Daughters of a couple killed in Sylhet’s Raynagar triple murder held a human chain on Friday afternoon at Shahi Eidgah, demanding the swift arrest of the real perpetrators and justice. Organised by residents of Greater Shahi Eidgah, the programme warned of broader protests if authorities fail to show visible investigative progress and bring those responsible under the law within three days.

The victims’ daughters, Tahmina Sattar Eni and Selina Sultana Shikha, called for exemplary punishment for their parents’ killers. Family members said three people were brutally killed in the Mitali area of Raynagar on August 12, an incident that shocked Sylhet residents and Bangladeshi expatriates at home and abroad.

Speakers said law enforcement agencies had offered differing explanations for the killings, including a romantic relationship, alleged mistreatment, and efforts to obtain money from theft or house rent. They said these changing accounts had created serious doubts about the actual motive. The family demanded a fair, impartial and credible investigation, while urging that no innocent person be harassed or punished. They also alleged that no visible progress had emerged nearly three weeks after the killings.

Five children drowned while bathing in the Moranadi river in Charchakla village of Debinagar Union, Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila, on Friday afternoon, August 28, during Friday prayers. The incident occurred after the children entered the river together to bathe.

The deceased were Sumaiya, 9, and Abida, 7, daughters of Masud Rana; Sumaiya, 12, and Suraiya, 9, daughters of Nezam Uddin; and Sharifa, 8, daughter of Shariful Islam. Local residents and eyewitnesses said one child began drowning and the others went forward to rescue her.

All five children subsequently drowned one after another, according to local accounts. Residents later recovered them from the water. The deaths have cast a shadow of grief over the area. Additional Superintendent of Police ANM Wasim Firoz confirmed the incident and said a police team was heading to the scene, where necessary measures would be taken after its arrival.

Two young men died following a clash involving intoxicated youths at the bar of Renaissance Hotel in Cox’s Bazar city’s Jhautala area at about 10:30pm on Thursday. Najibul Haque Rashed was declared dead after suffering a neck injury from a broken glass. Solaiman, also known as Salman, later died while being taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital after a mob beating.

Police said Rashed and several others had been drinking when an argument and fight began, with some youths calling additional people to the scene. Sources said the initial argument involved a youth named Ansar, who called Radi and Salman. Witnesses said Rashed’s throat was cut by broken glass during the fight, while Salman was beaten by people below the hotel and handed to police.

Cox’s Bazar police and the district hospital’s resident medical officer confirmed both deaths. Additional Superintendent of Police Ahidul Islam said police had begun operations to detain those involved and said one person taken into custody had also died. He described the bar as unlicensed, while hotel manager Faizul Haque said it held a valid licence renewed until June 2027. Police also reported attacks and vandalism at homes of people linked to the incident.

Residents in Islampur, Jamalpur, have alleged widespread irregularities and corruption in government food-for-work rural infrastructure projects. The project period ended on June 30, nearly two months before the report, but work on several schemes remained incomplete. Locals also alleged that in some locations only nominal work was completed before allocated rice and wheat were withdrawn.

According to the district Relief and Rehabilitation Office, Islampur received 48 tonnes 320 kilograms of rice and 38 tonnes 680 kilograms of wheat in the second phase of the Department of Disaster Management’s Kabikha programme for fiscal year 2025-26. Residents questioned work and spending on several road and guide-wall projects, while project presidents and union parishad representatives generally said work had been properly completed or matched the allocation.

Current UNO শাহ্ মো. জুবায়ের said allocations were released before he joined and that those responsible for supervision should investigate. Former UNO নামজুল হুসাইন said he had instructed the PIO not to release bills if work was not properly implemented. Acting PIO মো. হাবীবুর রহমান সুমন said bills were issued after inspections, but added that work would be completed where needed; he also said final reports had not been sent and fieldwork was continuing.

Bogura, a key northern district of Bangladesh, is increasingly becoming a drug supply centre or “dumping point,” despite regular law-enforcement raids, arrests and awareness programmes. Authorities say established traffickers and newly involved young people are active in the trade, making identification difficult. The Department of Narcotics Control detained a couple in an anti-drug operation on August 20.

From January 1 to July 31 this year, the department conducted 1,255 operations in Bogura, arresting 560 people and filing 451 cases while seizing large quantities of narcotics. During the same period in 2025, authorities conducted 2,242 operations and arrested 972 people. Nearly 2,000 people received treatment at the district’s 19 drug rehabilitation centres over the past seven months.

Officials say drugs including phensedyl, buprenorphine injections, cannabis and tapentadol tablets enter northern areas through border routes, while large yaba consignments from Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar are allegedly stored in Bogura before wider distribution. Anti-drug billboards have been installed at five main entry and exit points, with expanded campaigns planned across 109 union councils and municipal areas.

