Police in Faridganj, Chandpur, said they arrested fugitive convict Md Masudul Karim, also known as ‘Killer Masud’, during an operation in Chattogram’s Double Mooring area. The arrest was reported on August 19, 2026. Police said he had received a 14-year sentence in an arms case filed at Faridganj police station and had remained in hiding.

According to Faridganj police, a team led by ASI Jumayet Hossain Jewel and ASI Masudul Haque traced his location using information technology. With assistance from local police, the team conducted the operation in Double Mooring. Police said Karim also faces arrest warrants in several cases.

Karim is the son of the late Abdul Halim Bhuiyan of Purba Larua village in Char Dukhia West union, Faridganj. Police and local residents said he was once known as a close associate of Dhaka criminal Pichchi Hannan. He is being held by Faridganj police and is expected to be taken to court on Thursday after legal procedures.

RAB says it has arrested the alleged mastermind behind the robbery of Tk 12.125 million from a DL Filling Station cash vehicle near Crown Plaza in Dhaka’s Airport area on August 9. The agency’s Legal and Media Wing Director, Wing Commander M Z M Entekhab Chowdhury, provided the information on Wednesday night. RAB also said it detained 12 people during an operation against alleged public extortion at a fruit market in Kamalpara, under Turag police station.

Armed assailants on three motorcycles stopped the cash-carrying covered van while it was travelling to deposit money at a bank. They allegedly injured filling-station official Mohammad Al Amin with a sharp weapon after he refused to hand over the money, then fled toward Abdullahpur with the cash bag. A case was filed with Airport police station, and law-enforcement agencies collected nearby CCTV footage.

Earlier, the Detective Branch said it arrested five people and recovered Tk 1.2 million, along with fake RAB identity cards, vests, walkie-talkies, handcuffs and firearms. DB said at least eight people were directly involved. RAB did not immediately disclose the newly arrested suspect’s identity, evidence recovered or specific role, saying details would be provided at a Thursday briefing.

Police in Kolkata have identified two more people killed in a major fire at a residential hotel in the New Market area, bringing the reported death toll to nine. The newly identified victims were Indian nationals: 19-year-old Sandeep Paswan from Bihar and 68-year-old Yog Narayan Agarwal from Siliguri. The report was published on August 19, 2026.

Kolkata police had earlier identified five Bangladeshi nationals among those killed. They were Md Akram Ali, 74, from Kushtia; Debashis Dutta, 39; Afsana Sharmin, 27; Sharnashish Dutta, 3; and Babu Ahmed Babu, 37, a resident of Aminbazar in Savar, Dhaka.

The identity of one victim remains unconfirmed. Following the fire, observations at the five-storey building pointed to alleged irregularities and poor management, including cramped rooms, narrow passageways and an apparent lack of adequate fire-safety measures. Local residents alleged that several hotels operated on different floors, with small accommodation rooms and multiple air-conditioning units on each floor.

Bangladesh Coast Guard recovered two foreign firearms, magazines and ammunition during a special operation on the Naf River in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, on August 19. Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon said the operation was conducted by BCG Station Teknaf from 1am to 8am, following intelligence about an attempted weapons transfer from Myanmar to a terrorist group in a Rohingya camp.

During the operation, personnel signalled a suspicious wooden boat to stop. The boat ignored the signal, entered the Nayapara mangrove area and was abandoned by members of the alleged group, who fled. A search found the weapons and ammunition concealed inside fishing nets.

The seized items included an SVD Dragunov rifle with a magazine, a foreign 9mm pistol with a magazine, 229 rounds of rifle ammunition, two live pistol rounds, one blank pistol round and two MA-1 rifle magazines. Intelligence surveillance and patrols have been intensified to apprehend those involved. Legal procedures regarding the seized weapons, ammunition and boat are under way.

Journalist Debashish Dutta of Kushtia and three family members were killed in a fire in Kolkata, India, according to a report published on August 19, 2026. The other victims were his wife Afsana Sharmin, 25; their two-year-old child Sharnashish Dutta; and Dutta’s father-in-law Md Akram Ali, 64.

Akram Ali’s home was in Thanapara, Kushtia, while Debashish Dutta was the son of Dilip Dutta of Aroya Para in Kushtia town. Family members said Dutta had travelled to Narayana Hospital in Bengaluru on August 4 for his wife’s treatment, leaving behind their six-year-old daughter, Mahima Dutta.

