United News of Bangladesh

Two people were charred to death in a fire which broke out at the furniture factory in the City Gate area of Chattogram port city on Monday, a fire official said. The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. Also read: 1200 homes gutted in Ukhia Rohingya camp fire

Two teenage boys were killed when a BRTC bus hit a power tiller at Simultala in Kachua upazila of Chandpur district on Monday. Atique Hossain, 14 and Sajib Hossain, 19 of Budhunda village in the upazila died on the spot, according to police and eyewitnesses. Also read: 4 killed in Kushtia road accident Additional superintendent of Chandpur Police, Sudipta Roy, said the accident occurred around 11 am when the Dhaka-bound BRTC bus hit the power tiller, leaving two workers killed on the spot. On information, police recovered the bodies and sent those to the local hospital morgue. Also read:Student among 3 killed in Pabna road accidents

A 10th grader has allegedly been gang-raped by three youths on her way from school at a village of Faridganj upazila in Chandpur District, according to a complaint received by police. According to the girl’s family, the incident occurred on Saturday when the girl was returning home from school at noon. On the way, “the miscreants picked the girl and, took her to Lipi Begum's house, where they raped her hands tied and mouth covered with a cloth. They also recorded the video of the alleged crime. The survivor alleged that Lipi Begum, 32, wife of Farooq of the same village, had assisted in it. Also read: 5 held over rape of 2 indigenous girls in Mymensingh The alleged rapists are- Shimul, 24, son of Harun Mizi of Saisanga village of the upazila, Ijaz Hossain, 23, son of Bahar Patwari of Maizer Bari in Noapara village and Sabbir Hossain, 24, of Ashta village. They threatened to spread the video on the internet if the girl disclosed the matter to anyone. "The victim filed a complaint on Sunday afternoon in connection with the incident and efforts were being made to arrest the accused”, said Mohammad Shahid Hossain, officer-in-charge of Faridganj Police Station. Sexual assaults on women continue unabated in Bangladesh, despite the government introduced death penalty for rapes in 2020. Also read: Rape in Chattogram: step father held Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data shows that 1,018 children were raped in 2020 alone, but only 683 police cases had been filed. Also, 116 survivors were six years old or below. Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported in 2020 and 53 of the women were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, as per the data. However, ASK's data is just the tip of the iceberg, according to aid agencies, who report that most women are too afraid to report rape.

A customs official, who received death threats from members of a smuggling syndicate, lodged a general diary (GD) with local police station seeking security. Deputy Commissioner of Benapole Customs House, Md Abdul Quaiyum lodged the GD with Benapole Port Police Station on Sunday night. Mohamamd Azizur Rahman, Commissioner of Benapole Customs, said “The passengers did not face any trouble but allegations were found from those who brought smuggled goods dodging tax as they failed to bring their goods due to a strict monitoring system. Also read: Omicron surge in India slams travel through Benapole land port Benapole is a safe route for smugglers as they illegally bring goods worth Tk several lakh in luggage and hence they are called “luggage party.” After taking charge joint Commissioner Abdur Rashid seized smuggled goods worth over Tk one crore and realized Tk 20 lakh as revenue tax, which made the smugglers angry, he said. Quaiyum said Indian smugglers come with business visa and sold their goods in Benapole before returning home. Also read: Trade through Benapole land port suspended The syndicate also carried out attacks on some customs officials who seized their goods, causing immense sufferings to the travellers who use the route.

Guliakhali Sea Beach, a little-known sea beach located at Sitakundu upazila in Chattogram, has been decalred as a reserved area for tourism. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism announced 259.10 acres of land of the beach under Khas Land Account-1 protected for tourism. A notification signed by Deputy Secretary of the ministry Shyamoli Nobi was issued in this regard on Monday as per the President’s order. Development of tourism in the beach area is being hampered and affected because of unplanned establishments and other projects, says the notification. Also read: Security concern hits Cox’s Bazar tourism hard

Surgeons at Chuadanga Sadar Hospital on Monday removed a surgical scissor that was left inside the abdomen of a woman 20 years ago when she underwent a gallbladder stone surgery. Bachena Khatun, 55, from Alamdanga upazila had been suffering from abdominal ache since her first surgery at a local clinic in 2002, said Dr Waliur Rahman Nayan, a senior consultant who supervised the second operation at Chuadanga Sadar Hospital. The gallbladder stone operation was done Dr. Mizanur Rahman at Raza Clinic Raza Clinic in Gangni upazila of Meherpur district, according to Bachena’s family members. Also read: No one kept scissors inside Monira's stomach during surgery He was assisted by Dr Parvez Hossain Raza, director at Raza Clinic and Dr Tapash Kumar, an anaesthesiologist.        After one week of the operation for which she spent her savings Bachena was discharged from the clinic with a prescription. In a few days she started feeling more pain in the abdomen and visited Dr. Mizan with the complaint. The doctor dismissed her complaint as normal asking her not to worry. As the pain persisted Bachena then went from one doctor to another and was prescribed more medicines without any remission. In the process she had to sell two cows, her last assets to pay for the treatment and medicines. With the pain turning unbearable Bachena, advised by a doctor, finally underwent an x-ray that revealed presence of the surgical scissor. Last week Bachnea was admitted to the Sadar Hospital where she was kept under pre-surgery operation because of her high diabetes. Also read: Doctor appears in court video call while performing surgery Dr Waliur of Chuadanga Sadar Hospital said “Bachena was under special care of the physicians as she was suffering from diabetes. The doctors conducted the surgery today (Monday) after bringing her sugar level under control and removed the surgical scissor at noon.” Bachena, meanwhile, complained that the authorities at errant Raza Clinic, are not paying for her second surgery despite assurances. Meherpur Civil Surgeon Dr Jawaherul Islam confirmed the matter saying that a three-member committee has been formed to probe how the surgical scissor remained inside Bachena’s abdomen.

