A mother in Muradnagar, Cumilla, has alleged that relatives sold her six-month-old child to another person for Tk50,000 without her knowledge. The mother, Taslima Akter, is seeking information about the child and asking for the child’s safe return. The reported incident involves Mostafapur in Ramchandrapur South Union and Sorerpar in Ramchandrapur North Union under Bangra Bazar police station.

Taslima, daughter of Wazed Mia of Sorerpar and wife of Al-Amin of Mostafapur, said the missing child was the youngest among their six daughters and two sons. She alleged that on July 18, while returning from her parents’ home to her husband’s home, she was made to sign a stamp document near Majid College field. She said she was physically and mentally unwell at the time and did not understand the matter, later returning home to find the child gone.

Taslima accused her aunt of conspiring to hand over the child. The aunt, Chenowara Begum, denied knowing anything and referred to Taslima’s uncle, Babul Mia. Babul said he only signed a stamp document and did not know who took the child. Police said they had asked for the child’s whereabouts to be checked and would take swift legal action upon receiving a written complaint.

Bogura recorded 206 deaths in road accidents through July 2026, police sources said in a report published on August 18. The district’s highways remain busy around the clock because vehicles serving at least 11 northern districts travel through Bogura. The death toll represents an average of 29 fatalities a month, compared with 120 road deaths in the district during all of 2025.

Students and young people account for a significant share of those killed, with high-speed motorcycle riding identified as a major risk. Traffic police listed recurring accident locations including Ghoga Bridge and Dhunat intersection in Sherpur, Nandigram bus stand and Kundarhat, several areas of Shahjahanpur, and key points in Bogura Sadar. Reported crashes include collisions with parked trucks, head-on bus-truck crashes, and accidents involving motorcycles, autorickshaws and nosimons.

Stakeholders cited reckless speed, defective vehicles, inexperienced drivers, unfit vehicles, roadside parking, driving without sleep and traffic-law violations as major causes. Nirapad Sarak Chai’s Bogura branch said it conducts leaflet distribution, awareness programmes and traffic assistance, but argued accidents will not decline without stopping unskilled driving, unfit vehicles and underage motorcycle riding.

A developer called Green City is accused of constructing a multistorey building without valid approval or a passed plan on Jordan Road in central Barishal, near the Circuit House. The report, published on August 18, 2026, said work on the first floor had been completed and construction of the second floor was under way. Barishal City Corporation acknowledged that no plan for the building had been approved.

BCC planning branch architect Saidur Rahman Lusan said Mostofa Rofik Ahmed Khan had applied for approval of a nine-storey building, but the plan was not approved after the applicant died. Under the city corporation’s new rules, construction near the Circuit House is limited to two storeys, and multistorey buildings are not permitted there. Lusan said the company was allegedly using a fake plan created with forged signatures.

Landowner Salma Jahan alleged that the developer excluded the owners in a distribution agreement and continued work without showing a plan. Allegations of collusion involving some officials and employees were reported, while assistant planner Lokman Hossain denied involvement. Green City’s managing director could not be reached for comment. BCC administrator Bilkis Akter Jahan Shirin said notices and legal action would be taken quickly.

A private-car driver allegedly fired several rounds from a pistol in public after a dispute over stopping near a hotel in Bhanga, Faridpur, according to local sources. The incident occurred around midnight on Monday in front of the highway police station on the Bhanga-Bhatiapara highway. The driver then quickly left toward Gopalganj with a woman who was travelling with him.

Local sources said the car, travelling from Dhaka in light rain, stopped outside a roadside hotel, contributing to slow-moving traffic and a brief congestion. A hotel worker asked the driver to move the vehicle forward, which reportedly angered him. The woman seated beside the driver allegedly slapped the hotel worker, and the driver then displayed unusual behaviour toward other motorists and the worker before firing through the car window.

Video footage of the shooting, recorded on mobile phones, spread on social media. Police arrived at the scene after receiving the report and began investigating to identify the driver and the unidentified woman. Bhanga police station officer-in-charge Mizanur Rahman said the full circumstances would emerge after the car is recovered and the two people are identified.

Investigators have been unable to enter the main accident site at Ferdous Steel Shipyard in Bhatiari, Sitakunda, Chattogram, after nine workers died while cutting a scrap ship on August 14. Toxic gas and hazardous chemicals inside the vessel’s enclosed compartment have made access unsafe. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Fakhrul Islam said no one would be allowed inside until conditions were fully safe.

The Ministry of Industries formed an eight-member investigation committee, but the expert team remains outside the ship because of the severe gas hazard. Representatives include specialists from BUET’s Chemical Engineering Department, Bangladesh Maritime University, the Department of Environment, the Department of Shipping, Fire Service and Civil Defence, the Explosives Department and the Marine Surveyors Association.

Investigators have not yet been able to determine the gas source, whether the ship was properly gas-freed before cutting, or where safety measures failed. Although direct inspection is not possible, officials are collecting surrounding information, documents and statements from relevant people. The deaths have also renewed questions about gas testing, enclosed-space entry rules, ventilation, protective equipment, trained workers and emergency rescue systems in the ship-recycling industry.

