Police said traffic on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway returned to normal after activists blocked the road for an hour in Madanpur bus stand area of Bandar, Narayanganj. The protest began at 9am Friday, demanding justice for Zahid Hasan Bulbul, 45, an Islami Jubo Andolon leader who was allegedly hacked to death on Thursday night in Salehnagar, Ward 21.

Bulbul was the son of Raja Master of the Salehnagar Shahi Mosque area. The killing has been alleged against teenage gang leader Sifat and his associates. Protesters from Islami Andolon demanded the swift arrest of all people involved and exemplary punishment.

Kanchpur Highway Police Station officer-in-charge Shamim Sheikh said police spoke with the demonstrators and persuaded them to leave the highway. Bandar Police Station officer-in-charge Jamal Hossain said the main accused, Sifat, was arrested during a raid that night. A case has been filed, and efforts are continuing to arrest the remaining accused.

Police in Chattogram say the alleged chain of command of the network linked to “Boro Sazzad” is changing faces rather than breaking apart. After the arrest of Mobarak Hossain Emon, also known as David Emon, in late July, Borhan Uddin has emerged as a figure under police scrutiny. Detectives also believe Raihan Alam could be considered for a subsequent leadership role if Borhan is arrested.

Police describe Borhan as a close associate of Boro Sazzad and an accused in the Bakalia double-murder case. They allege that he has sent extortion demands to a businessman after Emon’s arrest. Police also reported gunfire at Haji Mohammad Yusuf’s home in Hamjarbagh, under Panchlaish police station, on Monday night over extortion.

Emon was arrested in Jashore’s Dhumdhumpur area with three associates while allegedly attempting to travel to India, police said. Authorities said he faced 18 cases, including the Bakalia killings. Chattogram district police superintendent Masud Alam said arrests of several senior associates had substantially weakened the group’s command structure, while operations to arrest remaining fugitives would continue.

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court Appellate Division upheld the High Court’s acquittal of all 38 accused in the 21 August grenade attack case, including Tarique Rahman and Lutfuzzaman Babar. The unanimous decision, issued on 4 September 2025 under Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, followed a state appeal against the High Court verdict. The High Court had on 1 December 2024 annulled the trial court judgment and fully acquitted the convicted defendants.

The attack occurred 22 years earlier at an Awami League anti-terrorism and anti-violence rally outside its central office on বঙ্গবন্ধু Avenue in Dhaka. Thirteen to 14 explosions struck as then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina was stepping down from a truck stage. Ivy Rahman was among 24 people killed, while more than 100 leaders and activists were injured. Two cases were filed at Motijheel police station under murder and explosives laws.

The report says courts identified major procedural and evidentiary defects. A second supplementary charge sheet was submitted directly to a sessions court rather than a judicial magistrate court. The main confession was found to have been obtained through coercion and torture and later withdrawn. Prosecutors also failed to provide strong direct evidence, while the investigation changed hands repeatedly.

Activists of Islami Andolon blocked the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in Madanpur, Narayanganj, on Friday morning, demanding justice for the killing of rickshaw garage owner and Islami Jubo Andolon leader Jahid Hasan Bulbul. The protest began at about 9:30am and lasted nearly an hour. Demonstrators called for the swift arrest and exemplary punishment of everyone involved in the killing.

Bulbul, 45, was hacked to death in Salehnagar of Bandar at around 10pm on Thursday, according to the report. Local people took him to Narayanganj 100-bed General Hospital after the attack, where a doctor declared him dead. Islami Andolon Bangladesh’s Narayanganj metropolitan president Mufti Masum Billah said Bulbul had filed a case after his garage was attacked and looted during the 2024 anti-discrimination student movement.

Masum Billah alleged that Bulbul had an ongoing dispute with Sheikh Sifat and his associates over that case. Bandar police officer-in-charge Jamal Hossain said the main accused, Sifat, was arrested on Thursday night. Police later spoke with protesters and removed them from the highway; traffic has since returned to normal, said Kanchpur Highway police officer-in-charge Shamim Sheikh.

The Kishoreganj district BNP has expelled local leader Md Joj Mia over allegations of raping a fifth-grade student in Kuliarchar উপজেলার. Joj Mia had served as general secretary of Ward No. 7 BNP in Faridpur Union. The expulsion was announced in a press release signed by district BNP general secretary Mazharul Islam MP on August 20 and approved by district president Shariful Alam MP and Mazharul Islam.

According to the release, the action followed a recommendation from Kuliarchar উপজেলা BNP and a central party decision. Party leaders and workers were instructed not to maintain any organisational relationship with Joj Mia. The allegation relates to an incident on August 13 in Alinagar Purba Para village of Ward No. 7, Faridpur Union.

