United News of Bangladesh

A group of 7-8 people allegedly gang-raped a woman after abducting her at Kurchai village in Gafargaon upazila of Mymensingh district early Wednesday. Quoting locals, Officer-in-Charge of Pagla Police Station Aminul Islam said the women along with her husband and a three-year-old child used to live at her mother’s house at the village. Around 1:00am, a group of masked miscreants, numbering 7-8, swooped on the house and beat her husband up. Later, they picked the woman up after tying her husband at the house and took her to an abandoned house around 200 metres away, where they violated her in turns. Later, the family members rescued the woman and her mother filed a case at Pagla Police Station. The OC said they sent the woman to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital for medical test. He said they were investigating the matter and legal action is under process. Locals said the woman got divorced with her husband one and half months ago over family dispute. However, the couple continued to live together.

An activist of banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) was hacked to death by unidentified assailants on Shilashi Mazar Road in Gafargaon upazila of Mymensingh while returning home after celebrating his birthday with friends early Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Nahian Robin, 27, son of Mofazzal Hossain of Shilashi village under Gafargaon municipality. He was affiliated with a faction of BCL led by local Jubo League leader Tajmul. According to police and local sources, Robin, the only son of his parents, celebrated his birthday with friends on Monday night. After the celebration, he was returning home on a motorcycle with a friend around 12:45 am. When they reached Shilashi Mazar Road area, a group of five to six masked assailants, who had reportedly been lying in wait, intercepted the motorcycle and  hacked Robin, leaving him critically injured before fleeing the scene. Locals rescued him and took him first to Gafargaon Upazila Health Complex and later to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead. Gafargaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Atikur Rahman said a Chhatra League activist named Rajib was detained in connection with the murder. “We believe the killing was linked to an internal dispute within Chhatra League. Necessary legal steps are being taken,” the OC said.

The body of a madrasha student who went missing after a boat capsized in a waterbody in Valuka municipality of Mymensingh was recovered on Thursday morning, nearly 18 hours after the incident. The deceased was identified as Labib Khan, 12, a seventh-grade student of Chaparbari Dakhil Madrasha and son of Shahin Khan of the Government Collegepara area. Labib drowned while riding a boat on Wednesday afternoon in Hari Beel area. Senior Station Officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence in Valuka Atikur Rahman said local people, along with firefighters, conducted a rescue operation throughout the night but they could not locate the boy. Later on Thursday morning, a diving team from Mymensingh Fire Service reached the spot and recovered Labib’s body, he added.

An unidentified man was killed after being hit by a train while walking along railway tracks in Shambhuganj railway station area of Mymensingh on Sunday morning. Haor Express passenger train which had departed from Mohanganj in Netrokona in the morning was heading towards Dhaka. The train hit the man, aged around 50, leaving him dead on the spot around 10 am, said Md Akhtar Hossain, Mymensingh Railway Police Station Officer-in-Charge(OC). Efforts are underway to identify him, he said.

