United News of Bangladesh

Police recovered the skeleton of an unidentified person in Lohagora, Narail. The skeleton was recovered from a sesame field in the Kola area of ​​Dighalia union of the upazila on Monday afternoon. Police and local said that a person saw the bones and skull of an unidentified person scattered in a field on Monday afternoon while cutting sesame seeds.  Later, locals inform the Lohagora police, a team went to the spot and recovered the skeleton. However, it is not known whether the skeleton is of male or female. Road collapse in Narail severely disrupts transport; locals in distress Lohagora police station officer-in-charge (OC) Shariful Islam said, "Upon receiving the news, a human skeleton has been recovered from the spot. It is initially thought to be a woman”. “We are sending messages to all police stations. Efforts are underway to identify it and further legal action is under process,” he added.

Police arrested two people in connection with a robbery and gang-rape in Lakshmipur Sadar upazila. The arrestees were identified as Md Sohel and Nur Karim. They were detained during raids at different locations in the Sadar area on Saturday night, police said. According to the case statement, a six-member robbery gang stormed into the house of Amir Hossain in Char Mansa village under Teowariganj union in the early hours of Friday with locally made weapons. The robbers tied up Amir Hossain looted cash and gold ornaments, and at one stage, gang-raped his wife. As two of the attackers were locals, the victims could recognise them. Inclement weather halts water transport on Bhola-Lakshmipur route Later, Amir filed a case with Sadar Police Station naming two men and four unnamed others. Jhalak Mohonto, investigation officer of the police station, said, “We launched drives soon after the case was filed and arrested two accused. They were produced before the court.” The rape survivor was sent to Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital for medical examination, the officer said, adding that efforts are underway to arrest the remaining suspects.

Three people were killed and four others injured in two separate road accidents in Chattogram’s Mirsarai and Patiya upazilas on Sunday. Two people were killed as a drum truck collided with a moving container lorry on the Dhaka-bound lane of the highway near Thakur Dighi Bazar in Mirsarai, said Jorarganj Highway Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Borhan Uddin. The deceased were identified as Faruk Hossain, 39, driver of the drum truck and son of Abdul Mannan from Bosu Mia Para of Matiranga in Khagrachhari and his assistant Robiul Islam, 35, son of Anwarul Islam from Chaktail area of Delduar in Tangail. SI Borhan said the drum truck was trying to overtake when it hit the rear of a container lorry at high speed. The front of the truck was severely mangled, killing both the driver and his assistant on the spot, he said. Their bodies were sent to Chattogram Medical College Hospital for autopsy. EU engages with EC, civil society ahead of election Besides, a head-on collision between a Shyamoli Paribahan bus and a fish-laden truck left the truck driver dead and four others injured at Boiltoli Road area on the Patiya bypass. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Morshed, 24, the truck driver. Mohammad Jasim Uddin, officer-in-charge of Patiya Highway Police Station, said the Shyamoli bus was travelling from Chattogram to Bandarban when it collided with the truck. The injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment, he added.

A motorcyclist was killed in an accident on Dhaka-Aricha highway in Charkhand Golora area of Manikganj Sadar Upazila on Saturday. The deceased is Tara Mia, 35, son of Moslem Mia of Jagir Union in Manikganj sadar upazila. Motorcyclist killed in Manikganj road crash Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Golra Highway police station Sohel Sarwar said when Tara Mia was going to work on a motorcycle in the morning a speeding bus of Selfie Paribahan hit him, leaving him dead on the spot. Legal action will be taken in this regard, he added.    

A conference on school banking was held in Barishal city on Saturday to encourage savings habits and promote financial inclusion among school students. The event organised by Barishal office of Bangladesh Bank at Barishal Club auditorium was part of a broader initiative to raise awareness about the importance of banking among the younger generation. A colorful rally was brought out in the city with the participation of students from various schools in Barishal. The event was supported by the Financial Inclusion Department of Bangladesh Bank and 44 commercial banks operating in the Barishal region. Chittagong Port should be run with domestic resources: GOC  Imtiaz Ahmed Masum, Executive Director of  Barishal office of Bangladesh Bank attended the event as the chief guest while Abidur Rahman Chowdhury, Managing Director(current charge) of Southeast Bank was present as the special guest. Several hundred students from different schools participated in the event. Speakers highlighted the importance of saving money, the benefits of school banking, and the growing role of cashless transactions in modern banking. They encouraged students to adopt banking habits from an early age and underscored how financial literacy could contribute to their long-term personal development.

