Police in Mongla, Bagerhat, arrested a man identified as Suman over allegations that he raped a 13-year-old girl near a fish enclosure in the Signal Tower area. The girl’s family filed a case with Mongla police station after the alleged incident, which they said occurred on the afternoon of August 16. Police detained Suman during an operation in the municipal Signal Tower area on August 21.

According to police and the victim’s family, Suman allegedly took the girl to the edge of the enclosure by offering to give her fish. Mongla police station officer-in-charge Atikur Rahman said the complaint alleged that the girl was forcibly raped after her mouth was covered. He also said the accused allegedly threatened her with harm if she told anyone about the incident.

Police said the girl initially did not disclose what happened. After becoming ill, she told her aunt, who informed other family members. The family then lodged the complaint. Police said Suman will be sent to court after legal procedures, while the investigation and other legal actions remain ongoing.

Police in Patnitala, Naogaon, detained a 30-year-old man, Tuhin Hossain, on Friday afternoon on suspicion of involvement in the cutting of about 13,000 banana trees. The incident occurred at a banana plantation in Gopinagar Panboram village of Krishnapur union, where farmer Saiful Islam said unidentified people entered the garden overnight on Wednesday and cut the trees.

Saiful Islam said the plantation covered about 22 bighas and every tree had bananas. He said the crop was expected to be harvested in about three months, but the damage caused an estimated loss of Tk35 lakh. He alleged the trees may have been cut deliberately because of previous hostility and called for a fair investigation to identify those responsible.

The farmer, relatives and local residents held a human chain in Panboram on Thursday, demanding swift arrests, exemplary punishment, compensation and government assistance. Patnitala police station Officer-in-Charge Niamul Haque visited the site and inspected the damaged plantation. He said legal action would be taken following a proper investigation.

Ariful Islam, 35, a lecturer at Lalmonirhat Government Technical School and College, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital after 21 days of treatment for injuries from an attack in Aditmari, Lalmonirhat. The report said he had campaigned against drugs and online gambling through a social organisation called Alokito Lalmonirhat. He died on Friday after being attacked on 1 August while returning home from college.

According to local and case sources, Ariful had urged Rahidul Islam and several people allegedly involved in online gambling and drugs to abandon criminal activities. The accused reportedly became angered, and a group led by Rahidul attacked him with locally made weapons. Ariful was seriously injured and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. His newborn child was born on 6 August while he was undergoing treatment.

Ariful's father filed a case naming 10 accused. RAB arrested principal accused Rahidul in Dhaka, while eight other accused are on bail and one remains absconding. After news of the teacher's death reached the area on Friday night, angry residents vandalised and set fire to the accused persons' homes. Additional police have been deployed to maintain order.

A seven-member expert team has submitted a preliminary report to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Industries on the toxic-gas incident that killed 10 workers at Ferdous Steel Shipyard in Bhatiary, Sitakunda, Chattogram. The report initially identifies hydrogen sulfide dissolved in water inside a ship’s tank as the likely cause of the August 14 accident during work on an old vessel.

Investigators believe the gas was released as ballast water was drained from the tank, exposing workers to a lethal concentration. The accident occurred while work was under way in the vessel’s third tank; the ship has four tanks, and work in one had already been completed. Five workers died at the scene and another five died while receiving hospital treatment.

The team inspected the site several times and collected data before filing the preliminary report on Wednesday. Its head, BUET Chemical Engineering Professor Dr Yasir Arafat Khan, said the investigation remains ongoing and declined further comment. Samples from the ship have been sent to a laboratory in Dhaka for analysis of how hydrogen sulfide was present in the water and how it may have formed or accumulated.

The Nageshwari upazila unit of Islami Jubo Andolon in Kurigram held a protest rally demanding the execution of those responsible for the killing of its leader Bulbul Ahmed in Bandar, Narayanganj. The procession was organised around 8pm on Friday and began at Nageshwari bus stand on the Kurigram-Bhurungamari highway, before moving through the town’s main road and ending at College Mor.

Mujahidul Islam Bulbul was hacked to death on Thursday night in the Salehnagar area of Bandar upazila, according to the report. It was alleged that local criminal Sheikh Sifat and his associates carried out the attack because Bulbul had protested against extortion and drugs.

At a brief gathering after the march, speakers said the killing of a political and social worker was unacceptable. They argued that failure to ensure exemplary punishment would embolden criminals, and demanded a fair trial and the maximum punishment for those responsible. Speakers included GM Ansar Ali Royal, Maulana Yasin Ali, Maulana Enamul Haque and Maulana Farhad Hossain.