Acute power outages have gripped Mymensingh region at the very start of Baishakh as electricity supply continues to fall short of rising demand, causing widespread suffering for residents, businesses, and key economic sectors. Frequent load-shedding is being reported across the district with rural and remote areas bearing the brunt more than district and upazila headquarters. The ongoing crisis is severely affecting fisheries and poultry farms- two of the region’s major economic drivers — while also disrupting the ongoing Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations. With electricity unavailable for hours, people are struggling with intense heat and mosquito infestation, making daily life increasingly difficult. Business owners have expressed frustration, saying they are already forced to close shops by around 7:00pm and recurring outages of two to three hours throughout the day are adding to their losses. Masudur Haque, executive engineer of the Mymensingh Grid, said electricity demand in greater Mymensingh zone — comprising Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, and Tangail — rises to 1,200–1,300 megawatts during peak evening hours amid extreme heat. However, supply remains between 700 and 900 megawatts. On Monday, power supply stood at 840MW at 10:00am, he said. In Mymensingh district alone, peak demand reaches around 400MW in the evening while average demand stands at about 250MW. Sources said power generation at the Mymensingh Rural Power Company has dropped drastically due to gas shortages. Against a target of 210MW, production has fallen below 50MW. Besides ,Jamalpur United Power Development plant, which has a generation capacity of 315MW, is currently producing only 66–67MW due to fuel constraints. Subrata Roy, executive engineer of the Mymensingh South Power Distribution Division, said demand in the zone ranges from 450–460MW during off-peak afternoon hours to 500–520MW during peak periods, with other times seeing demand between 430 and 450MW. However, a daily shortfall of around 50–55MW persists, necessitating load-shedding, he said. Officials of various Palli Bidyut Samities said the situation is particularly severe in their respective service areas. Md Golam Mostafa, general manager of Mymensingh Palli Bidyut Samity-3, said demand in their area stands at 70–80MW, with 20–25MW of load-shedding required during peak hours. Md Janab Ali, general manager of Samity-1, said their areas require 160–170MW but receive only 80–100MW, forcing them to impose 30–40 percent load-shedding. Abdul Majid, deputy general manager (technical) of Samity-2, said demand in their areas exceeds 300MW, with outages affecting 30–50 percent of supply during both peak and off-peak hours. Visits to different upazilas  including Ishwarganj, Gauripur, Tarakanda, Fulpur, Dhobaura, Fulbaria, and Muktagacha in Mymensingh revealed that residents are experiencing power cuts lasting between three and eight hours daily. In more remote villages, outages can stretch up to seven or eight hours. SSC candidates are among the worst affected. Ashrafunnahar Rayda from Bogar Bazar in Trishal, and Naeem and Jobayer from Trishal municipality, said they face power cuts of five to seven hours daily, severely hampering their studies. The heat and mosquitoes make it almost unbearable to concentrate,they said. Farmers are also facing mounting losses. Fish farmer Roman Mia from Chikna Monohor village in Trishal said continuous irrigation is crucial during Baishakh, but outages are disrupting water supply, affecting fish growth — especially for those producing fry. In Fulbaria’s Rangamatia area, poultry farmer Ayub Ali said many chickens are dying due to heat. “We are spraying water on tin roofs, while some farmers are using generators or IPS systems to run fans,” he said. Power division sources said hourly load-shedding data and demand reports are being regularly sent to regional offices. However, unless generation and supply increase significantly, the situation may worsen further with rising temperatures, they said.

A Mymensingh court on Sunday convicted five people and sentenced them to life imprisonment for killing a farmer in 2012. Additional Sessions Judge Md Samsuddin handed down the punishment. The convicts are Shukkur Ali, Harez Ali, Amir Ali, Jamir Ali and Hatem Ali of Haluaghat upazila in the district. The court also fined them Tk 1 lakh each, in default, to suffer, one more year in jail. According to the prosecution, farmer Ahmed Ali of Mokamia village had an enmity with Shukkur Ali over a piece of land. As a sequel to the enmity, on October 14, 2012, around 20–25 supporters of Shukkur Ali stormed into the paddy field of Nurunnahar, wife of Ahmed Ali, and forcibly took away the harvested crop. At one stage, Shukkur Ali and his associates attacked Ahmed, his wife, and other family members, including Nurunnahar’s maternal uncle Habibur Rahman and grandmother Sufia, with sharp weapons when they resisted, leaving five people, including Ahmed, injured. They also swooped on Nurunnahar’s house and looted valuables, including cash. The injured were later taken to Haluaghat Upazila Health Complex. Habibur succumbed to his injuries ten days after the attack. Nurunnahar filed a case with Haluaghat Police Station against 25 people, including Shukkur Ali. After examining the records and witnesses, the court acquitted 20 others as the allegations brought against them could not be proved.

