United News of Bangladesh

A court in Naogaon on Sunday sentenced two people to life imprisonment in a case filed for kidnapping and raping a woman on the pretext of marriage in 2001. District and Sessions Judge Md. Mehedi Hasan Talukder of Naogaon Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2, delivered the judgement this afternoon. The convicts are Isahak Ali, 50, and Tuku Sardar, 52, of Chak-Abarsh village of Naogaon Sadar upazila. The court also fined them Tk 1 lakh each, in default to suffer six months more in rigorous imprisonment and ordered that the fine be paid to the rape victim. Later, the convicts were sent to jail. According to court sources, on March 12, 2001, a woman from Chak-Abarsh village in Sadar upazila was kidnapped under the pretext of marriage and raped by Ishaq Ali and Tuku Sardar from the same village.  

Police have detained a Jubo League leader in Purbadhala upazila of Netrokona for allegedly posting a provocative message on Facebook opposing a scheduled rally by the National Citizen Party (NCP). The detainee was identified as Md Humayun Kabir (36), son of Abdul Mannan Chutu Mia of Purbapara village in Khalishaur Union. He serves as the organising secretary of the Khalishaur Union unit Jubo League. Police apprehended him from the Khanpara area of his union around 10 am on Sunday. According to police, Humayun Kabir posted a message from his Facebook account (@Humayun Kabir) on Saturday night (26 July), calling for resistance against the NCP’s pre-announced rally. The post allegedly stirred tension in the area, prompting security concerns and police intervention due to fears of potential sabotage. Saheb Ali Khan Pathan, additional superintendent of Netrokona Police (Administration), said that Kabir was detained based on preliminary allegations of incitement through social media and suspected plans to disrupt the rally. “The matter is currently under investigation,” he added.  

A trader was hacked to death in Chhayabithi Sarak area under Magura Sadar upazila late Saturday night, police said. The victim, Bhajan Kumar Gua, 55, son of late Santosh Kumar Gua, was a resident of the Pashu Hospital area under Sadar upazila. According to police, Bhajan was returning home from his shop at Jamrul Tala Bazar around 11pm when he came under attack in the Chhayabithi Sarak area. Assailants slit his throat with sharp weapons, killing him on the spot. Young man hacked to death in Cumilla “Locals informed police after finding the body. We recovered it and sent it to Magura Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy,” said Ayub Ali, officer-in-charge of Magura Sadar Police Station. In a raid soon after the incident, police detained a 35-year-old man from a nearby house and seized a knife believed to have been used in the killing. The OC said efforts were underway to identify and arrest others involved. A case was filed.

Police detained five individuals, including leader of student groups, on charges of extortion after they allegedly demanded Tk 50 lakh from former reserved seat lawmaker Shammi Ahmed at her residence in Gulshan. They were detained from a flat on Road No. 83 in Gulshan on Saturday evening, said Hafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Gulshan Police Station. Among those detained is Riyad, a leader of the Dhaka Metropolitan unit of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), police said. The identities of the other detainees are yet to be verified. According to OC Hafizur Rahman, Riyad and his associates first visited Shammi Ahmed’s residence on July 17 and demanded Tk 50 lakh. They allegedly took Tk 10 lakh on that day and returned on Saturday to collect the remaining amount. “They were apprehended at the scene during their second visit. Legal proceedings are currently underway,” said the OC. Police are also investigating whether others were involved in the incident. However, no formal complaint or case had been filed as of Saturday night, the OC added.  

A Dhaka court on Thursday sent former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque to jail in a case of murder during the July uprising in Jatrabari. Dhaka’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sanaullah passed the order after hearing a petition submitted by the case’s investigation officer inspector Khaled Hasan of Jatrabari Police Station. Earlier on Thursday morning, Detective Branch (DB) arrested Khairul from his Dhanmondi residence. According to the case statement, one Abdul Kaiyum Ahad was shot on July 18 near the Kajla police box in Jatrabari during protests. He died on the spot after the then-officer-in-charge Abul Hasan of Jatrabari Police Station allegedly fired multiple rounds at his legs. Former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque detained  On July 6 this year, Ahad’s father Alauddin filed a murder case against 467 named individuals and 1,000–2,000 unnamed persons at Jatrabari Police Station. Khairul, the country’s 19th chief justice, served from 2010 until his retirement in 2011. During his tenure in the Appellate Division, he delivered the verdict that scrapped the caretaker government system. He also delivered verdicts in the Bangabandhu murder. He resigned from the Law Commission on August 13 last year, days after the fall of the Awami League government.