Border Guard Bangladesh detained two men after recovering 40,000 Burmese yaba tablets hidden inside a motorcycle’s fuel tank at the Morichya joint checkpoint in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar. The operation was conducted at 11:15am on Friday by Ramu Battalion 30 BGB, acting on intelligence information. Motorcycle driver Md Jasim, 35, and passenger Md Alamgir, 49, were stopped and questioned.

The two men initially denied carrying narcotics, according to BGB. Officers then conducted a detailed search of the motorcycle and found the tablets specially concealed inside the fuel tank. Jasim is the son of Md Mojaher Mia from Andarmanik area of Lohagara upazila in Chattogram, while Alamgir is the son of late Faizul Ahmed from the same area.

BGB said Ramu Battalion’s operations against drug trafficking, smuggling and cross-border crimes are continuing alongside border protection duties. The seized yaba tablets and the two detainees will be handed over to Ramu police station for legal action.

Netrokona District Detective Branch police detained three people in separate operations on allegations of playing online gambling games, according to a police press release confirmed on Friday afternoon, August 22, 2026. The operations took place in Netrokona municipality and the Purbadhala police station area. Police said they seized three mobile phones allegedly used for gambling and 150 pages of screenshots as evidence.

At 12:05am on Thursday night, a DB team detained Touhid Hasan Khan, also known as Rakib, 42, and Md Ripul Uddin, 24, from inside a grocery shop east of Katli Bridge in Netrokona municipality. Police said two phones and 136 pages of screenshots were recovered. A case was filed at Netrokona Model Police Station under the Gambling Prevention Act.

In another operation at 10:20pm the same day, police detained Md Rajib Mia, 40, while he was allegedly gambling online on the Netrokona-Mymensingh regional highway in Purbadhala. One phone and 14 pages of screenshots were seized, and a case was filed at Purbadhala Police Station. Police said all three accused were sent to the district court on Friday.

A case has been filed in Kishoreganj, Nilphamari, over an attack on and confinement of Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Tanima Jahan Tanvi during an operation against illegal sand extraction. The case was lodged at Kishoreganj police station on Friday morning by Bahagili Union Land Office Deputy Assistant Land Officer Shahidul Islam. It names five people and includes 40 to 45 unidentified accused.

The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon during an operation on the Charalkata River to stop illegal sand transport. Officials tried to detain three sand-laden trolleys; drivers of two fled, while another trolley was seized. According to the mobile court, more than 100 men and women linked to the sand-extraction syndicate then surrounded and confined the AC Land officer, the court’s peshkar and police personnel.

Additional police were sent to the site on the instruction of the upazila nirbahi officer and rescued the officials. The seized trolley was taken to the police station. The named accused are Swapan Islam, Parvez Islam, Jahedul Islam, Arab Ali and Sumon Islam of North Bahagili. Officer-in-Charge Abdul Gafur said police operations to arrest the accused were continuing.

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) officials seized goods valued at about Tk 27.3 million during a series of intelligence-led operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in recent days. The seizures included gold paste, vapes and vape liquid, mobile phones, cigarettes, milk powder, banned Gouri cream, foreign medicines and alcohol. The actions, conducted across the airport’s A, B and C shifts, targeted alleged smuggling and illegal import attempts.

On August 21, officials searched a Flydubai FZ501 passenger arriving from Dubai near the green channel and found iPhones, Pixel phones, 161 cartons of MOND cigarettes, whitening serum and two laptops. Searches of passengers from EK582 and QR640 also recovered foreign alcohol, vape liquid and cigarettes, valued at Tk 1.42 million. On August 20, officials seized cigarettes, 69 kilograms of banned cream, milk powder and cream-based medicine from three passengers arriving on flights from Dubai and Bahrain.

Other operations recovered 198 vapes, Redmi phones, 36 kilograms of Gouri cream and alcohol. On August 17, 461 grams of gold bars were obtained from 881 grams of gold-like paste. CIID said it continues surveillance using intelligence, passenger profiling and shift-based monitoring.

Police in Shibchar, Madaripur, arrested a man identified as Md Faruk over the killing of Shampa Khatun, 20, whose body was found in bushes beside the expressway in the Bakharkandi area on 19 August. Police said Faruk also initially confessed during questioning to throwing her one-year-old son, Abir, into the Arial Khan River from a bridge. The arrest details were announced on 21 August.

Shampa, daughter of Chhamrul Islam of Atrika village in Lalpur, Natore, was identified after her body was recovered from an abandoned site near the Veli Bridge. Her father filed a murder case at Shibchar police station. Police and Madaripur RAB conducted a joint operation using information technology and detained Faruk from his rented home in the area.

Police said a burned scarf, nose ring, neck chain and pair of shoes used by Shampa were recovered during a search of Faruk’s residence. Investigators suspect she may have been raped before being killed, but said the motive remains under investigation. Authorities are searching for Abir’s body, verifying the river claim and examining whether others were involved.

