Border Guard Bangladesh’s 55 BGB Battalion recovered six pistols, seven magazines and 22 rounds of ammunition buried in the deep forest of Sat Chhari National Park in Chunarughat, Habiganj. The operation was conducted before dawn on Thursday, based on secret information, about three kilometres inside Bangladesh from border pillar 1978.

BGB said it believes criminals had concealed the weapons and ammunition underground in the remote hilly area for possible use in robbery or other militant and criminal activities. The recovered items are being handed over to the police station through the appropriate legal process, while intelligence activities and operations continue to identify and arrest those involved.

Lieutenant Colonel Md Tanzilur Rahman, commander of Habiganj Battalion 55 BGB, confirmed the recovery. He said the force remains committed to protecting sovereignty and border security, preventing the spread of illegal arms and ammunition, and maintaining peace and order in border areas. The report said weapons had been recovered from Sat Chhari forest 14 times during the previous Awami League government, but no case had yet been resolved.

Ten students were injured after two groups of students clashed at the Habiganj Medical College hostel in the Anantapur residential area of the district town late Wednesday night. Three of the injured were referred to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment, while the others were admitted and treated at Habiganj District Sadar Modern Hospital.

Students said the confrontation began with an argument over a trivial matter between Tafsir Ahmed and Sharif Uddin, who had an existing internal dispute. As the verbal dispute escalated, students split into two groups and became involved in a clash using iron rods, stamps and locally made weapons.

The injured were identified as Tasrif Ahmed, Sharif Uddin, Raihan Raj, Rajab Sani, Fardin Ifti, Sami, Riyad, Abdullah Chowdhury, Samiul Al Arif and Huzaf Soumi. Sadar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Zahidul Haque said police visited the scene after receiving information. He said an investigation and legal action would follow if a written complaint is submitted.

Bangladesh’s Forest Department has filed two cases against 62 people, including leaders and activists of the BNP and affiliated organisations, over allegations of illegally cutting, stealing and selling trees from protected forests in Chunarughat, Habiganj. The cases concern Satchhari National Park and the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary. One case was filed on Tuesday by Satchhari Wildlife Range officer Mobarak Hossain at Chunarughat police station, naming 20 accused under the Forest Act of 1927, amended in 2000.

According to the complaint, trees were allegedly cut and traded from Satchhari’s protected forest at different times between January 12, 2025 and May 15, 2026. Confidential information from intelligence agencies indicated the involvement of 20 people. Chunarughat Upazila Chhatra Dal member secretary Maruf Mia was named as the main accused, while several BNP, Jubo Dal, Sramik Dal and Krishak League figures were also listed.

A separate case naming 42 people was filed the same day by forest officer H M Ershad over alleged tree cutting and sales in Rema-Kalenga. Forest officials said the cases followed directives from the Prime Minister’s Office and the environment ministry. Divisional Forest Officer Abul Kalam said the department had adopted zero tolerance against tree theft. Wildlife activist Biswajit Pal urged investigators to ensure innocent people are not harassed.

A Dhaka court has postponed submission of the further investigation report in the murder case of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi for the 19th time. The new date for filing the report is September 27. The report had been due on Thursday at the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, but the Criminal Investigation Department did not submit it. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam set the new date.

Hadi was shot by unidentified attackers on Box Culvert Road in the Paltan police station area at about 2:20pm on December 12 last year after returning from Friday prayers. Abdullah Al Jaber, member secretary of Inqilab Mancha, filed the case at Paltan police station on December 14. Hadi was taken to Singapore for advanced treatment and died there on December 18.

On December 20, a metropolitan magistrate ordered the addition of Penal Code Section 302, concerning murder, following an application by the investigating officer. Detective Branch inspector Faisal Ahmed submitted a charge sheet against 17 people on January 6. After the complainant objected to that charge sheet, the court ordered CID to conduct further investigation. Eleven accused are in jail and six remain absconding.

A Dhaka court on Thursday dismissed an application seeking a case against interim government Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus, Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul and 25 others over allegations of vandalism, looting and arson at Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house at Dhanmondi 32. Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana issued the order after recording the statement of complainant Tamanna Chowdhury Priyanka. Court bench assistant Abu Shaheen confirmed the dismissal.

The application named 27 accused and between 3,000 and 5,000 unidentified people. Those named included former advisers, lawmakers, student coordinators, media figures and others. The complainant alleged that the accused entered the building after breaking its main gate on February 5 last year, acting with prior planning and without provocation.

The application alleged that a bulldozer was used to damage the building under the instigation, irresponsibility and direction of the first nine accused. It further claimed that valuable state and Liberation War documents, collected memorabilia and other property were looted or destroyed in the fire. Allegations were filed under several Penal Code provisions, the Explosive Substances Act and relevant provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested 506 people and filed 55 cases during regular operations across the capital over the previous 24 hours, police said on Thursday, August 20. DMP Media and Public Relations Additional Deputy Commissioner Niaz Mehdi disclosed the information, saying the arrests followed raids in areas under different Dhaka police stations.