The complaint alleges that Joj Mia, 55, took the child to a nearby jungle and raped her. Residents reportedly detained him after the incident and took him to the victim’s home. Some local influential people allegedly sought to settle the matter through arbitration for Tk50,000, but the family rejected the proposal and filed a written complaint. A case, numbered 10, was filed at Kuliarchar police station on August 15, and the child was later sent to Kishoreganj District Hospital for medical examination.

An investigation by Amar Desh reported that drug trafficking from India continues through border districts including Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Brahmanbaria and Cumilla despite Bangladesh’s political change on August 5, 2024. Reporters surveyed about 15 border points from August 12 to 17 and described trafficking routes, alleged political patronage and methods used to move narcotics toward Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and other areas.

The report said traffickers use remote terrain, rivers and gaps in border fencing, while concealing drugs in vehicles, ambulances, cargo and other items. It also alleged that women, children and adolescents are used as carriers. Brahmanbaria police said major groups had used CCTV cameras to monitor police movements, while officials said such surveillance equipment had been seized.

Authorities reported significant seizures. In Kurigram, agencies seized drugs valued at about Tk1 crore in the first half of 2026 and arrested 137 people in 178 cases. Cumilla BGB said it conducted 20,200 operations over three years, seizing narcotics worth about Tk52 crore. The report also cited claims that large financiers often remain beyond reach while arrested carriers can obtain bail.

A 28-year-old man identified as Sakib was stabbed to death following a dispute over a mobile phone in the Mohra area of Chattogram city’s Chandgaon police station jurisdiction. The incident occurred in front of Laila Tower at about 8pm on Thursday. Sakib was a resident of Sale Ahmed Chowdhury Bari in the Charrangamatiya area.

Local residents said Sakib was stabbed amid a dispute involving several people over a mobile phone. He was taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital in critical condition, where the doctor on duty declared him dead. Chandgaon police station Officer-in-Charge Jasim Uddin confirmed that a young man had been stabbed in connection with the dispute and later died at the hospital.

Sub-Inspector Ashik, in-charge of the Chattogram Medical College Hospital police outpost, said the injured man had been brought from Chandgaon. Police said they are trying to identify and arrest those involved in the incident.

A major fire destroyed seven warehouses storing illegal fuel in Daulatkhan, Bhola, on Thursday evening, August 20. The blaze broke out on an embankment in Ward No. 3 of the municipality beside the Meghna River. Flames spread from the warehouses to several nearby homes, causing extensive damage. Exploding fuel drums created loud blasts and panic in the area. Five people, including a Fire Service worker, were reported injured.

Witnesses and local residents said the fire began suddenly at a fuel warehouse belonging to illegal fuel trader Shahabuddin. Local people and others arriving from nearby and distant areas tried to extinguish the flames amid intense fire and black smoke. Three Fire Service units later responded and brought the blaze under control after an hour of work.

Daulatkhan Fire Service unit official Mokhlesur Rahman said the three units controlled fires at seven warehouses and that injured people had been sent to hospital. He estimated the losses at around Tk1 crore. Upazila নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা Abdul Matin Khan immediately visited the affected site.

A private car travelling from Dewanganj to Jamalpur lost control and struck a tree in Shahajatpur, Melandaha, Jamalpur, at about 10:30pm on Thursday. Shamsuddin Ahmed Rubel, 40, died in the crash, while two others, including the driver, were injured. The report was published on August 21, 2026.

The deceased was the son of Abdul Quddus of Purba Kamarer Char in Char Amkhawa union, Dewanganj. He operated an Islami Bank agent branch at Sanandabari Bazar in Dewanganj. The injured were Nazmul Hossain, 45, of Haruabari in Dewanganj, and private-car driver Mehdi Hasan, 28, of Mosharafganj in Islampur.

Local people rescued the three seriously injured occupants and took them to Melandaha উপজেলা Health Complex. The duty doctor declared Shamsuddin Ahmed dead, saying he had died before reaching the hospital. Nazmul Hossain and Mehdi Hasan received initial treatment before being referred to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. Police handed the body to the family, took the damaged car to the police station, and said legal action was under process.

Police in Bahubal, Habiganj, arrested a man identified as Jasim Uddin on Thursday afternoon on suspicion of involvement in the murder of student leader Saiful Islam. Bahubal Model Police Station later handed him over to Habiganj District Detective Branch for further investigation. The arrest came about two and a half years after Saiful went missing in early March 2024.

Saiful was the general secretary of Satkapon Union Chhatra Dal and a student at Mirpur Alif Sobhan Chowdhury College. After leaving home, he could not be traced despite searches by relatives. About five days later, police recovered his decomposed body, with his hands and feet tied and placed in a sack, from a haor near Pail village in Habiganj Sadar.

Police initially suspected that assailants killed Saiful and dumped the body in water to conceal evidence. His father, Abdul Malek, filed a murder case against unidentified people at Habiganj Sadar Police Station. After the family sought further investigation, the case was transferred to the district detective branch. DB officer-in-charge Ranjit Chandra said the investigation remains underway and expressed hope that the facts behind the killing would soon emerge.

