United News of Bangladesh

Doctors successfully transplanted the wrist of a police constable of Lohagara police station in Chattogram early Monday which was severed by an accused on Sunday. The injured police constable Jony Khan, 27, underwent a wrist-joint replacement surgery at a private hospital in Dhaka after he was taken there by a helicopter from Chattogram on Sunday evening, said Bhakta Chanda Dutta, Sub-Inspector of Lohagara police station . “The surgery was completed around 2:30 am and the doctors said it was successful. Jony is currently doing well and his family is with him," he said. Also read: First-ever cadaveric kidney transplant in Bangladesh expected in ‘Mujib Borsho’ On Sunday, around 10 am three people including two police constables were attacked by an accused named Kabir Ahmed at Adharmanik Lalarkhil area in lohagara upazila when they went to arrest him. During the attack Jony’s wrist was hacked by a sharp weapon while Constable Shahadat Hossain, 27, and plaintiff of the case Abul Kashem, 40, also suffered injuries. Also read: Hospital: Kidney went to wrong transplant patient “After the incident, accused Kabir’s wife Ruby Begum was arrested from Bandarban border area while drives are on to arrest Kabir,” said SI Bhakta Chanda Dutta.

Eleven cows were burnt in a fire that broke out in Dhaka’s Nawabganj upazila on Monday morning. The incident occurred early in the morning in West Chokbahra village when everyone was asleep. Fire burnt down two tin-shed rooms where the cows were kept. The intensity of the fire was so harsh that the cows couldn’t even escape, said the farm owner Jewel. He claimed that the amount of loss caused by the fire was Tk 30 lakh. Also read: Container fire at Kamalapur Railway Station under control Witnesses couldn’t ascertain the origin of the fire. However, Jewel suspected that the fire originated from the fans inside the rooms, due to their over-heat. Confirming the incident OC Sirajul Islam of Nawabganj Police Station said that the origin of the fire could not be ascertained yet. The owner has claimed a loss of Tk 30 lakh, he said. Abbas, brother of Jewel, said that the whole family ahead of Eid-ul-Azha was involved in rearing the cows as they had plans to sell those in the market. “All our dreams have burnt to ashes,” he said. Also read: Fire at Sylhet hawkers' market doused The UNB correspondent while visiting the spot found the charred bodies of the cows lying at the farm. Advocate Safil Uddin Mia, chairman of Bahra Union Parishad, said Jewel bought 11 cows with a loan ahead of the Eid, hoping that he could repay the loan from its profit. He used to take care of the cows like his own children, now he has lost everything and become destitute, he said.

The 74-year-old mother of senior journalist Amir Khasru was found dead at her residence in Pirojpur district town on Monday, police said.  Sitara Halim, a resident of CI Para of the town and wife of Abdur Halim Hawladar, used to stay alone, Additional Superintendent of Pirojpur Police, Molla Azad, said. A tenant of the house told police that a paint worker knocked on the door of Sitara on the first floor of the building in the morning to resume renovation work the residence. READ: Ex-VOA news presenter Kaffey Khan dies Getting no response from inside the room, he informed the matter to the tenant of the building who in turn informed police. A team of police recovered the body of Sitara after breaking open the door of the house, said Molla. Police suspected that the woman might have been strangulated to death. Khasru, who lives in Dhaka, left for Pirojpur as soon as he heard the news.

Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) Shafiqul Islam, who was suspended for fining three ticketless travellers and then the suspension order was withdrawn amid criticism, was not found guilty, said a probe body on Monday. The three-member committee submitted the probe report on Monday and Pakshi divisional railway manager (DRM) Shahidul Islam received it around 11:20 am. Shafiqul, who works at Bangladesh Railway’s Pakshey Division, was suspended on May 6, a day after he fined three individuals for travelling in an air conditioned coach without tickets claiming that they were relatives of the railway minister. Also read: TTE suspension: Railway minister embarrassed by his wife’s involvement Angered by the fine the three lodged a complaint to the railway authorities accusing the TTE of “misbehaving” with them. The suspension of the TTE in which the railway minister’s wife reportedly had a role touched off widespread criticism on the social media with Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) calling on the minister to leave office to allow a fair investigation into the incident. On May 7, the Railway authorities formed a three-member committee to look into the incident. Headed by Pakshey Division assistant transport officer (ATO) Sajedul Islam, the two other members of the committees were—assistant Executive engineer Shipon Ali and assistant commandant Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal. Also read: TIB condemns suspension of TTE, says Railways Minister should resign Meanwhile, Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan on May 8, said the order to suspend TTE will be withdrawn, amid call for his resignation for the unfair action against the TTE. He also said that he felt embarrassed by the phone call his newly married wife made to a railway official getting involved in the incident.

Benapole Transport Agency Owners Association will go for an indefinite strike from Tuesday demanding adequate cranes and forklifts for the country's largest land port. Azim Uddin Gazi, general secretary of Benapole Transport Agency Owners Association, disclosed the decision on Monday. He said that due to lack of adequate cranes and forklifts, loading and unloading of heavy goods are being seriously hampered. Read: Transport workers call off indefinite strike in Dinajpur As a result, it is taking long time to unload the imported goods, forcing the traders to go to another port, he said. “Besides, Deputy Director (Traffic) of Benapole Land Port Mamun Kabir Tarafdar was informed of the problems we are facing but he did not take any action,” Gazi added. “There are 6 cranes and 10 forklifts at the port. Though some of these have been damaged, the repairing work is underway and the problem will be solved soon, “said Mamun Kabir Tarafdar, Benapole Port Deputy Director (Traffic). Read: Railway staffers withdraw strike hours after enforcement Nayan, a representative of the owners, said that almost all the cranes and forklifts at the port have become obsolete. As a result, they have to pay extra money to rent trucks every day which is causing huge losses, Nayan added.