Police said the operations recovered evidence, weapons and narcotics. The detainees included 25 people from Ramna Division, 45 from Lalbagh, 65 from Wari, 47 from Motijheel, 41 from Tejgaon, 120 from Mirpur, 93 from Gulshan, 63 from Uttara and seven from the Detective Branch.

Recovered items included two switch gears, 27 kilograms and 510 grams of cannabis, 231 yaba tablets and five grams of heroin. Police also recovered an Ena bus, a truck, 17 motorcycles, eight mobile phones, 597.73 grams of gold ornaments and Tk267,000 described as stolen money. Authorities also recovered 4 bhori, 15 ana and five roti of stolen gold ornaments and rescued two victims. Legal action against those arrested is under process, the DMP official said.

A 45-year-old father, Baharul Islam Babul, was killed in a road crash on the Ishwardi-Pabna highway in the Dhulti area on Wednesday at about 8:30pm. He was returning to his home in Ishwardi with his two sons after visiting his 11-day-old newborn daughter at his in-laws’ home in Atmile, Pabna Sadar. A speeding truck struck their motorcycle, police and local sources said.

Babul, a resident of Purbo Tengri Mahtab Colony in Ishwardi municipality, worked as a covered-van driver at local RRP Agro Feed Mill. His wife gave birth to their daughter by surgery around 11 days earlier. The couple also has two sons, aged 12 and five. The impact threw Babul and the children onto the road, and he died at the scene after suffering a serious head injury.

Local people rescued the two injured children and sent them to hospital. RRP Group director Md Rafiqul Alam expressed sorrow, saying Babul had finished work and deposited his vehicle at the factory before going to see his newborn daughter. Ishwardi police recovered the body, while the truck driver fled with the vehicle. Police said efforts were under way to identify the truck and driver, and legal action was being processed.

A woman named Tamanna Chowdhury Priyanka has applied to file a case against former interim government chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus and 26 others over alleged vandalism, looting and arson at the house at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka. The application was submitted on Thursday to the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jewel Rana. The court recorded the complainant’s statement and said an order would be issued later.

The application also names former law adviser Dr Asif Nazrul, Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, Mahfuj Alam and Md Hasnat Abdullah. Former advisers Dr Rizwana Hasan, Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, as well as former press secretary Shafiqul Alam, are among those listed. The complainant also sought to name another 3,000 to 5,000 unidentified people as accused.

According to the application, the accused entered the building on February 5 last year after breaking its main gate. It alleges that bulldozers were used to demolish the building, destroying and looting valuable state and Liberation War documents and memorabilia. The complainant requested action under several Penal Code provisions, explosives law and anti-terrorism law, and sought arrest warrants.

Ansar personnel rescued dentist Hasibur Hasan, 43, unharmed from a secluded forest in Sector 19 of Purbachal on Wednesday night, according to the Ansar and Village Defence Force. Hasan was allegedly abducted from Kuril Bishwaroad in the capital while waiting to travel to Jalsiri Master Pharmacy to see patients.

The report said a driver of a white microbus offered to take him to Jalsiri, after which people inside the vehicle tied his hands, legs, eyes and mouth. The alleged kidnappers demanded Tk100,000 in ransom from his family and took Tk12,000 through mobile banking using his Android phone.

The group later left Hasan bound in the forest and fled. A Rajuk Ansar Guard patrol led by PC Md Siddiqur Rahman heard groaning and found him, with Hafizur Rahman, Md Sakibul, Ratan Mia and Md Jubayer taking part in the rescue. Ansar members then took him safely to his destination. Hasan expressed gratitude for their humanitarian, prudent and responsible role.

Police recovered the body of a 25-year-old man, identified as Nazmul, after he was shot in the Harintana 80 Bigha culvert area under Khulna city’s Labanchara police station on Wednesday night. The shooting occurred around 9:30pm. Nazmul reportedly ran into an alley beside a house after being shot, where he collapsed and died.

Labanchara police station Officer-in-Charge Md Syed Mosharraf Hossain confirmed the incident and said police were at the scene. He said it was not yet known who shot Nazmul. Police had confirmed only the victim’s name at that stage.

Earlier the same day, at about 5:45pm, 23-year-old construction worker Md Manzurul Islam was attacked in front of Sujan Hawladar’s tea stall in the same area. Locals alleged that a group of eight to 10 attackers led by Alamin Hasan Saifi shot and assaulted him with sharp weapons. The two shooting-related deaths within hours caused fear among residents, while police worked to determine the motive and identify those involved.

Abul Kalam Azad, a Godagari resident in Rajshahi accused in a case over attacks on students and civilians during the July movement, was granted bail by the Rajshahi District and Sessions Judge Court on August 12 after two certificates were submitted with his bail petition. One certificate identified him as an active BNP worker and bore the purported signature and seal of former Godagari municipal BNP general secretary and former mayor Anwarul Islam. Islam said both the signature and seal were forged.

