United News of Bangladesh

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury visited the Border Guard Hospital in Pilkhana, Dhaka, on Wednesday morning to check on Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members and students injured during the recent student protests. Upon arriving at the BGB headquarters, Lt Gen Chowdhury met with the injured personnel and students, inquiring about their medical conditions. He assured them of the government's commitment to ensuring their full recovery and instructed the BGB Director General and other concerned authorities to provide the best possible medical care. Three BGB personnel lost their lives—two of whom were serving with the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab)—and 130 others sustained injuries during the protests. Of them, 15 were critically wounded and treated at the Border Guard Hospital in Dhaka, with four still under medical care. In addition to the injured BGB members, 19 students from Bir Sreshtho Noor Mohammad Public College, Bir Sreshtho Munshi Abdur Rouf Public College, and other institutions, along with individuals from various professions, are currently receiving treatment at the hospital. Three other students were previously treated and discharged. Accompanying the Adviser during the visit were Major General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, Director General of BGB, and other senior officials from the BGB headquarters.

A fire broke out on the eighth floor of a 12-storey residential building on road no. 5 of Dhanmondi on Wednesday morning. The fire started at 10:25am, said Deputy-assistant director of FSCD headquarters media cell Shahjahan Sikder. Six firefighting units doused the flames at around 11:17am, he added. Three people were injured.   

Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan police  conducted separate drives in the city’s different areas on Tuesday night and arrested Former State Minister for Liberation War Captain (Retd) AB Tajul Islam,  ex chairman of Chattogram port Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail who was sent on compulsory retirement from the Navy, and former Member of Parliament Ahmad Hossain. Tajul was arrested from Banasree area, Ahmad Hossain from Gulshan and Sohail from Banani area. Later, they were taken to the DB office, according to a DB source. Tajul Islam was the Member of Parliament for Brahmanbaria-6 Constituency for four consecutive terms. In 2009, he served as the Minister of State for Liberation War. He also held the post of Liberation War Affairs Secretary of Awami League. Sohail was sent on compulsory retirement from the Navy on August 19 (Monday). Sohail also served as Director of Legal and media wing of Rab headquarters . Ahmed Hossain was the organizing secretary of Awami League. He was elected from Netrakona-5 seat in this year's national elections. However, a senior officer of the DB reported that Captain (Retd.) AB Tajul Islam has been handed over to Brahmanbaria district police.

Miscreants set fire to a Hindu family's home in Sadar upazila of Thakurgaon on Tuesday night. Locals said a fire broke out at the home of Nali Chand Shil, a Hindu resident of Naptipara in southern Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila around 7:30pm. At the time of the fire, Nali Chand was away at a local market. The blaze destroyed three of his rooms, including his bedroom and a cow shed, while a fourth room was partially damaged. At the time of the incident there was no one at home. Fire services arrived at the scene and managed to control the fire. Deputy Commissioner Md. Mahbubur Rahman and other officials visited the spot later in the night providing assurances of assistance to Nali Chand.

The government on Tuesday night withdrew four secretaries, including for the health services department, and appointed them to new workplaces, said authorities. Health Services Department’s Secretary Md Jahangir Alam has been transferred to the Planning Commission as member (secretary rank) while Abdullah Al Baki, member of the Planning Commission, has also been moved to the Ministry of Railways as the secretary. On the other hand, the Railways Ministry’s Senior Secretary MA Akmal Hossain Azad has replaced secretary Md Jahangir Alam.  Moreover, Health Education and Family Planning Division’s Secretary Md Azizur Rahman has been made Officer on Special Duty (OSD-Secretary) at the Ministry of Public Administration. Two separate gazettee notifications issued from the Ministry of Public Admistration shared it.  Earlier in the day, the government removed 25 deputy commissioners across the country.

Chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Nurul Amin has resigned in the face of the movement of officials and employees. He was appointed as the chairman of the commission on March 22, 2023. On Tuesday Nurul Amin reportedly submitted his resignation letter to the President's Office citing personal reasons. Energy secretary Md Nurul Alam, however, said he was not informed about the matter. The appointment of the BERC chairman is made by the President of the country. The officers and employees of the commission have been staging a movement seeking removal of the BERC chairman and other members since the fall of the Awami League government. They submitted a memorandum to the chief adviser of the interim government on August 14 to realise their demand. They mentioned in the memorandum about various irregularities and inconsistencies in works of the commission. On August 13, they gave an ultimatum for the resignation of the chairman and members from a joint meeting of the officers and employees. They also went for a strike from August 18 demanding the resignation of the chairman and members. On Tuesday, officials and employees of the BERC observed a sit-in strike programme on the office premises by closing the main gate. On this day, as the chairman and 3 members of the commission refrained from coming to their offices.

A case has been filed against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 24 others, accusing them of the shooting death of garment worker Sohel Rana in the Adabor area of Dhaka during an anti-discrimination student protest. On Tuesday, the victim's elder brother, Md. Ibrahim, filed the case in the court of Dhaka's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sultan Sohag Uddin. After recording the plaintiff's statement, the court directed Adabor Police to register the complaint as an FIR. The case names several prominent figures as accused, including Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Sadek Khan, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, Habibur Rahman, Harun-ur-Rashid, Biplab Kumar Sarker, Saddam Hossain, Sheikh Wali Asif Inan, Riaz Mahmud, Sheikh Bazlur Rahman, Mahbub Rahman, Masum Billah, and Md. Rashid. The complaint alleges that on August 5, during the anti-discrimination movement, Sohel Rana was shot dead in front of Adabor Police Station following instructions from the other accused.

Law enforcers have recovered 1097 arms looted in recent times from police stations, police lines, police outposts and other places, till Tuesday. Police headquarters shared this information this afternoon. Moreover, a total of 20,778 rounds of bullets, 1,482 tear gas shells, seventy-one sound grenades have been recovered till date, it said. A large number of arms and ammunition were looted from the police stations and other protected zones after attacking law enforcers before and after August 5. Members of the Bangladesh Army have also been working to recover the looted arms across the country.

One  more death was reported from dengue in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, raising the number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh to 75 this year. During the period, 249 more patients were hospitalised with viral fever, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Of them, 34 dengue patients were admitted in hospitals under Dhaka North City Corporation while 61 were hospitalized in Dhaka South City Corporation.   Some 1, 049 patients are receiving treatment in different hospitals across the country. A total of 1,065 dengue cases have been reported since January 1, 2024. Last year, 1,705 people lost their lives due to dengue, making it the deadliest year on record. The DGHS recorded 321,179 dengue cases and 3, 18,749 recoveries last year.

Leading businessmen in a meeting with Bangladesh Bank (BB) have demanded strict and exemplary punishment for those who looted money in the name of business. They said this to the reporters after meeting Governor Ahsan H. Mansur on Tuesday. Abdul Awal Mintoo, former president of FBCCI, said, "We have asked the governor to take strict action against those who looted assets in the name of business, acquired wealth illegally, and those who looted the banks. We, the businessmen are in favor of taking any action against the traders who are involved in looting.” FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam said, "We are against fraud, looting and smuggling. The regulatory body has assured to take punitive action against money laundering.”   “We have asked BB to extend the loan installment period. If this does not happen in the current situation, many businesses will default,” he pointed out. He said, “Businesses are suffering due to the high exchange rate of the US dollar. We have asked the governor to control it and take action to bring stability in the forex market.” Businessmen will work to keep the economy in order. Businessmen will support all the good steps of the interim government and the development of the country, said Mahbubul. Executive President of BKMEA Mohammad Hatem said that EDF funds have been reduced. It is hindering imports and exports. “Banking sector reform has been talked about. There was a discussion regarding payment of installments for three months,” he said. Hatem also said that businessmen have been affected due to the restriction of activities of six banks. Businessmen urged the central bank to consider this matter. BKMEA leader Hatem said, “All the banking policies were not correct, they have been revised. I have talked about creating an investment-friendly environment.” “Interest rates have been discussed. Traders will be in favor of the central bank if action is taken against EDF irregularities, those who committed fraud, must be punished,” he opined.