Border Guard Bangladesh and Rapid Action Battalion personnel seized about 5.7 kilograms of snake venom valued at Tk385.7 million in Ambari, Chirirbandar upazila of Dinajpur, and detained four people, according to a 42 BGB statement released on Friday evening. The joint team conducted the operation on August 13 after receiving intelligence, with an executive magistrate participating.

Officials said the venom was found in three glass jars. The operation also recovered a private car, two motorcycles, four mobile phones and six SIM cards. Those detained were identified as Md Jahangir Alam, Md Salauddin Sanju, Md Anisur Rahman and Ujjal Ali, all from Dinajpur district.

During initial questioning, the detainees were found to be members of an organised international smuggling network, officials said. They had allegedly smuggled snake venom to a neighbouring country on earlier occasions, and the seized material was allegedly being transported for export abroad. Chemical testing of samples at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University on August 19, under a court order, identified the substance as snake venom. The detainees and seized items were handed to Chirirbandar police station for legal action.

Islamic Youth Movement Bangladesh held a protest rally in the capital after Friday prayers at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, demanding justice over the killing of its Narayanganj Bandar police station unit joint general secretary Muhammad Mujahidul Islam Bulbul. The group called for the swift arrest of those involved, a fair investigation and exemplary maximum punishment. Organisers said Bulbul was killed in an attack by the Sifat group.

Islamic Andolan secretary general Maulana Gazi Ataur Rahman described the killing as brutal and alarming. He said Bulbul had protested extortion and drug smuggling, and alleged that no offender should escape after killing an active youth leader. He also said Bulbul was the principal complainant in a discrimination-related case filed on August 20, in which Sheikh Sifat was named as the sixth accused.

Youth Movement central president Atikur Rahman Mujahid called Bulbul a dedicated worker and responsible youth leader, expressing grief and anger over his death. He said delays in justice would not be accepted, regardless of the suspects’ influence. Other leaders addressed the gathering, after which participants marched through several streets.

A Dhaka court ordered Al Rafi Prottay, described as a Bhairab Upazila Chhatra League leader, sent to jail in a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The order was issued on Friday, August 21, by Metropolitan Magistrate Hasib Ullah Piyas after allegations that Prottay sought to create unrest near Azad Mosque in Gulshan during the funeral of former minister Dipu Moni’s late husband.

Police alleged that Prottay and his associates attempted to cause disorder in the area on August 20 and that he was caught while chanting slogans in support of a banned organisation. The investigating officer, Gulshan police sub-inspector K. M. Mofizur Rahman, asked the court to keep him in custody until the investigation is completed.

Defence lawyer Gazi Faisal Islam sought bail for Prottay, but the court rejected the application and ordered his detention. Police said preliminary investigation linked him to an August 7 Gulshan police station case alleging plans for anti-state conspiracy, sabotage and secret meetings involving leaders and activists of the banned Chhatra League.

Investigators are examining how toxic gas accumulated in a ballast tank of a ship that held a gas-free certificate, after 10 workers died at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries in Bhatiari, Sitakunda, on August 14. The gas spread when flame cutting began in ballast tank No. 3, following the completion of cutting work on tank No. 4 and much of the vessel over about 10 months.

Government investigation committees have collected samples of liquid, air and chemical materials from the affected tank and sent them to laboratories in Dhaka. Officials involved in the inquiry said the gas source cannot be confirmed before laboratory reports arrive. Investigators are considering whether gases such as hydrogen sulfide formed through decomposition of trapped water, or whether heat from cutting caused another chemical reaction.

The vessel had obtained a gas-free certificate from its original owners when it was purchased from Dubai, and approvals were obtained from relevant departments after arrival in Bangladesh. The inquiry is also reviewing pre-cutting gas tests, ventilation and safety protocols. Former industry representatives called for a scientific determination of the cause and said worker safety cannot be compromised.

Police have identified the teenage girl whose body was left at the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital as 15-year-old Mim Akter, a domestic worker from Narayanganj. Shahbagh police arrested three people in a raid in Demra early Thursday: ABM Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Faisal Ahmed and Rahema Khatun Reshma. Police said they had moved from their Siddhirganj residence with family members to avoid arrest.

Mim’s family alleges she was repeatedly beaten and abused while working at a businessman’s home in Narayanganj for about a year. Her mother said she learned of another beating on the night of August 11 and went to bring Mim home the next morning, but was told the girl had fled after stealing. Hours later, Mim’s body was found outside the hospital’s emergency department.

CCTV footage showed two men bringing the girl by CNG auto-rickshaw between 11am and noon on August 12, placing her on a trolley and leaving separately. A post-mortem found injury marks on her body, while DNA and other samples were sent for tests concerning possible sexual abuse. Police said the exact cause of death and each suspect’s role remain under investigation.