A former member of Bangladesh Army was killed and 15 people were injured in a collision between a bus and a truck in Magura sadar upazila Monday morning. The deceased was identified as Abu Hanif, 60, of Jashore district. Read: UP member among 3 killed in Dinajpur road crash The accident occurred when a bus collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction on Magura-Jashore road in Katakhali Sheikhpara area, leaving Hanif dead on the spot, said Selim, sub-inspector (SI) of Magura Highway Police. The injured were rushed to Magura Sadar Hospital, he added. “The driver and his assistants managed to flee.” A complaint has been lodged at Magura police station. Read: 2 held for illegally selling jammer, repeater and network booster in the city Road accidents in Bangladesh continue to claim hundreds of lives every year. As many as 543 people, including 81 children, were killed and 612 others injured in 427 road accidents in April, Road Safety Foundation said in its latest report released this month.

Farmers in the sadar upazila of Kurigram have started harvesting half-ripe Boro paddy due to continuous heavy rains over the last three days. Farmers in the eight unions of the upazila and adjacent to Marakhal around river basins were seen harvesting half-ripe paddy to minimise their losses. Read: No need to worry about Bangladesh's debt situation right now: Official document Zakir Hossain, agriculture officer of Kurigram Sadar Upazila, said that 1,16,000 hectares of land have been brought under Boro cultivation  in the district this season. Of these, 13,120 hectares of land have been cultivated in Sadar upazila. Already 25 percent of paddy has been harvested in the district, he added. “But farmers are worried about the rest of the paddy."

A motorcyclist and two pillion riders, including a UP member, were killed when a truck hit their motorbike at Mangalpur in Bochaganj upazila of Dinajpur early Monday. The deceased were identified as Rakibul Islam Rakib, 42, member of Atgaon Union Parishad No. 4 in Bochaganj, Noajim, 16, and Shamim Osman, 22, of Thakurgaon district. Also read: Journey home ends in tragedy: Mother killed, son hurt in Turag road accident The accident occurred when the trio was returning from a petrol pump with fuel for their microbus that ran out of fuel on their way home with family. A truck from opposite direction hit the motorcycle at Mongalpur around 12am and fled the scene, leaving them dead on spot, said Fakhrul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Birol police station. The bodies were handed over to their respective families, he added. Road crashes in Bangladesh As many as 376 lives were lost while 1500 people were injured in 283 road accidents across the country during Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, according to a report. Road Safety Foundation (RSF), an organisation that campaigns for safer roads, on May 12 revealed this information in a new report on accidents on Bangladesh’s roads from April 25 to May 8. A total of 156 people were killed in 128 accidents involving motorbikes, which accounted for 41.48 per cent of the total deaths. Also read:Perilous roads: 4 including 3 of family killed in Rajshahi According to the RSF findings, at least 54 pedestrians were killed in road accidents, which accounted for 14.36 percent of the total deaths. Some 49 drivers and their assistants were also subjected to road fatalities and that is 13 per cent of the total deaths. Of the total accidents, 132 accidents occurred on the national highways, 87 on regional highways and 41 on rural roads and 23 on city roads, the report said.

Police have recovered the body of a auto-rickshaw driver from Ghatchilan area of Lalpur upazila in Natore district. The deceased was identified as Milon Hossain, 30, of Mahishbhanga of Boraigram upazila. Also read: Youth’s body recovered from Natore madrasha Milon went out with his battery-run auto-rickshaw asusual on Saturday afternoon and he remained missing since then, said police. Based on a complaint, police started investigation and recovered the body from a roadside sugarcane field in Ghatchilan area on Sunday night, said Monoaruzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Lalpur police station. Also read: 105-yr-old woman charred to death in Natore There were several injury marks on Milon’s body, said the OC. Muggers might have killed him for snatching his auto-rickshaw, he added.

Police recovered the body of a tourist from Moheshkhali Channel on Sunday after he went missing two days ago from Cox’s Bazar sea beach while bathing.The tourist was identified as Saidul Islam Jahir,18, son of Abdur Rahman from Lohagara area in Chattogram, by his brother Jamir, said Abdul Hai, Officer-in-Charge of  Moheshkhali police station.On Friday morning with his four friends Jahir reached Cox’s Bazar and he went missing as they were taking a bath in the sea at Sugandha point of the beach.  Also read: Missing tourist’s body fished out of Karnaphuli river“We immediately informed the matter to the tourist police and lifeguard but they thought he was just missing and announced it on the mic,” said his friend Sakib.Meanwhile, Md Shukkur, a lifeguard appointed at Sugandha point during the incident said, “There was a high current in the sea during the low tide and a lot of tourists went into the sea so we couldn’t notice if anyone drowned. As his friends informed us in the afternoon we could not conduct a rescue operation then.”OC Abdul Hai said the body will be handed to the family if they have no complaint