After the treatment, the family had returned to Kolkata the previous day, relatives said. Debashish Dutta had worked with the national daily Ajker Patrika, private television channel Channel Nine, local Kushtia daily Ajker Alo as acting editor, and had formerly served as Kushtia district correspondent for Nagorik Television.

Former Chief Justice Khairul Haque was released from Keraniganj Special Prison on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, according to prison directorate sources. The source described him as a former Awami League-aligned chief justice. His release followed interim bail granted by the High Court in a Banani police station case involving attempted murder and the Explosives Control Act.

Haque received interim bail from the High Court on August 10. Before that, after securing bail in eight separate cases, the investigating officer applied to the court on July 2 to arrest him in the Banani case. He was shown arrested in that case on July 8.

A lower court rejected his bail request on July 27. Haque then filed a bail petition with the High Court on August 9. Following the hearing, the court granted him interim bail on August 10, and he was released from prison on Wednesday.

Shihab Hossain, 24, of Raghobpur village in Kalai, Joypurhat, alleged that he escaped from a private hospital in Pakistan after being taken there on the promise of overseas employment and prepared for kidney removal. He accused his parents, a broker named Tarek Haji and others of arranging the plan. Shihab said he travelled from Dhaka to Pakistan on July 22 and returned to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on July 31.

According to his written complaint, hospital staff told him that his parents had agreed to sell one of his kidneys for Tk600,000 and had received Tk300,000 in advance. He said he had not known of any such arrangement, objected after learning about it and was held while preparations were made for surgery. He alleged that he later escaped with another person's assistance.

Shihab said Kalai police did not accept his written complaint, while the station officer said nobody had come to report such an incident. His parents denied the allegation, saying they had contacted intermediaries to bring him home after he went missing and that he was making false claims. Joypurhat police superintendent Shahnaz Begum said the allegation would be examined and legal action is being taken against organ-trafficking brokers.

Kolkata police have identified five Bangladeshi nationals among those killed in a hotel fire on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata. The report was published on August 19, 2026. Police said the identified victims include Shornoshish Dutta, Afsana Shimmin, Debashish Dutta and Md Akram Ali, all residents of Kushtia district in Bangladesh.

A fifth identified victim, Ahmed Babu, was listed as being from Aminbazar in Savar. According to police information, three-year-old Shornoshish Dutta and his father Debashish Dutta were residents of the Aruapara, Mohini Mill area of Kushtia.

Kolkata police said efforts were continuing to establish the identities of the remaining victims. Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Muhammad Khaled said on Wednesday afternoon that police and the FRRO had informed the deputy high commission after identifying at least five Bangladeshi citizens among the dead. The FRRO is a Home Ministry division that keeps records of data and movements of foreign nationals entering India.

Police in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur arrested Md. Leon Mia on allegations that he used a false identity card claiming to be an officer of the National Security Intelligence agency to marry Mahfuza Akter Ria Moni. The incident occurred in the upazila’s Kachua area, and a case has been filed under multiple provisions of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and the Penal Code. The report was published on August 19, 2026.

According to local and family sources, Leon introduced himself as an NSI officer and presented documents under the name “Somrat Hossain Samim,” leading the woman’s family to accept the marriage proposal. The purported card identified its holder as a “Junior Field Officer,” displayed the NSI name and emblem, and showed an issue date of July 8, 2021.

Police records identify the accused as Md. Leon Mia, who admitted concealing his identity in connection with the marriage. He is also accused of making a forged national identity card for concealment and fraud. The complainant said the family discovered the alleged deception after becoming suspicious following the marriage.

At least 30 people, including police personnel and madrasa students, were injured in clashes over loud music during a cultural programme at the Police Lines in West Medda, Brahmanbaria, late Tuesday night. The incident occurred around 11:30pm on August 19, 2026, and disrupted the district police’s programme. Police used baton charges to control the situation, while both sides chased each other amid the unrest.

The programme had been arranged by district police to mark the visit of Chattogram Range DIG Md Abdul Kuddus Chowdhury. It continued after the DIG had left. Students from nearby madrasas entered the Police Lines and asked organisers to reduce the volume, triggering an argument with police. Tensions escalated after more than 100 students entered the premises, and students began throwing bricks and stones, according to police, students and local sources.

Several students of Darul Arkam Islamia Madrasa said they had examinations the following day and that loud music was disrupting their studies. They said the volume was briefly lowered but later increased, and alleged police baton-charged them during the argument. The students demanded justice and warned of protests otherwise. District Police Superintendent Shah Mohammad Abdur Rauf did not answer repeated phone calls for comment.