A case has been filed against two people including a local student coordinator July movement after an audio clip surfaced revealing a demand for Tk 10 lakh bribe in exchange for a government job. Dr Iftekhar Hasan Bhuiyan, resident medical officer (RMO) of Parshuram Upazila Health Complex, filed the case on Thursday night against Nahid Rabbi, a coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement’s Parshuram unit, as the prime accused, said Officer-in-Charge of Parshuram Police Station Md Nurul Hakim. The other accused is Abdul Kader, 30, son of Belal Hossain of Anantapur village. Rabbi hails from Kolapara village under Parshuram municipality. According to the case statement, an audio clip circulating on social media caught the attention of Dr Iftekhar while he was on duty. Bagerhat upazila hospitals crippled by lack of Covid test kits amid nationwide spike The audio captured  Nahid Rabbi demanding Tk 10 lakh from a job seeker named Hridoy, promising him appointment to the position of Office Assistant-cum-Computer Typist at the Feni Civil Surgeon Office through Abdul Kader. The 2-minute-21-second audio reportedly contains a conversation where Rabbi claims he can secure the job in exchange for the hefty sum. Sources at the Feni Civil Surgeon Office said a recruitment test was held on Friday for 115 posts under the office for which around 12,000 applications were received. On average, 108 candidates are vying for each position.

The bodies of two children were recovered from the uncovered septic tank in Sat Mandir Road area of West Chhagalnaiya municipality in Feni late Friday night. The deceased were identified as Faisal Farabi, 9, son of Qatar expatriate Iqbal Hossain of East Shilua village in Pathannagar union and Sakhawat Hossain, 8, son of Dubai expatriate Shamsul Haque of Durgapur village in Ghupal union. The children went out to play and might have entered a nearby under-construction building where they accidentally fell into the open septic tank on the premises, said Chhagalnaiya Police Station Sub-Inspector Salauddin Rashed. Later, with assistance from the Fire Service and Civil Defence, their bodies were recovered from the tank. Five Feni villages innundated after collapse of flood embankments amid heavy rain Locals said  the building was still under construction and lacked basic safety measures. The mouth of the septic tank was left uncovered with no warning signs or protective barriers in place. The tragic deaths cast a pall of grief over the area. Police said the bodies were recovered and further legal steps will be taken in consultation with the families.  

Amid a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections across the country, all upazila-level health complexes in Bagerhat district have run out of rapid antigen test kits, leaving local hospitals unable to conduct coronavirus tests. As a result, patients showing symptoms such as fever, cough and body aches are being referred to Bagerhat District Hospital or Khulna Medical College Hospital for testing, sources said. Despite repeated requests sent to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for testing kits, none had arrived at the upazila health complexes as of Thursday, the sources added.  Meanwhile, the 250-bed Bagerhat General Hospital has received only 150 antigen rapid test kits, which doctors say are insufficient given the current demand. Health experts are urging people to strictly follow health safety guidelines to curb the spread of the virus. The shortage of testing kits comes at a time when public concern is mounting over a new wave of Covid-19 infections and deaths being reported from various parts of the country, with locals expressing anxiety over the inability to access testing services. During a visit to Bagerhat General Hospital on Thursday afternoon, this correspondent found crowded corridors, packed outpatient areas, and a lack of social distancing. People of all ages—men and women—were seen jostling for space inside the hospital premises, with little to no adherence to Covid safety protocols. Several patients reported experiencing persistent fever, headache, cough, and body pain, prompting them to seek medical attention. Doctors provided prescriptions based on symptoms, but testing was not possible in the absence of kits. Patients said they had approached their local health complexes for Covid-19 tests after developing symptoms but were turned away due to the unavailability of test kits. In most cases, doctors resorted to symptom-based treatment. Dr Moni Shankar Paik, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of Kachua Upazila Health Complex, told UNB that an average of 40 to 50 fever patients visit the complex daily.   "But we are unable to conduct Covid tests due to a lack of kits. We are referring suspected cases to Bagerhat District Hospital," he said. The physician also said his hospital requested 1,000 antigen rapid test kits from the DGHS, but none had been received as of Thursday. Dr Md Shaheen, Health and Family Planning Officer at Mongla Upazila Health Complex, said a patient showing Covid symptoms came to the hospital on Thursday. "We suspect it could be a Covid case, but without testing kits, we couldn't confirm. The patient was referred to Khulna Medical College Hospital for testing and was treated based on symptoms," he added. Two days earlier, another suspected Covid patient was also turned away due to the kit shortage. No vaccine for new Covid sub-variants, 3.2 million old doses in stock Dr Shaheen confirmed that Mongla Health Complex had submitted a requisition for 1,000 antigen test kits to the DGHS on June 10, but no kits had arrived by Thursday afternoon.   Dr Asim Kumar Samaddar, Superintendent of Sadar hospital, said 150 antigen test kits were delivered to the hospital on June 16. However, none of them had been used as of Thursday, due to the need for selective testing amid limited supply. “We are conducting tests only for those with strong indications of Covid infection. For RT-PCR testing, we are sending patients to Khulna Medical College Hospital, Satkhira Medical College Hospital, or Jessore University of Science and Technology,” he said. Dr Samaddar warned that the new Covid variant appears to be more dangerous and has a higher mortality rate. “The elderly and children are particularly at risk. Everyone must remain alert and follow health safety guidelines,” he advised. The hospital has allocated 20 beds for potential Covid patients, and if more kits are supplied, testing will be expanded as needed, he added. Dr ASM Mahbubul Alam, Civil Surgeon of Bagerhat, said that none of the nine upazila health complexes in the district currently have antigen rapid test kits. “We have sent requests to the health directorate from every upazila. Currently, only the district hospital has 150 kits,” he said. Khulna medical prepares 40 beds for COVID patients “Due to the limited number of kits, we are instructing doctors to screen patients carefully before conducting tests,” Dr Alam added. According to data from the district health department, Bagerhat tested 32,714 samples for Covid-19 up to June 2023. Of these, 8,022 were confirmed positive. So far, 144 people have died from Covid in the district, while 7,878 have recovered.