Two people, including a woman, were killed and at least 15 others injured when a passenger bus hit two auto-rickshaws in Bhaluka on Friday afternoon. The accident occurred in front of Tafrid Cotton Mill in the Club Bazar area on the Dhaka–Mymensingh Highway. The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. According to police and local sources, a bus coming from Dhaka lost control in the area and rammed into a battery-run auto-rickshaw and a CNG-powered auto-rickshaw. A woman died on the spot as the CNG auto-rickshaw was mangled in the crash. At least 15 passengers of the bus and the auto-rickshaws were injured. Another person succumbed to injuries on the way to Bhaluka Upazila Health Complex. The injured were taken to the same health complex for treatment. Senior Station Officer of Bhaluka Fire Service, Atiqur Rahman, said the deceased included a man and a woman, though their identities are yet to be confirmed.

Detectives, in separate drives, arrested two more accused from Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh district on Wednesday night, in connection with the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das on December 18. The arrestees were identified as Siam Ahmed, 19, of Dakuria, and Abdullah, 28, of Bhaluka upazila. Abdullah Al Mamun, additional superintendent of Mymensingh police, said detectives arrested the two accused over their alleged involvement in the murder with the help of technology and by analysing CCTV footage on Wednesday night. A team of DB police conducted a drive in Batajor Dakuria and arrested Siam around 8:30pm, while Abdullah was arrested from the Jamirdia area around 10pm. During preliminary investigation, police said the two accused played a key role in provoking the agitated crowd and encouraging them to assault the body. So far, a total of 25 accused have been arrested in connection with the murder of Dipu. Of them, 12 have already given confessional statements before the court, said ASP Abdullah. Dipu Chandra Das, 28, a local garment worker, was beaten to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy in Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh district on December 18. His body was later set on fire. A case was filed in this connection the following day.

A nine-year-old boy was beaten to death over allegations of stealing betel nuts in Haluaghat in Mymensingh on Friday afternoon. The victim, Imon Mia, was the son of Dulal Mia of Bausha village in Swadeshi Union. According to police and local sources, Imon had allegedly stolen betel nuts from his neighbor Atahar Ali’s tree about a month ago. After keeping silent for nearly a month, Atahar Ali on Friday called Imon to his house, locked the door, and beat him severely. Imon’s family rescued him and took him to Haluaghat Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead. Police recovered the body and are preparing for post-mortem examination. Four election officials withdrawn in Mymensingh, Naogaon over irregularities Md Ferdous Alam, officer-in-charge of Haluaghat Police Station, said preliminary investigation shows the killing was linked to the betel nut theft. “The matter is being investigated seriously,” he added.

Four election officials were withdrawn from duty in Mymensingh and Naogaon on Thursday following allegations of irregularities during voting. In Mymensingh’s Bhaluka upazila, an assistant presiding officer and two polling officers were dismissed at Kansherkul High School centre over allegations of allowing open voting and forcing out agents of rival candidates. Confirming the matter, Bhaluka Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Assistant Returning Officer Firoz Hossain said an assistant presiding officer and two polling officers were removed for “not preventing open voting.” Come out and vote without fear: Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman At Birunia Dakhil Madrasa centre in the same upazila, several youth were found sitting inside booths posing as agents without proper identification. Their ID cards carried only the presiding officer’s signature, without names or candidate details. Presiding Officer Mujibur Rahman said, “I was feeling unwell and did not notice the matter.” He later asked them to write their respective symbols in front of journalists. Speaking on condition of anonymity, some alleged that supporters of the “Dhaner Shish” candidate had driven out rival agents and taken their places with the presiding officer’s support. In Naogaon, Presiding Officer Nazim Uddin of Katkhoir High School centre in Sadar upazila was withdrawn around 1:30pm for allegedly signing and sealing the result sheet before vote counting and announcement. “There is no provision to sign the result sheet before counting,” said Assistant Returning Officer and Sadar UNO Mohammad Ibnul Abedin. He said Mukatadul Hasan, a senior officer of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, took charge around 3pm. Nazim Uddin has been brought to the UNO office and further action will be taken after review. 47.91% voter turnout by 2pm: EC Secretary