RAB-11 arrested a man identified as Chhoto Nishan in Lakshmipur’s Poddar Bazar area under Chandraganj police station on Tuesday, according to the force. RAB said it recovered a pistol, 12 rounds of ammunition and a folding knife from him. The development was confirmed Wednesday morning by Mithun Kumar Kundu, company commander of RAB-11 in Noakhali.

RAB described Nishan as a life-sentenced convict and a warrant-listed accused in multiple murder cases filed with Chandraganj police station. The force said its members conducted the operation after receiving confidential information. It alleged that Nishan attempted to flee on a motorcycle after noticing the presence of law-enforcement personnel, but was detained.

According to RAB, the recovered pistol was among weapons looted from a police station during the July mass uprising. Commander Mithun Kumar Kundu said the operation targeted the recovery of illegal arms and drugs. He said the accused and the seized pistol and ammunition were handed over to Chandraganj police station for legal action.

A Kushtia court has sentenced Ekram Molla to life imprisonment with hard labour for raping a 15-year-old girl with a mental disability in Bheramara. The judge of the Kushtia Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, H M Shafiqul Islam, delivered the verdict on Tuesday afternoon in the presence of the convicted man. The court also imposed a fine of Tk50,000.

Ekram Molla is the son of the late Majid Molla of Goshaipara village in Bheramara upazila. According to court sources, the incident occurred at around 7am on October 10, 2020, when the girl had taken shelter at the accused’s home. The source said Molla forcibly raped her there.

The girl later told her mother about the incident. Her mother then filed a rape case against Molla with Bheramara Police Station. Public Prosecutor Advocate Abdul Majid said seven witnesses testified in the case, and the court found the charge against the accused proven beyond reasonable doubt after the hearing.

A woman in Netrokona has filed a fraud case against a 30-year-old man, alleging that he converted to Islam, married her and later returned to Hinduism before secretly marrying another woman. The complainant, Shipul Akhtar Khanam of Daulatpur in Mohanganj municipality, filed the case at the Netrokona Sadar cognizance court on July 20. The court ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation to investigate.

The accused, Arjun Dhar Hira, also known as Hira Dhar, is from Shaldigha village in Khaliajuri upazila. His mother, Krishna Rani Ghosh, 58, has also been named as an accused. According to the complaint and local sources, Hira adopted Islam in 2014, took the name Md Hira Mia and married Shipul. The couple has a son and a daughter.

The complaint alleges that he returned to Hinduism in 2022 at his mother’s instigation and married a Hindu woman from a neighbouring area. Shipul alleged that he began abusing her over dowry demands when questioned. She voiced concern over her children’s identity. Hira said he had divorced Shipul long ago. PBI sub-inspector Md Jaman Ali said the investigation was under way and a report would be submitted to court.

The body of college student Hafizur Rahman, 28, was recovered on Wednesday morning from a roadside ditch in Paikhati area of Boalmari, Faridpur, three days after a passenger bus crashed there. Rahman, a final-year student at Boalmari Institute of Engineering and Technology, had left home on Monday to travel to Faridpur for his final examination.

Police said a passenger bus and a truck collided head-on in front of an electricity substation in Paikhati on Monday. The bus fell into the ditch and at least 20 people were injured. The following day, the bus was lifted with a crane and taken to the police station, while searches of the scene and nearby areas did not locate any missing person.

A farmer saw the body floating in the ditch where the bus had fallen on Wednesday morning. Police and Fire Service personnel recovered it, and relatives identified it as Rahman. His uncle said Rahman had not returned home after leaving for the examination. Police said they believe he had been trapped underwater beneath the bus. A general diary had been filed in connection with his disappearance.

At least 30 workers were killed after a gold mine collapsed on Tuesday morning in the Abba area of Nana-Mambéré prefecture in western Central African Republic. Local authorities and residents said several other workers remained trapped inside the mine following the collapse. The report was published on August 19, 2026.

Deputy sub-prefectural mayor Souleyman B said rescuers and local residents recovered 30 bodies from the rubble after several hours of efforts. Injured workers were receiving treatment. Survivor Florian Gaguende said rescue teams were searching for those trapped underground, though the prospect of finding them alive was diminishing as time passed.

Souleyman B appealed for help from organizations and other supporters to rescue people unable to leave the pit on their own. Government spokesperson Evariste Ngamana offered condolences to the victims’ families and said the government was working fully to provide relief and assistance. Small-scale mines without technical support frequently collapse in the country, where inadequate safety equipment and protections make mining work highly dangerous.