Divers on Monday recovered the bodies of three passengers, including a child, from the Dhaleshwari River, six days after a trawler capsized in the river off the coast of Narayanganj Sadar upazila. The deceased were identified as Tanim, 8, and Abdullah, 16, and Shamsuddin, 30. Read: Dhaleshwari trawler capsize: 6 bodies retrieved after 5 days The divers from the local fire service retrieved three bodies from the river near Dharmaganj around 9 am, said deputy director of Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defense Abdullah Al Arefin. So far, nine bodies were recovered and another passenger is still missing, the official said. On Sunday, divers recovered the bodies of six people from the river. Earlier on January 5, the trawler, with nearly 70 people on board, overturned as Dhaka-bound passenger launch Farhan-6, hit it near Dharmaganj in Fatulla. Read: Narayanganj trawler capsize: 4 held; Farhan-6 seized While many passengers managed to swim to safety, at least 10 people went missing. Police detained four people, including the driver and master of MV Farhan-6, Babu Lal Baidya, assistant director of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority in Narayanganj said. A case was also filed in this regard on the following day.

Four people were killed and another was injured when a truck hit a rickshaw van on Kushtia-Jhenaidah road in Kushtia Sadar upazila early Monday. The deceased were identified as van driver Muktar Hossain, 50, and  passengers Jasmine, 30, Rozina Khatun, 27, and Swapna Rani, 45. Read: Bagerhat road crash leaves 4 dead Idris Ali, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kushtia Highway Police, said  the Jhenaidah-bound truck hit the rickshaw van coming from the opposite direction in front of Mandal Hotel in Battail Dakshinpara area around 5:30am, leaving four people dead and one injured. Injured Tahmina was sent to Kushtia General Hospital in critical condition. Police have seized the killer truck. However, the truck driver managed to flee, said the OC. The bodies were sent to the hospital morgue for autopsy, he added. As many as 6,284 people, including 927 women and 734 children, were killed in 5,371 reported road accidents across the country in 2021. Read: Student among 3 killed in Pabna road accidents Road accident in Bangladesh is still one of the leading cause of deaths. Road Safety Foundation (RSF), an organisation that campaigns for safe roads, on Saturday revealed a new report on accidents on Bangladesh's perilous roads last year. According to the report, 7,468 people suffered injuries in road accidents during the period.

A truck was set on fire by agitated locals on Sunday after it hit a motorcycle killing two bikers at Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia. The deceased were identified as Bidyut Ali, 30, and Rajon Ahmed, 35, from Koipal village in Mathurapur union. The incident occurred around 9:30 pm near the road adjacent to Taragunia Secondary School in the upazila. The two youths on a motorcycle were heading towards Taragunia when a speeding Veramara-bound truck hit them from behind leaving them dead on the spot, said SM Jabid, Officer-in-Charge of Daulatpur police station. Some passengers of a van also sustained injuries hit by the truck during the accident and are currently being treated at a local hospital, he said. The OC said agitated locals seized the truck immediately after the accident and set fire to it but the driver managed to run away. OC Jabid said the bodies were recovered from the spot and efforts are on to arrest the absconding truck driver.

Jashore Detective Branch of police held four people, including two transgenders over killing another transgender person on Saturday. The arrestees were identified as Shakil Parvej, 21, from Dogachia village in the Sadar upazila, Mehedi Hasan, 19, from Jhaudia village and Najma and Selim from transgender community, said DB police in a press briefing on Sunday. A gun, magazine, five rounds of bullets, and sharp weapons were seized from the arrestees, said police. Also read: Stabbing leaves transgender woman dead in Cumilla: Police According to police, Selim and Najma planned to kill Abdul Kader alias Lovely, over a long running internal feud between them over creating dominance amid the transgender community and regarding monetary benefits. On Saturday, around 8:30 am the four alleged killer obstructed Lovely’s path on a bridge at Halsha village and shot two bullets at her. After missing the aim they attacked her with sharp weapons and fled, said witnesses. Later locals rescued Lovely and took her to Jashore General hospital, where the duy doctor announced her death. Also read: Transgender, Bede communities in Savar hit hard by restrictions Immediately after the incident DB police conducted a drive at different places in the upazila and arrested the four on Saturday night. On Sunday, Lovely’s sister and Mofijul Islam, Sub-Inspector of DB police filed two separate cases over the incident at Kotwali police station.