United News of Bangladesh

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained a gold smuggler with 12 gold bars weighing a total 2.4 kg from Putkhali border in Jashore on Friday. The detainee was identified as Md Kamrul Hasan, 20, son of Kuddus Ali of Benapole. According to a media release of BGB, a team of BGB-21 in Khulna, working on a tip-off, detained Kamrul with 12 gold bars after conducting a search operation at mango orchard in Putkhali border area. The estimated market value of the seized gold is Tk 1.63 crore. Steps were being taken to hand over the smuggler along with seized gold bars to Benapole Port Police Station, the release added.

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained two suspected gold smugglers along with 50 gold bars worth Tk 4.6 crore from Natunhat area in Benapole-Jashore Highway of Jashore on Friday. The detainees are Md. Imdadul Islam,43, son of late Khoka Molla of Saronkhola village and Md. Imran Hossain, 35, son of Harias Sarder of Purulia village at Kalia Thana in Narail. Tipped off, a team of BGB-49 conducted a drive and held them along with 50 gold bars, said a media release Legal action against the detainees is under process, said the statement.

Three of the four abducted students of Ramu upazila in Cox's Bazar were rescued from the hilly areas adjoining the Shalbagan in Teknaf upazila in separate drives of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Armed Police Battalion (APBn) on Friday evening. The rescued students are Mohammad Kaysar and Mizanur Rahman Nayan, both students of class eight in Sonarpara High School, and Zahedul Islam, a student of class 10 at the same school. However, Mizanur Rahman, another student of class eight, has not been rescued yet. Four Rohingya men were also detained from the spot. Their identities could not be known immediately. SP Tariqul Islam, commander of APBn-16, said they rescued two students and detained three Rohingya men from Shalbagan hill area in the evening. Meanwhile, Rab rescued one student and detained one Rohingya man from the spot, according to Rab-15 sources. According to their information, efforts are being made to rescue the other student. Earlier in the morning, Armed Police Battalion (APBn) detained three Rohingyas from the Leda camp on suspicion of involvement in abduction of four students of Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar. Read: 4 Cox’s Bazar students allegedly abducted by 2 Rohingyas The detainees were identified as Nur Salam, 50, Ranjan Bibi and Saddam Mia of Mochni Para in Rohingya Camp H-4 block. So far, seven Rohingyas were detained in this connection. On Tuesday, two Rohingya men allegedly abducted the school students for ransom from Khuniapalong in Ramu upazila of Cox’s Bazar. The two alleged accused are identified as Jahangir and Ibrahim, residents of camp-26 at Noapara in Teknaf Upazila, and both staff of Batighar cottage in Cox’s Bazar, according to locals. The two reportedly lured the boys with a promise to take them to Saint Martin’s Island on a visit. Meanwhile, the family members of the students said the abductors already demanded Tk 20 lakh as ransom money. A complaint was lodged at the Ramu police station by the victim’s families on Wednesday, said Arup Kumar Chowdhury, Officer-in-Charge of Ramu police station. According to the complaint, the four students had a friendship with two Rohingya staff. On Tuesday the two staff took the students to Whoaikang area in Teknaf by telling them they are going to visit Saint Martin’s Island.

A CA (Confidential Assistant) of Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer's Office in Chattogram, abducted by an organized gang of kidnappers, was released after paying Tk 3 lakh as ransom on Thursday night. The incident took place in a moving microbus on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway on Thursday night. Victim Tejendra Kumar Debnath said he boarded a microbus from Sitakunda bus stand for his home in Feni at 6.30 pm. Shortly after, six or seven abductors throttled and demanded a ransom of Tk 20 lakh from him. The kidnappers threatened to kill him if he refused to pay. At one stage, they started torturing him saying that he would be killed if he did not pay at least Tk 3 lakh. Finally, Tejendra Debnath called his wife and asked to give Tk 3 lakhs. After getting TK 3 lakh through bKash, the kidnappers sprayed pepper powder in his eyes and threw him from the car in the Lalpoll area of Feni around 10 pm. Later, he somehow managed to return home. Officer in Charge (OC) of Sitakunda Model Police Station, Abul Kalam Azad said no written complaint has yet been made in this regard. Legal action will be taken after receiving a complaint, OC said.

