United News of Bangladesh

The body of a Bangladeshi worker from Kalaroa upazila of Satkhira, who was killed in a reported Israeli drone strike in Lebanon, reached his village home on Sunday morning, plunging his family and neighbours into grief. The deceased was identified as Shuvo Das of Shripatipur village in the upazila. His body reached home around 10:00am, about three months and 25 days after his death in a drone strike in a conflict zone in southern Lebanon on May 11. Shuvo was the second of four siblings, including three brothers and a sister. His family said he went to Lebanon about two and a half years ago after selling two decimals of their homestead land to meet the cost of migration. He has now returned home in a coffin, leaving his family devastated. He will be cremated at a local cremation ground after noon. Shafiqul Islam, 43, of Purbapara village in Sadar upazila, and Nahidul Islam, 22, of Kadakathi village in Ashashuni upazila, of Satkhira were also killed in the Israeli drone strike. Their bodies reached their respective villages on June 7. Moin Uddin, a counsellor at the Khulna divisional office of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, said the government provided the family with a cheque for Tk 85,000 on Saturday night. He said the family will receive another Tk 3 lakh this month and additional Tk 10 lakh from life insurance after a few months.

The hanging bodies of a pregnant woman and her four-year-old daughter were recovered from their home in Zakiganj upazila of Sylhet on Saturday evening. The deceased were identified as Champa Rani Das, 35, wife of jewellery trader Ratan Das of Shahgali Bazar, and her daughter Hridi Das, 4. Local residents said Champa Rani was pregnant. The bodies were recovered from their home in Daspara area of Burhanpur village under Barhal Union Parishad. Locals said they saw the mother and daughter hanging from a ceiling fan inside the house and informed police. Muhammad Abdur Razzak, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Zakiganj Police Station, said a police team led by Inspector (Investigation) Md Sujan Mia went to the scene after receiving the information. The bodies will be sent to the morgue of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for autopsy after necessary legal procedures, he said. Whether the incident was a suicide or involved any other circumstances will be known after the autopsy report and initial investigation, the OC said. Police are preparing to file an unnatural death case over the incident, he added.

A woman was killed and her husband was injured Saturday afternoon when her scarf (orna) became tangled in the wheel of their motorcycle on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Trishal upazila. The deceased was identified as Julekha Khatun, 40, wife of Faruk Ahmed, a resident of the Achim area in Fulbaria upazila. Eyewitnesses said the couple was traveling from Trishal to Mymensingh on the motorcycle. When they reached the Boilor Kanhor area on the highway, Khatun's scarf accidentally got caught in the wheel. The entanglement threw her off the motorcycle onto the highway, causing her to die on the spot. Locals rescued the injured husband and admitted him to the Community Based Medical College Hospital. Monsur Ahmed, Trishal Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC), said police visited the scene. The body has been handed over to the family without an autopsy as they had no objections, he added.

A festive mood has gripped Thakurgaon as President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir prepares to visit his home district for the first time since taking office. The two-day visit, beginning Sunday, has brought a fresh sense of excitement to the district, with roads being repainted, dividers decorated and public places cleaned and beautified ahead of the President’s arrival. For many residents, however, the visit is about more than ceremony. It has also raised fresh hopes that the President will draw attention to the district’s long-standing development needs, particularly in education, healthcare, communications and infrastructure. The President will be visiting Thakurgaon through September 6-7. Important roads and establishments in the town have been decorated for the occasion, while preparations for a civic reception are in their final stages.

Two people, including a nursing student, were killed and three others seriously injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Chattogram's Chandanaish upazila on Saturday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Tofael Mursalin, 23, a third-year student at Begum Osman Ara College of Nursing, hailing from Padua Dakshin Amiraabad in Lohagara upazila, and Abdul Gafur, 60, son of the late Kalu Miah of Uttar Kanchannagar in Chandanaish upazila. 2 killed in road accident in Chattagram The injured are Sanjida Akter Sumaiya, 24, a second-year student at the same nursing college, Mo. Arif Islam, 40 and the auto-rickshaw driver, Mo. Saimon Hossain Khayer, 20. Eyewitnesses said a Cox's Bazar-bound bus of ‘Tisha Platinum Paribahan’ collided head-on with the passenger-carrying auto-rickshaw coming from the opposite direction near the Shahsufi Mazar Gate Bottola area, leaving five people critically injured. Locals rescued the injured and rushed them to BGC Trust Medical College Hospital, where the duty doctor declared Mursalin dead. The other four injured were referred to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for advanced treatment, but Gafur died on the way to the hospital. Abdus Sattar, Dohazari Highway Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI), said they seized the bus and detained its driver, Solaiman Badsha. Further legal action is underway, he added.

The shortage of ICU beds at Rangpur Medical College Hospital will be addressed within a month, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu said Saturday. He said the number of ICU beds at the hospital would be increased within the next month, as the government has already taken steps to address the shortage of anaesthesiologists that had delayed the expansion. “The prime minister is giving the highest priority to the health sector. There is a shortage of manpower across the country. We will try to recruit personnel within a short time and provide Rangpur Medical College Hospital with the staff it needs,” he said. The minister made the remarks after inaugurating the foundation stone of the service building of the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit at RMCH in the afternoon.