A second certificate was signed by Hanif Ali, president of BNP’s municipal ward 2 unit. Hanif acknowledged issuing it after Azad’s wife approached him as a neighbour, but called the decision a mistake. Azad’s lawyer, Tawsik Ahmed Masum, said relatives had brought the documents and he had certified and submitted them without knowing whether they were genuine. The state lawyer described filing forged certificates as deception of the court.

Police and local sources allege Azad has long been involved in heroin trafficking and faces seven narcotics cases. Student movement leaders demanded his re-arrest. Godagari police said he had been arrested on specific evidence of links to attacks on students and civilians, and that he would be arrested if involvement in any offence is established.

Police arrested two alleged active members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, including commander Mohammad Alam, also known as Musa, in a raid at Rohingya Camp 6 in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, on Wednesday night. The second detainee was identified as Abdul Hafez, 22. Police said both men were detained while allegedly staying secretly at a house in the camp’s D/1 block for the purpose of organising criminal activities.

Police identified Musa as an accused in the murder case involving Kofayet Ullah, also known as Abdul Halim. They said Musa, a resident of Camp 6’s D/4 block, faces multiple cases at Ukhiya police station under narcotics control and arms laws, as well as cases involving murder and attacks on police. He has been charge-sheeted in several cases, including a murder case, which are pending before court.

According to police, Musa had been absconding for a long time and was preliminarily found to be involved in murder, abduction, drug trafficking and arms trading. The operation was led by Inspector Mohammad Masudur Rahman of the Naukarmath Police Camp-3, with police and intelligence personnel. APBn-14 commander Riaz Amin said operations and intelligence activities against terrorist and criminal activity in the camps would continue. Legal action against the detainees is under process.

Shariful Islam Sharif, convener of the Ishwardi upazila Swechchhasebak Dal in Pabna, was seriously injured after unidentified assailants allegedly fired at his private car and attacked him with sharp weapons. The incident occurred around 11:45pm on Wednesday on the road in front of Joynagar Kindergarten as he was returning home in Joynagar. He was initially taken to Ishwardi উপজেলা Health Complex and later referred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital after his condition worsened.

Residents and police said several attackers fired from in front of Sharif’s vehicle, causing it to stop, before indiscriminately hacking him. He suffered severe injuries to his face and other parts of his body. Enamul Haque, general secretary of Ishwardi Upazila Jatiyatabadi Jubo Sangskritik Sangsad, said Sharif’s condition was critical and he was being taken by ambulance to Rajshahi.

Police visited the scene after receiving the report. Ishwardi police station officer-in-charge Md Ashadur Rahman said officers had begun efforts to identify and arrest those involved, while investigating the motive. Party sources cited a recent internal dispute involving a school managing committee post, but police said no connection between that dispute and the attack had been confirmed.

A Cumilla court sentenced two members of the banned militant organisation Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, or JMB, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment each in an explosives law case. The same verdict gave Khaleda Akter Rani, wife of one of the convicts, eight years of rigorous imprisonment. Additional District and Sessions Judge of Special Tribunal-6 Khairun Nesa announced the ruling on Wednesday.

The two JMB convicts are Mostafizur Rahman, also known as Mintu, Samad and Rajib, of Naogaon, and Mohammad Durul Huda, also known as Hasan, from Chakpara in Sreepur police station area of Gazipur. The case concerned a Rab-7 operation at a house in Bishnupur under Cumilla’s Kotwali police station in March 2006.

According to case documents, explosives, chemicals, electrical equipment and materials used to make bombs were listed as recovered during the operation. The raid was conducted on information obtained by questioning Shaykh Abdur Rahman while he was in Rab custody. During trial proceedings, 13 witnesses testified at different times in the presence of lawyers for the complainant and accused. The court reviewed testimony, statements, seizure lists and other records before convicting the three defendants.

Authorities have ordered all operations at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries in Bhatiari, Sitakunda, to remain suspended until test results arrive for gas samples sent to Dhaka. Entry into the accident-hit vessel has also been prohibited because officials say it is still unsafe. The order follows the deaths of nine workers after they were exposed to toxic gas while working inside a tank of an old ship on August 14.

Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Fakhrul Islam said the sample was collected and sent to Dhaka, and the shipyard will remain closed until further instructions. Mo Fazle Rabbi, member secretary of the district administration’s investigation committee, said several committees and technical teams, including a high-level Industry Ministry committee, are investigating the incident.

Officials said the type of gas cannot be confirmed before the laboratory report is received, preventing any investigation committee from reaching a final conclusion. Investigators are examining the gas type, concentration and source, as well as whether the vessel was properly gas-freed and whether required worker safety measures were in place. Reopening depends on test results, expert guidance and required clearance.