United News of Bangladesh

Members of the Bangladesh Navy have been deployed across the sea, rivers, and coastal regions to enforce the ‘Maa Hilsa Conservation Campaign-2025’, which runs from October 4 to 25. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Navy is operating under the mandate of “In Aid to Civil Power” to support the civil administration in ensuring the effective implementation of the fishing ban. The aim is to curb illegal hilsa fishing, allow for safe spawning, and ensure long-term sustainability of the species. A total of 17 Bangladesh Navy warships have been deployed in nine coastal and riverine districts as part of the campaign. In Chandpur, naval ships Dhansiri, Shaheed Farid, and BNDB Gangchil are patrolling key areas. In Cox’s Bazar, the deployment includes Atandra, Shaheed Mohibullah, Durjoy, Sagar, and Shaheed Daulat. Khulna sees the presence of Meghna and Chitra/Titas, while in Bagerhat, ships Karatoya and Abu Bakar/Durgam are on patrol. Salam and Kushiyara are deployed in Pirojpur and Barguna, Padma and Chitra/Titas in Barisal, and LCVP-013 in Patuakhali. Surveillance is being carried out round-the-clock using Navy warships and advanced maritime patrol aircraft to monitor deep-sea areas and prevent illegal intrusion by domestic and foreign fishing trawlers. Navy ships, craft, and boats are strategically stationed in the main breeding zones of hilsa. The Navy is working in close coordination with the local administration, armed forces, Coast Guard, Naval Police, and the Department of Fisheries. The joint effort aims to prevent illegal hilsa harvesting and foreign fishing intrusions while ensuring enforcement of the seasonal ban. Strict legal action will be taken during the campaign against unauthorized individuals and mechanical fishing vessels involved in hilsa harvesting. Simultaneously, awareness activities are being conducted to inform the public about the importance of protecting hilsa during this crucial reproductive period. Naval personnel are committed to preserving hilsa breeding grounds, facilitating unhindered reproduction, and ensuring the conservation of mother hilsa as a national economic asset. The Bangladesh Navy continues its efforts to increase hilsa abundance and enhance the country’s fishery resources by securing safe breeding conditions in both maritime and inland waters.  

At least four people were injured, including three who were shot, in a clash between two local groups over establishing supremacy in Munshiganj Sadar on Friday, said police. Besides, several houses were vandalised during the clash. Police recovered 14 fresh grenades and nine bullet casings from the spot. Of the injured, Sakib Molla, 27, Akash Majhi, 25, and Mohiuddin Molla, 35, sustained bullet injuries while Sabbir Molla, 23, was hurt by the attack. All the injured were admitted to Munshiganj General Hospital, said officer-in-Charge of Munshiganj Sadar Police Station M Saiful Alam. According to police, members of Jalal Molla’s group gathered near Hoglakandi Boro Mosque after Friday prayers when supporters of acting chairman of Charkeoar union parishad Delwar Hossain Gazi attacked them. Youth shot dead in Khulna while asleep The clash escalated as both sides hurled grenades and opened fire. OC Alam said joint operations with the army and police were conducted and the situation in the area is now under control. The village remained largely deserted as male members fled following the clash.

Officer-in-charge (OC) of Janjira Police Station in Shariatpur district has allegedly received a death threat from a former leader of Tejgaon College Chhatra League and current leader of banned Jubo League. The accused Mithun Dhali phoned him via a foreign phone number on Friday noon, said OC Mohammad Mainul Islam, adding that the former Chhatra League leader also threatened Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus to kill. A general diary (GD) was lodged with the police station in this connection, he said. According to police, on September 28 the accused held a clandestine meeting with local activists at Janjira ahead of the birthday anniversary of Sheikh Hasina, aiming to deteriorate law and order in the area. The next day, he conducted a tree plantation programme marking the birthday and organised a drill as a covert rehearsal. Following this, police came to know about his stay at one Firoz Khan’s residence in Kunderchar of the upazila. Dhali and his followers attempted to attack police personnel when they raided the house, though the accused managed to flee. Later, a case was filed against him for conspiring against the state, in which he is listed as the second accused. OC Mainul said Dhali’s threats via phone and incitement on social media will not intimidate them. The accused tried to target law enforcement after the September 29 events, and legal actions will continue until all accused are brought to justice, the OC added.

A joint operation by Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard has rescued 39 abducted people, including women and children, and arrested two human trafficking suspects from the hills of Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar. According to an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) media release issued on Friday, the operation followed secret information on Thursday night that a gang of abductors and human traffickers had detained several people, including women and children, in Kachhapia hills of Baharchhara union, of the upazila, to extort ransom and smuggle them to Malaysia. Later, Navy’s specialised SWADS commando unit, along with Coast Guard teams conducted the joint drive and rescued the abducted people from the dens of the traffickers. Sensing the presence of the law enforcer, the traffickers tried to flee but two of them were rounded up. BGB tightens border patrols in B'baria to curb smuggling, drug trafficking and push-ins The rescued people include 18 Rohingya women, 11 Rohingya men, 8 Rohingya children, and 2 Bangladeshi men. Survivors said the traffickers lured victims with promises of foreign employment or held them at gunpoint, demanding ransom and seizing large sums of money. The rescued people were handed over to their families and legal action was underway against the arrested traffickers. Since September 18 this year, the Navy has rescued a total of 134 people in various joint operations.