Police have arrested a UP member in a case filed against him for torturing a woman after garlanding her with shoes at Mollahat upazila in Bagerhat. Kawsar Chowdhury, an elected member of Ward-1 of Chunkhola Union Parishad of the upazila, was arrested from Srigati village in the upazila on Friday afternoon, said Bagerhat Additional Superintendent of Police Md Asaduzzaman. Earlier, a case was filed against nine people named and four to five more unnamed at Mollahat police station. Police said operations are underway to nab the other accused in the case. Legal action will be taken against anyone found guilty in the investigation, said the ASP. Meanwhile, before the arrest, UP member Kawsar held a meeting in the locality on Friday afternoon to resolve the issue. In the presence of dignitaries of the area, Kawsar confessed his crime and apologized to the housewife. And a video of him apologizing has already spread on social media Facebook. Earlier on Tuesday, a 30-year-old Bagerhat woman was garlanded with shoes and then tortured reportedly by the UP member with a bamboo twig accusing her of having an extramarital affair with a close relative. Read: Bagerhat housewife tortured, garlanded with shoes by ‘UP member’ The UP member along with his cohorts went to her house on the day and verbally abused her alleging that she has an illicit relation with her daughter’s father-in-law. The UP member and his abettors then garlanded her with their shoes and tortured her, witnesses said. The inhuman incident came in the limelight as a video of the vicious assault has gone viral on Facebook. The housewife alleged that they also snatched her gold ornaments she was wearing and a cellphone set worth around Tk 95,000. The woman told the UNB correspondent on Wednesday that she demands exemplary punishment of those who tortured and humiliated her. Mollahat Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Wahid Hossain told UNB on Thursday, “I’ve sent upazila assistant commissioner (Land) and women’s affairs officer to the woman’s house after seeing the video but she was not found there.” He said what happened to this woman was a criminal offense and police were asked to take action after contacting her. In Bangladesh, women and girls are facing growing violence in every stage of their lives as society thinks it is not that much of a serious issue. According to a report of Human Rights Watch, this crisis comes as Bangladesh enters the final phase of its national plan to build “a society without violence against women and children by 2025.”

A 45-year-old man was hacked to death allegedly by his wife over a family feud at Pachlia Purbopara village in Salonga of Sirajganj on Friday. The deceased was identified as Shamim Hossain, son of Nurul Islam of the village. Read: Father, daughter killed in Narayanganj road crash; 1 injured The couple locked into quarrels over family affairs on Friday morning. At one stage of the altercation, the victim’s wife Shirin hacked him indiscriminately with a kitchen knife, leaving the man dead on spot, said Inspector of Salonga Police Station (Investigation), Zakaria Hossain. On information, police recovered the body from the spot. However, the accused Shirin Khatun remained absconding after the incident. Read: Man found dead on the day of his wedding The body was sent to Sirajganj Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib General Hospital morgue for an autopsy, the inspector said.

A man and his daughter were killed and another one injured when a truck hit an auto-rickshaw in front of Dak Bungalow of Chasara in Narayanganj on Friday. The deceased were identified as Altaf Hossain, 45, and his daughter Beli 15, hailing from the Samvupura union of Sonargaon upazila. Read:35-yr-old biker killed in Sylhet road crash Beli, an immigrant in the US, arrived home 20 days ago to meet family and relatives. The accident happened when a brick-laden truck hit the victims’ auto-rickshaw when they were going to Sonargaon from Chashara this noon. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station Mohammad Shah Jamal said they seized the truck and arrested its driver. Read: Biker killed, pillion rider injured in Dhaka road accident The bodies were sent to Narayanganj General Hospital for autopsies, the OC said. Legal action will be taken in this regard, the OC added.

A pirate was killed allegedly in a gunfight with the members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Patharghata upazila of Barguna early Friday. However, the identity of the deceased could nott be known immediately. Read: 2 ‘robbers’ killed in Bhola ‘gunfight’ According to Rab-8 sources a team of Rab-8 took position on the bank of Bishkhali river at Badurtola area around 2 am. Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the pirates opened fire at the Rab members forcing them to fire back that triggered a gunfight. After the gunfight, Rab found a pirate lying on the ground with bullet wounds. Read:Cumilla councillor's murder: Prime accused killed in ‘gunfight’ On information, police rushed to the spot and sent the pirate to the Patharghata Upazila Health Complex where the doctor declared him dead, said Abul Bashar, officer-in-charge of Patharghata Police Station.

A 35-year-old man was killed and another injured when a truck hit their bike in Dakshin Surma upazila of Sylhet on Thursday night, police said. The deceased was identified as Nurul Boksh, son of Akmol Boksh from Tillapara area of the upazila. Also read: Wear quality helmets while on the streets, IGP tells motorbikers The accident occurred around 10pm on a busy road near a fuel outlet in the Alinagar area of the upazila. Both the men on the bike sustained severe injuries in the crash. "Nurul died on the way to hospital, while Sahel Boksh, 23, is currently being treated at North East Hospital," said Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, sub-inspector at Dakshin Surma police station. Also read: Biker killed, pillion rider injured in Dhaka road accident

A fire broke out at a jute mill in the Aladipur area of Rajbari Sadar upazila early on Friday morning. Fortunately, no casualties were reported. Md Nazrul Islam, assistant director of Faridpur fire service and civil defense, said the blaze started around 6 am in an oil tanker in production unit-1 of Rajbari Jute Mills in the Aladipur area and engulfed other areas of the factory soon. Also read: Munshiganj fire: 28-yr-old woman dies of burn injuries The first fire tender took nearly two hours to reach the spot and later five more joined in. "The fire was brought under control after another two hours," Nazrul said. "Efforts are now on to fully douse the flames." However, the mill owner and workers claimed that the fire did not originate from an oil tanker. Md Salauddin Sheikh, additional police superintendent of Rajbari, said they were working to ensure the safety of the mill workers. Also read: 4 burned in N’ganj as gas cylinder leak causes fire