After months of shrinking water and exposed sandbars, the Padma River in Daulatpur has begun to look like itself again. With the arrival of fresh water from upstream at the beginning of autumn, the river has reclaimed much of its old breadth. Silver waves now ripple across stretches that had remained dry for months, breathing new life into the riverbanks — and drawing people in search of a little respite from their busy lives. On Friday afternoon, the riverbank at Abeder Ghat in Philipnagar was bustling with visitors. Families, couples, young people and children began arriving as the afternoon wore on, turning the otherwise quiet riverside into a makeshift recreational spot. The rise in water levels has brought back boat services to the river after a long break. Boatmen could be heard calling out to passengers from the ghats, while groups of young people took engine-powered boats into the middle of the river. Some laughed and chatted as their boats cut through the waves. Others sat quietly, enjoying the gentle rocking of the boats and the cool breeze over the water. Fishing activity has resumed in full swing, with fishermen casting nets across the river and temporary fish markets appearing near several ghats. Visitors, meanwhile, are finding another attraction in these riverside markets — fresh fish being brought straight from the river. “I came here to enjoy the river, but when I saw the fresh fish being brought straight from the water, I couldn't resist,” said visitor Shahin Hossain. “So I bought some to take home.” According to locals, fish of different species and sizes are being sold at the temporary markets for between Tk 200 and Tk 2,000. The influx of visitors has also created opportunities for small traders. Temporary roadside markets have sprung up along the embankment and riverbank, selling hot jilapi, chotpoti, fuchka, peyaju, hand-made roti with onion, chilli and eggplant bhorta, and haleem. For children, there are stalls selling balloons, toys and bamboo flutes. For Zahid Hossain, the riverside offered something that is increasingly difficult to find in a busy working life: time to slow down. He came with his wife on their weekly day off. “We both work in government jobs, and because of our busy schedules, we hardly get enough time for ourselves,” he said. “So we decided to spend some time by the river on our weekly holiday. We are really enjoying the atmosphere here.” Fisherman Jamal Hossain said Fridays usually bring more visitors to the riverbank. “More people come in the afternoon, and Friday is especially busy,” he said. “Many go boating, while others buy fish from us. Their arrival also means better sales for us.” Locals say the contrast between the dry and wet seasons is striking. When the Padma's water recedes during the dry months, much of the riverbank becomes quiet and deserted. With the arrival of fresh water, however, the landscape changes almost overnight. Boats return to the river. Fishermen return to their nets. Fish markets become busy. Small traders set up their stalls. And families begin gathering along the banks. The renewed activity is providing a welcome boost to boatmen, fishermen and small traders whose livelihoods depend, directly or indirectly, on the river and the people it attracts. Although public holidays draw crowds, Fridays and Saturdays have become the busiest days, with visitors arriving from different parts of Daulatpur and neighbouring areas. At dusk, the Padma in Daulatpur becomes more than a river. Against the fading autumn sky, its waters, boats, fishermen, vendors and visitors come together in a scene where nature and everyday life seem to meet.

Five skeletons were allegedly stolen after graves were dug up at a graveyard in Dehan village of  Sadar upazila in Thakurgaon district on Thursday night. Locals said they found five graves dug up when they went to the graveyard on Friday morning. Three of the graves were located next to one another, while two others were some distance away. Burial shrouds were also found lying near the graves after soil had been removed. Relatives of the deceased later covered the graves again with soil. According to local residents, the five persons were buried around one to one-and-a-half years ago. Abdul Jalil, another resident said he learned about the incident through Facebook and went to the graveyard, where he saw the five graves in a dug-up condition. He urged authorities to identify those involved as soon as possible and bring them to justice. Md Shahjahan Ali, Officer-in-Charge of Thakurgaon Sadar Police Station said police visited the spot after receiving information about the incident. “Necessary legal action will be taken following an investigation,” he said.

A 75-year-old man allegedly hacked his wife to death with a sharp weapon before committing suicide by hanging himself following a family dispute in Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj on Friday evening. The deceased were identified as Mofizul Haque, 75, and his wife Monowara Begum, 60, of Rasiknagar Babupur village under Noyalavanga union. According to police and locals, the couple had been locked in a longstanding feud. Following a heated altercation on Friday, Haque allegedly hacked Begum to death with a sharp weapon and subsequently hanged himself from a ceiling fan hook in their room. The incident came to light when the couple's daughter-in-law, Shapla Begum, returned home after attending a social invitation and saw her mother-in-law's blood-stained body lying on the floor through a window. With the help of neighbors, she broke open the locked door and found Haque's hanging body.  Upon receiving the information, a police team rushed to the spot, recovered the bodies and sent them to the district hospital morgue for autopsies. A.N.M. Wasim Firoz, Additional Superintendent of Police(ASP) said primarily they suspect the murder-suicide was triggered by a family dispute, adding that a detailed investigation is underway.

An outraged mob vandalized the houses of three suspected drug dealers in the C&B Ghat area of Faridpur Sadar upazila on Friday afternoon following an anti-drug protest. According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of local residents began gathering near the Leo Petrol Pump near the C&B Ghat embankment after Jummah prayers. Around 2:30 p.m., the crowd launched an attack on the nearby residences of suspected drug peddlers identified as Miloni, Labu and Babu, vandalizing their homes. Upon receiving the information, police rushed to the scene to calm the protesters. However, the crowd bypassed police obstacles and continued the vandalism for some time. Later, local businessman Rubel Hasan Dulal issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the accused families to leave the locality. Truck union leaders Nadim Hossain and Dulal Hossain also addressed the protest gathering. Mahmudul Hasan, Faridpur Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC), said additional police forces have been deployed to the area to keep the situation normal. "We are working to maintain law and order and take legal action against the drug dealers," the OC added.