A 22-day ban on hilsa fishing will come into effect across the country’s rivers and marine waters from Friday midnight with a view to protecting the species during its peak breeding season. Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter outlined the ban at a press conference on Monday at the ministry, while unveiling the ‘Mother Hilsa Conservation Campaign 2025’ and discussing the availability, harvest, prices and export situation of hilsa. The ban covers catching, transporting, storing, marketing, buying, selling, or exchanging hilsa and other fish species in Bangladesh’s marine fishing zones from 4 October to 25 October. Hilsa export to India begins; 1,200mt approved for Durga Puja To enforce the ban, the Department of Fisheries has set up monitoring teams at divisional and upazila levels, which will conduct field operations and mobile court actions. Daily reports will be submitted to a central control room. Along with vigilance by the law enforcing agencies and other authorities, awareness campaigns are also stressed.    

Coast Guard personnel rescued four fishermen from the Sundarbans who had been kidnapped by robbers demanding ransom, officials said on Friday. The rescued fishermen were identified as Md. Mofizul Islam (42), Md. Habibur Rahman (37), Shahjan Ali (40), and Md. Habibur (35), all residents of Khulna and Satkhira districts. The rescue operation was carried out early Friday morning near the Arbauni Canal along the Shipsa River in the eastern Sundarbans by members of the Mongla Coast Guard base and Nalian outpost. During the operation, three firearms and three live rounds used by the robbers were recovered. However, the gang members managed to escape, and no arrests were made. According to Coast Guard sources, the fishermen had been held hostage for 10 days by the notorious Jahangir gang in the Sundarbans. Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq, Coast Guard media officer, said the gang had abducted several fishermen for ransom and kept them captive at their hideout. Acting on a tip-off, Coast Guard members launched a special operation at 5:00 am Friday in the Arbauni Canal area. During the raid, two blank rounds were fired to urge the robbers to surrender, but the gang escaped into the deep Sundarbans with their boats and hostages. Later, the Coast Guard searched the abandoned boat and rescued the four fishermen. In addition to the firearms, an air gun and three live rounds used by the gang were recovered. Commander Siam-ul-Haq confirmed that legal action is underway regarding the rescued fishermen and the seized weapons and ammunition.

Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman on Friday said that there is no legal barrier to implementing the July Charter in line with the decision of the National Consensus Commission (NCC). He made the remarks while attending a views-exchange meeting with journalists at Johan Dream Valley Park in Jhenaidah town. The attorney general said the government will take decisions regarding officials who were involved in major crimes during the Awami League regime, considering their offences. Asked whether a neutral election is possible under the current administration, he said the Election Commission is aware of the matter and he believes it will form a neutral administration ahead of the polls. July Charter: Parties still divided on constitution order He also said that people change the structure of the state when they feel insecure under any fascist rule and they protest, and sacrifice their lives for the country. Chaired by Jhenaidah Press Club president Asif Kazal, the meeting was attended, among others, by district BNP president Advocate MA Majid and journalist leaders.

Unidentified gunmen intercepted a passenger bus in the capital on Friday morning by firing blank shots before leading all passengers out to set the bus on fire. The bus belonged to the city bus service operator Alif Paribahan. The bus was intercepted in Mirpur’s Senpara around 7:00am. Witnesses said that there were three men involved in the incident. The men first assaulted the driver and his helper after intercepting the bus. Panic-stricken passengers quickly got off the vehicle. One of the attackers fired several shots at the front windshield, shattering it, before two others set the bus ablaze and fled the scene, witnesses said. Police rushed to the spot and seized the bus. JaPa office set ablaze in Lalmonirhat Contacted, Kafrul police station’s officer-in-charge Abdullah Al Mamun said that the attack likely stemmed from a long-standing dispute over the bus’s ownership. “No case has been filed yet, but we have seized the bus and started an investigation,” the OC said, adding that CCTV footage from nearby areas is being analyzed to identify the attackers. Police said several parts of the bus were damaged before the fire was brought under control.

Police on Wednesday filed three separate cases against 1,000 unidentified people over the recent violence in Khagrachhari Sadar and Guimara upazilas for attacks on law enforcers and murders. Violence flared in the hill district over the alleged rape of an indigenous schoolgirl. Three indigenous men were shot dead during the violence. The case filed with Khagrachhari Sadar police station accused 600–700 unidentified people of breaching Section 144, engaging in vandalism, rioting and assaulting police. Sub-Inspector Shahriar filed the case. The officer-in-charge of the police station, Abdul Baten Mridha, confirmed. The remaining two cases were filed with the Guimara police station over a murder and attacks on police during the unrest on the same day. BGB urges media to report factually on Khagrachhari tensions; identities of 3 victims revealed Nearly 300 unidentified people were sued in the cases, said Guimara police station OC Enamul Haque Chowdhury, adding that the situation in the upazila was now under control. Shoyon Shil, who was arrested on charges of raping the child, was produced before court on Wednesday afternoon after a six-day remand. The Khagrachhari Senior Judicial Magistrate Court ordered him to be sent to jail, police said. OC Baten also said that the situation in Khagrachhari became normal amid Section 144 remaining in effect.

People's movement remained restricted until Wednesday in parts of Khagrachari, where tension ran high following recent unrest that saw three indigenous people get killed and houses and other establishments burned. The district administration launched an investigation into the unrest on Wednesday. After visiting the Swanirbhar Bazar around 5:30 pm on Wednesday, deputy commissioner ABM Iftekharul Islam Khandaker hoped to know more about what caused the unrest with the investigation progressing over the next couple of days. Superintendent of Police in Khagrachari, Md. Arefin Jewel, was with the DC during his visit. The DC said that the section 144 would be withdrawn as soon as normalcy returned to the areas. The prohibition on the movement of people came as violence flared up in the district over the rape of an indigenous child. At least three people, all indigenous men, were shot to death during the unrest that also saw houses and shops get reduced to ashes. "An assessment of the damage is underway,” said the DC.