Ex-Land Minister under Awami League regime Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, his wife Rukmila Zaman, herself an ex-chairperson of United Commercial Bank (UCBL) and 29 others were sued Thursday over allegedly embezzling and laundering Tk 25 crore from UCBL. The others accused in the case include Javed's brother Asifuzzaman Chowdhury, sister Roksana Zaman Chowdhury, 13 former UCBL directors, six former officials, and nine employees of the Aramit Group, which the Chowdhury family owned. Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director Md Moshiur Rahman lodged the case at ACC’s Chattogram District Office-1 on Thursday, said Subel Ahmed, deputy director of the office. According to the case statement, the accused used five fraud companies-Vision Trading, Alpha Traders, Classic Trading, Model Trading, and Imperial Trading which were opened under the names of Aramit Group employees to secure term loans from UCBL’s Chattogram Port Branch. CID investigating money laundering charges against ex-land minister Saifuzzaman Despite 17 objections raised by the bank’s internal credit committee, the UCBL board approved Tk 25 crore in such loans on March 8, 2020, allegedly under pressure from the bank’s top leadership. The funds, claimed to be for importing wheat, chickpeas, turmeric, and peas, were later funneled into four other accounts within the same bank and siphoned abroad, ACC said. Jabed served as State Minister for Land from 2014–2018 and as full minister from 2019–2023. Ahead of the 2024 election, allegations surfaced of his vast overseas assets, particularly in the United Kingdom. Media reports claimed he fled to London with his family in August 2024, just before the government fell. Travel ban imposed on ex-land minister Saifuzzaman, wife Over 300 such properties have subsequently been frozen by the UK's National Crime Agency. The value of these properties has been estimated in excess of $230 million.

Police have arrested a college girl and her two classmates, including a boy, for staging a drama of abduction and gang-rape to collect money from her family to purchase an iPhone in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj district. The mastermind of the incident Mahiya Akhter was working on the ideas for several days as her family refused to give her money for the mobile phone, police said. Her arrested classmates are Sifat Mia and Cynthia Akhter. All three are intermediate students of local Government Murapara College in Commerce Group. Officer-in-charge of Rupganj Police Station Tarikul Islam disclosed it at a press briefing at the police station on Thursday. On Wednesday, rumours spread on social media that a female student of the Murapara College had been abducted and gang-raped. Her family even filed an abduction case with the police. Police began investigation into the incident with the help of technology and detected the plot staged for purchasing the mobile phone, the OC said. As per the plan, Mahiya had left home Tuesday morning telling her family that she was going to college. Interim government committed to recovering money siphoned abroad under AL: Press Secretary Later, her classmate Sifat called her mother pretending to be a kidnapper and demanded Tk 1 lakh as ransom, threatening to rape her if the money wasn’t paid, said the OC. Mahiya reportedly took shelter at Cynthia’s house on Wednesday. When the ransom was not paid, she drank cough syrup to appear unconscious and lay behind her college as part of the act. Sifat then called her mother again, claiming they had left her daughter behind as the ransom wasn’t paid. Police later rescued Mahiya and first took her to Rupganj Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to Narayanganj for further medical tests, he said. Police said further interrogation is ongoing and legal steps are underway, added the OC.

Another youth who was beaten suspecting to be a cattle lifter in Kaliganj upazila of Gazipur district died early Wednesday, raising the death toll to two. The deceased,Abdullah, was a resident of Bandhakhola area under Tumulia union of the upazila. He succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital in the morning. According to locals and police, a group of thieves entered a cowshed to lift cows owned by one Shamsuddin Molla in Ramchandrapur village under Moktarpur union on Tuesday night. Sensing the presence of the lifters owner Mollah shouted seeking help from the neighbours . At one stage, announcements from the local mosques were made to detain the lifters and four of them were caught, they said. Madrasa teacher beaten to death in Satkhira; attacker lynched by mob The locals beat them up indiscriminately that left one of the suspects named Shanto dead on the spot. On information, police rescued the three and initially sent them to Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to DMCH. Officer-in-charge of Kaliganj Police Station Md Alauddin said two cases have so far been filed in this regard. One of the cases was filed by Shamsuddin Mollah and another by deceased Shanto's brother, he added.

At least 20 people were injured in a clash between Chhatra Shibir and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal activists over the release of a student from police custody in Chattogram city on Monday night. On Monday night, the JCD men allegedly beat up a student named Fahim and handed him over to Chawkbazar Police Station calling him an activist of the banned Chhatra League. But, the Shibir claimed that Fahim is an activist their organization. The clash broke out around 11:30 pm when the Shibir and JCD men took position near Gulzar Mor and Chawkbazar Kitchen Market respectively. In a statement, the JCD alleged that Shibir and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders attacked them to secure the release of a Mohsin College Chhatra League leader from police custody. 4 JCD leaders suspended for assaulting central VP in Panchagarh However, Shibir claimed Chhatra Dal handed over one of the July warriors to police  and Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal attacked them when they protested it. Officer-in-charge of Chawkbazar Police Station Mohammad Zahidul Kabir said tensions spread when the JCD leaders handed over a student to them calling him a BCL activist. Claiming the detainee as fellow, the Shibir men tried to release him, resulting in clashes, he said, adding that they later brought the situation under control.

A trader was stabbed to death by miscreants in Nirala area of Khulna city on Monday night. The deceased was identified as Zakir Hossain, 48, son of Latif Hawlader of Morrelganj upazila in Bagerhat. Locals said some members of a local teenage gang attacked and stabbed Zakir in front of the hostel of City College around 10:30pom, leaving him injured. He was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead. Man stabbed to death in Munshiganj reportedly over land dispute Zakir was a dealer of mosquito coils and had returned to Bangladesh after spending several years abroad. Officer-in-Charge of Khulna Sadar Police Station Haludar Sanowar Hossain Masum said police are investigating the motive behind the killing and working at the scene.