Police in Ishwardi, Pabna, seized a licensed shotgun and took former Chhatra Dal leader Zubayer Hossain Bappi, also known as Hoop Bappi, into custody after allegations that he publicly displayed the weapon while wrapped in burial cloth. Tensions continued in the town and near the Ishwardi police station gate from the afternoon until 9pm on August 17.

Witnesses, police and local BNP activists alleged that Bappi left for the town around 4:30pm carrying the shotgun and threatened former Upazila Jubo Sebak Dal member secretary Mehdi Hasan near the rail gate. His associates reportedly livestreamed video of the incident on social media, causing public alarm. Mehdi’s supporters gathered outside the police station and demanded the arrests of Bappi and Dasuria Union BNP president Abdus Samad Sulav Malitha.

Bappi’s side said he had staged an unusual protest against drugs and terrorism and did not intend to frighten anyone. Additional Superintendent of Police Pranab Kumar Sarkar said the gun was licensed but had been displayed publicly in violation of the law. He said authorities would seek cancellation of the licence. A case over the alleged death threat has been filed by Golam Rabbi, manager of Mehdi’s institution, and police are investigating.

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate conducted three separate anti-smuggling and illegal import operations centred on Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, seizing foreign cigarettes, import-banned beauty creams and foreign liquor. CIID said on August 18 that the operations recovered 349 cartons of cigarettes, 380 kilograms of banned creams and one litre of foreign liquor. The combined value of the seized goods, including applicable duties and taxes, was stated as Tk 17,806,860.

In an operation on August 17 involving Dubai-arriving EK582 and EK586 flights, the airport circle's A-shift seized 170 cartons of cigarettes, nine kilograms of banned cream and one litre of liquor from three passengers. On August 11, the A-shift seized 179 cartons of cigarettes and 52 kilograms of banned cream from passengers on the Dubai-arriving BG148 flight. The duty-inclusive values of those two seizures were Tk 5,224,860 and Tk 6,202,360 respectively.

In a separate August 17 operation at the airport's Foreign Post Office, CIID seized 319 kilograms of import-banned beauty cream based on secret information. That consignment had an estimated market value of Tk 6.38 million. Legal action, including case filing, is under way. CIID said its intelligence collection, risk-based monitoring and operations involving passengers, cargo and parcels will continue to prevent smuggling and protect revenue.

A Krishak Dal leader in Melandaha, Jamalpur, has been expelled from his party post after being detained in connection with an alleged yaba seizure. Md Matiur Rahman Tara Talukdar, 56, was president of the No. 1 Durmuth Union branch of Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal. The Melandaha upazila Krishak Dal confirmed the expulsion in a press release signed Monday evening by its president Md Matiur Rahman Bablu and general secretary Shahjamal.

The release said Talukdar was removed from the presidency over allegations of involvement in activities against party discipline. It also relieved him of all positions and responsibilities at the upazila level and throughout the party. Shahjamal said the organisation does not tolerate criminal activity and that the action was taken under an organisational decision to protect discipline and the party’s image.

District Detective Branch police reportedly recovered 20 yaba tablets from the yard of Talukdar’s home late Sunday night before detaining him. Md Sajib Rahman, officer-in-charge of Jamalpur District Detective Branch-2, said Talukdar was sent to jail through a court on Monday afternoon in a narcotics case.

Matlab Uttar police detained 12 people in a special anti-drug operation across several locations in Chandpur’s Matlab Uttar upazila, according to a report published on August 17. The operation was conducted on Sunday, police said. Four of those detained were identified as alleged drug traders and eight as people involved in drug use.

The detainees were later handed over to court. A mobile court, led by an executive magistrate, sentenced seven of the eight alleged drug users to varying prison terms. The four alleged drug traders were named as Md Saddam Pradhania, Abdul Mannan Sarkar, Golam Rabbi and Shah Alam.

Matlab Uttar police station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Kamrul Hasan said drugs are a dangerous threat to society and young people, and that no one involved in dealing or using drugs would remain outside the law. Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Executive Magistrate Mahmuda Kulsum Moni said drug abuse threatens individuals, families, society and future generations, calling for collective action by authorities, law enforcement, parents, teachers, public representatives and aware citizens.

Several armed men chased and shot 26-year-old Muhammad Arafat in the Boruapara Hatchery area of South Madarsha Union in Hathazari, Chattogram, at about 4 pm on August 17. Arafat, a resident of Abdul Rashid Tendel’s house in Burishchar Union, was taken by local people to Chattogram Medical College Hospital after the attack. The assailants fled before police arrived.

Local sources said the armed group pursued Arafat from the Madunaghat Bazar area to Boruapara Hatchery, where they caught him and opened fire before escaping. The gunshots caused panic among nearby residents. South Madarsha Union Parishad acting chairman Shahjahan Badsha said he had heard about the gunshots and suspected the incident may have resulted from a dispute involving the injured man.