At least eight people were killed and eight others injured in two separate road accidents in Mymensingh district on Friday, police said. The identities of the deceased could not be confirmed immediately. Around 5:30 pm, a Mymensingh-bound CNG auto-rickshaw and a Haluaghat-bound ambulance collided head-on in Kodaldar area on the Mymensingh-Phulpur road, leaving two people dead on the spot, while four others sustained serious injuries. Road collapse in Narail severely disrupts transport; locals in distress Locals rescued the injured and took them to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, where the auto-rickshaw driver died while undergoing treatment. All the victims were passengers of the CNG-run auto-rickshaw. In another accident, a Dhaka-bound bus of Shyamoli Bangla Paribahan collided head-on with a Haluaghat-bound passenger Mahindra, leaving five passengers of the Mahindra dead on the spot. On information, members of the Fire Service and police carried out a rescue operation. Bailey bridge breaks down under coal-laden truck in Pirojpur Five injured were admitted to the local upazila health complex. Following the accident, an angry mob set fire to the bus involved in the crash.

 Torrential rains have caused a major road collapse in the Jalalsi area of the Lohagara-Nahata regional road under Lohagara upazila in Narail, severing a vital transport link and creating immense hardship for local residents. The incident occurred early Friday morning (June 20) when a section of the road completely gave way due to continuous heavy rainfall, forcing a complete halt to vehicular movement. Md Nazrul Islam, executive engineer of the Narail Roads and Highways Department, said, “The road collapsed due to the rainfall.” The disruption has severely affected thousands of residents, including patients, students, and daily wage earners who rely on the route for their daily commutes. Local residents said signs of soil erosion had been visible in parts of the road for several days, especially in the Jalalsi area. Despite informing the concerned authorities, no preventive measures were taken. Eventually, under the pressure of relentless rainfall, the road collapsed entirely on Friday morning. Bailey bridge breaks down under coal-laden truck in Pirojpur “This road is used by thousands of people every day. Large portions of it have eroded. We risk our lives commuting on this road. I urge the authorities to repair it immediately for the sake of public safety,” said Raju Sheikh, a battery-run rickshaw driver and local resident. Nayan, another resident of Jalalsi, added, “This road is our only means of communication. With it gone, it’s now extremely difficult to reach markets, schools, colleges, or hospitals.” Shah Alam of nearby Noldi village echoed similar concerns. “We can't take patients out; rickshaws and motorbikes can't pass through. Even children can’t go to school. Our lives are now at risk,” he said. Responding to the situation, Executive Eng Nazrul said that they took immediate action upon receiving the news and began repair and protective work within just three hours. Emergency repair work is ongoing to temporarily restore vehicular movement, he added.