A tenth worker has died after exposure to toxic gas at the Ferdous Steel ship recycling yard in Bhatiari, Sitakunda, Chattogram. Md Idris Ali, 50, died while receiving treatment at National Hospital in the city’s Mehedibag area on Wednesday night. The death raised the toll from the accident to 10, according to Sitakunda উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা Fakhrul Islam and Faujdarhat police outpost inspector Rubel Afrad.

The incident occurred on August 14 while workers were cutting a scrap ship inside an enclosed tank. Several workers were affected by toxic gas and taken to different hospitals. Nine workers had previously died either at the site or while receiving treatment. Idris Ali’s body was handed over to his family after legal procedures were completed.

Authorities have begun an investigation into what type of gas was present, how it accumulated, and whether safety measures for workers were adequate. Operations at the yard have been suspended following the accident. Questions have also been raised about gas testing, gas removal, ventilation, protective equipment, respiratory protection and emergency rescue equipment for workers entering enclosed ship tanks.

Noakhali district detective police arrested 26 people in two separate operations at residential hotels in Chowmuhani Bazar of Begumganj upazila, over allegations of immoral activities. In the latest operation, police raided Relax Residential Hotel in the Chowmuhani municipality area at about 8:30pm on Wednesday and arrested 12 people, including four men and eight women. Additional Superintendent of Police Ahmed Peyar confirmed the matter on Thursday night.

Ahmed Peyar said legal action was completed against those arrested in the latest raid before they were sent to court. The detainees included residents of Noakhali as well as people from Chattogram, Barishal, Sunamganj, Dhaka and Naogaon. Police did not provide further details on the allegations involving the 12 people arrested at Relax Residential Hotel.

Earlier, on June 25, detective police arrested 14 men and women during a raid at Hotel Raj on the fifth floor of Dalia Market in Chowmuhani Bazar. Police said some detainees were initially identified as sex workers and clients, while others were alleged to have been staying there due to extramarital relationships. Local residents have sought regular monitoring and raids, while police said action would follow investigation of specific complaints.

Four children died after drowning in a pond in Khanpara area of Duptara Union in Araihazar, Narayanganj, on Thursday evening, August 20. The victims were identified as Ojaifa, 10, Afsa, 12, Ria Moni, 8, and Rubaiya, 8. All lived in Duptara Khanpara and attended different classes at local schools.

Police and local sources said family members began searching when the children could not be found at home in the afternoon. They became suspicious after finding the children’s shoes and sandals on the bank of a pond beside Munna’s house. Relatives and local residents entered the pond and recovered all four children from beneath the water.

After the recovery, two children were taken to Araihazar উপজেলা Health Complex and the other two to a local clinic. Doctors declared all four dead after examination. Emergency department physician Dr Shimul said the children had died before being brought to medical facilities. Araihazar police sent officers to the scene, and the officer-in-charge said no complaint had been filed by the families. The bodies were being prepared for handover to relatives.

Police detained 53 people, including 29 women and 24 men, during separate nighttime raids at two spa and salon businesses in Gulshan, Dhaka. The operations took place between 8:00pm and 9:30pm on Wednesday, according to information released by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police media division on Thursday. Police said the businesses were allegedly being used as fronts for immoral and illegal activities.

Gulshan police conducted the raids at Gulshan One Salon on Road No. 24 and Hot Stone Spa on Road No. 99. Authorities said there had been allegations for a long time that immoral activities were taking place behind the businesses’ normal operations. Police launched the operations after verifying confidential information.

Gulshan Police Station Officer-in-Charge Daud Hossain said no illegal activity would be allowed under the cover of spa centres in the area, and raids would continue if such allegations emerged. Legal action against those detained is being processed, while the specific allegations proven against each person will be determined through legal proceedings. The report also noted that 28 people were detained in a Gulshan spa-centre raid in June this year.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said pending legal cases against its current members will continue even as the government advances plans to replace the force with a police-run Special Response Battalion (SRB). At a press briefing at the RAB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar on Thursday, Legal and Media Wing Director Wing Commander MZM Entekhb Choudhury said the draft law for the new force preserves proceedings under the existing law.

He said no legal vacuum would arise from RAB’s organisational change because the draft’s final section addresses ongoing trials involving members under RAB. The proposed law has been opened for public opinion, and relevant authorities will consider suggestions and possible amendments. Choudhury said the proposal would redefine the force’s responsibilities, command structure, operations and member accountability, including action against wrongdoing or corruption.

RAB also reported solving the robbery of Tk 12.1 million from a DL Filling Station cash vehicle near Airport Road on August 9, recovering Tk 4.8 million and arresting three people. It said 12 people were detained over alleged extortion at Kamarpra fruit market in Turag, with Tk 11,220 recovered. Over the past month, RAB said it seized 104 weapons and arrested 60 people in operations nationwide.