Madunaghat police outpost inspector Ibrahim Ahmed said police went to the scene after receiving reports of the shooting and were gathering detailed information. Chattogram Medical College Hospital casualty department registrar Upal Chowdhury said Arafat was admitted with a gunshot injury to his face. The injury was not serious, he said, adding that it could have been caused by a rubber bullet or pellet shot.

Abdul Nasir Uddin gave testimony as the eighth witness against Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Junaid Ahmed Palak before International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Monday. Nasir, a student at Narsingdi Polytechnic Institute, said he joined the movement after Abu Sayeed was killed by police gunfire on July 16, 2024. He said that on August 5, he and several others, including his friend Samid, left Tongi’s Cherag Ali for the Long March to Dhaka.

According to Nasir’s testimony, police and Awami League cadres fired indiscriminately from the direction of Uttara East Police Station after the group reached the Uttara BNS area at about 2pm. The group scattered and Samid could not be found. At about 5pm, Nasir said an unknown caller told him to go to Uttara Kuwait Maitree Hospital, where he found Samid in intensive care with a gunshot wound.

Nasir said the bullet entered Samid’s forehead and exited through the back of his head. Samid’s father arrived at the hospital and found him dead, and the body was taken to his village home in Mymensingh for burial at about 8pm. Nasir also alleged internet shutdowns and sought exemplary punishment for those involved.

Investigators could not collect toxic gas samples inside Ferdous Steel Shipyard in Bhatiari, Sitakunda, Chattogram, after nine workers died there. A team linked to the investigation visited the site but found gas levels inside the ship too high to safely take samples, according to a report published on August 17.

Abdullah Al Mamun, member secretary of the Chattogram district administration investigation committee and assistant commissioner for land, said the team had inspected the location directly. He said the toxic gas concentration inside the ship was so high that sample collection was not possible. As a result, the ship cannot yet be declared free of risk.

An eight-member expert technical team has been formed to address the situation and collect evidence safely. The team expands the original five-member preliminary investigation group with three senior-level representatives. It includes representatives from BUET's Chemical Engineering Department, বঙ্গবন্ধু Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University, the Department of Environment, the Department of Shipping, Fire Service and Civil Defence, the Department of Explosives, and the Marine Surveyors Association.

A Gazipur court has sentenced Mahir Uddin, also known as Mohor, to death for abducting and strangling five-year-old Musa Ahmed Rafi with alleged intent to rape him in Kaliakair. The Additional District and Sessions Judge Fourth Court delivered the verdict on August 17 and also imposed a Tk10,000 fine. Judge Alamgir Al Mamun announced the ruling, with the sole accused brought to court from jail custody.

According to case records, Mahir Uddin, 43, is the son of the late Tomser Ali of Konachipara in Roumari, Kurigram. The child went missing around 10am on June 26, 2023, while playing in front of his home in Kalampur Uttarpara, Kaliakair municipality. Family members searched for him and later informed police after failing to locate him.

Local people and police recovered the child's body at about 7:30pm the same day from inside a boundary wall north of Sohagpalli in Kalampur. Police said a belt used by the child was tied around his neck and there were injury marks on his body. Rafi's father, Md Shamim Mir, filed the murder case on June 27. The court heard testimony from nine witnesses. The execution remains suspended pending High Court approval, and the convict may appeal.

Cumilla district detective police said they seized 300,000 yaba pills, estimated by police to be worth Tk15 crore, from a Prado vehicle on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. Two men, identified as Faisal and Arman, were detained during the operation at Jagurjhuli Bishwaroad around 12pm on Monday. Police said both detainees are from the Chakaria area of Cox’s Bazar.

Police said the operation followed intelligence that a large yaba shipment would be transported from Cox’s Bazar toward Dhaka by highway. Officers searched the Prado at Jagurjhuli Bishwaroad and recovered the pills, according to the police account. Police also said the vehicle had been in Chattogram the previous night before travelling toward Dhaka the next day.

District Police Superintendent Md Anisuzzaman said the two detainees would be questioned to obtain information about others involved in the shipment, and legal action would be taken. Police said efforts were under way to identify and arrest the alleged main organisers of the shipment. Registration information will also be checked to verify ownership of the Prado. Police described the seizure as one of the larger yaba shipments detained recently in Cumilla.

A Dhaka speedy trial tribunal has sentenced alleged drug dealer Md Rob Mia to life imprisonment in a case involving heroin recovered beneath the Kazipara overbridge in the capital. Judge Md Rahibul Islam of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 delivered the verdict on Monday afternoon. As the defendant was absconding when the judgment was announced, the court issued an arrest warrant carrying the sentence.

State prosecutor Md Abdur Rashid Molla confirmed that the tribunal also imposed a fine of Tk 10,000 on Rob Mia. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional year of simple imprisonment. The case was filed under the Narcotics Control Act by Kafrul police station Assistant Sub-Inspector Md Abu Zahid.

According to the case record, police acted on secret information on February 23, 2016, that suspects were standing on the road beneath the Kazipara overbridge to sell drugs. Police detained Rob Mia as he tried to flee and recovered 225 packets of heroin, estimated to be worth Tk 40,000. An indictment was submitted on March 31, 2016, charges were framed on August 3, and five of eight witnesses testified during the trial.