noon when the truck hit a motorbike carrying the duo while it was heading towards Tetulia upazila, leaving them injured, said Jahangir Alam Khan, officer-in-charge of Tetulia Police Station. The injured were taken to a local hospital where doctors declared them dead.

Three bikers have been killed in separate road accidents in Chattogram city in the past 24 hours. The deceased were identified as Touhid Uddin, 28, and Salah Uddin, 25, both residents of Begumganj in Noakhali, and Sajedul Faisal, 24, of Ranguni upazila in Chattogram. Read: Two killed in Dinajpur road crash Adam Ali, a sub-inspector with Dohajari Highway police, said that Towhid and Salah sustained serious injuries after their bike was hit by an unidentified vehicle on the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway in the Mithardighi area of Satkania upazila on Wednesday afternoon. The two were rushed to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), where they succumbed to their injuries. Read: Two motorcyclists killed in Manikganj road crash In the evening, Sajedul and his friend Md Akib were injured when a three-wheeler hit their motorcycle in the Noapara area of Raozan. They were taken to CMCH, where Sajedul was declared dead on arrival, said Md Alauddin Talukder, assistant sub-Inspector at CMCH police outpost.

A gang of young men allegedly kidnapped a couple and their baby from the sea beach in Cox's Bazar on Wednesday afternoon, took them to a desolate place and then to a local hotel where three of them raped the woman for hours. The crime came to light early on Thursday morning when the woman dialled 999 and sought help from police, said an officer of Rab-15, Major Mehedi Hasan. "Already we have identified two of the accused and efforts are on to arrest the culprits." In her police complaint, the 22-year-old woman claimed that she came to Cox's Bazar with her husband and their eight-month-old baby on Wednesday morning and checked into a hotel. Read: Mother-daughter gang raped; 2 arrested In the afternoon, the family went out for a stroll on the sea beach. At Laboni point, the woman's husband had an altercation with one of the accused after he accidentally bumped into the latter. What started as a small argument soon snowballed into a major altercation and the young man called his accomplices to the spot. They kidnapped the family in two auto-rickshaws and took them to a desolate place near the golf club where three of them allegedly violated the woman. The woman's ordeal didn't end there. The family was taken to Zia Guest Inn from the golf club area, where the three accused again took turns to rape her for hours. They released her in the early hours of Thursday and allegedly threatened to kill her family if she narrated her ordeal to anyone.

Authorities have suspended ferry services on Shimulia-Banglabazar and Shimulia-Majhirkandi routes since early Thursday due to poor visibility owing to dense winter fog. Md Shahadat Hossain, Shimulia port officer of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said the ferry services were halted from 2.30 am due to poor visibility. "Four ferries have been anchored, while some 250 vehicles also got stuck due to the suspension of services," said the officer. Read: Dense fog disrupts Paturia-Daulatdia ferry services Meanwhile, launch and speedboat operations on the two routes have also been suspended since Thursday morning due to poor visibility.  Around 87 launches and 101 speed boats ply on these two routes. "The services will resume once visibility increases," said the port officer.

A 20-year-old youth was found dead in Kotchandpur upazila of Jhenaidah district on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Riad Khan, 20, son of Solaiman Amin of Bagdanga village. Riad used to work at a rice mill. Read: Farmer hacked to death in Jhenaidah Local people spotted the body of Riad in the afternoon and alerted cops, said Moinuddin, officer-in-charge of Kotchandpur Police Station. "The body bore several injury marks. We suspect he was stabbed to death by miscreants on Tuesday night," he added. The body was sent to the local hospital morgue for an autopsy.