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate seized three luxury vehicles from the parking area of Hotel Ocean Paradise in Cox’s Bazar over allegations of duty evasion and imported vehicles using forged documents. Chattogram regional office Additional Director General Rezvi Ahmed disclosed the operation at a press briefing at the hotel on Friday at 4pm. The raid was conducted around 3am on Thursday following a confidential tip.

The seized vehicles were identified as a red 2021 Toyota M Crop bearing registration Dhaka Metro-Ga-30-1224, a red Honda bearing Dhaka Metro-Ga-18-9668, and a twin-grey 2020 Mazda bearing Dhaka Metro-Ga-24-7399. Customs intelligence officials said all three vehicles were manufactured in Japan. During the operation, users of the vehicles were asked to show import documents and legal purchase papers.

According to customs authorities, the users could not produce the required documents establishing lawful importation and purchase. Officials are examining how the vehicles entered Bangladesh and whether duty evasion, false declarations, forged paperwork, fraud or smuggling were involved. The vehicles’ import, ownership and related records are being verified, and legal action will follow if irregularities or duty evasion are established.

Rangpur Metropolitan Police said two arrested suspects confessed in court to killing retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty and three family members at their home in Machhuapara, Rangpur. Police Commissioner Abdul Mabud said the suspects, Siddhartha Das and Mugdha Das, stated that Ganapati saw them consuming yaba on the roof after dawn on 20 August, after which they allegedly strangled him, his wife, daughter and 12-year-old son Ayush.

According to the police briefing, Ganapati, his wife and daughter were killed on the roof, while Ayush was killed after waking up downstairs and recognizing Siddhartha. The suspects allegedly moved bodies to conceal them, cut an electric wire because they feared CCTV surveillance, and ransacked rooms to make the killings appear to be a robbery. Police said they took gold ornaments and Tk15,000 in cash.

Police said Mugdha was arrested at a cremation ground about three kilometres away after allegedly admitting the killings to caretaker Bidyut Das, who later gave a statement under Section 164. Post-mortem reports confirmed all four deaths were caused by strangulation, police said. Drug tests and DNA sampling of the two accused are under way. Police also said tests found no evidence of rape involving two victims.

A construction worker, Ujjal Khandakar, 40, died after falling from a lift while working at the under-construction Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project in Ishwardi, Pabna. The accident occurred on Friday afternoon inside a building of Nikimath Company at the project site. Khandakar was employed as a labourer under the company at MTU-2.

Police and project-related sources said Khandakar was working on a man lift at Nikimath Company’s OOUKS building when he fell from an estimated height of 20 feet. He suffered severe injuries, including fractures to his arms and legs and torn neck muscles. His colleagues rescued him and arranged initial treatment within the company area.

He was later taken to Ishwardi উপজেলা Health Complex and referred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital after his condition deteriorated. He died while undergoing treatment there. Workers expressed grief over the death and called for an investigation into the cause of the accident and whether required workplace safety measures were in place. Ishwardi police station officer-in-charge Md Ashadur Rahman said police would gather further information and take necessary legal action.

Rangpur’s new Police Commissioner Mahbubur Rashid said police are working to ensure justice by submitting a charge sheet in sensational cases, referring to the killings of four members of a family in the city. He made the remarks on Friday afternoon after visiting the home of retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty in Daspara.

Police had recovered the bodies of Ganapati Chakraborty Jewel, his wife Pritilata Chakraborty Bala, their daughter Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, and their fifth-grade student son Ayush Chakraborty from the residence on Saturday night. According to police, all four were strangled to death.

Ganapati Chakraborty’s elder brother Gopinath Chakraborty filed a murder case at Rangpur Metropolitan Kotwali Police Station. Police later arrested Mugdha Das, son of Kanu Das, and Siddhartha Das, son of Binoy Das, in connection with the case. The commissioner also described drugs as a nationwide social problem and said visible action against narcotics would be seen within a week.

A Shariatpur district BNP joint general secretary, Arifuzzaman Molla, filed a written extortion complaint against several journalists at Palang Model Police Station on Wednesday night. The complaint came as journalists submitted written allegations that three reporters were beaten and others were threatened by phone. Police said both sets of allegations are being examined, and no case or general diary had been recorded from the journalists’ complaints nearly 24 hours later, according to the reporters.

The dispute began after Shariatpur Press Club’s boundary wall was demolished on Saturday night without written notice, prompting conflict between journalists and the district administration. Time Television journalist BM Israfil was allegedly attacked the following morning and suffered a fractured right wrist. Journalists later protested outside the district commissioner’s office, while a BNP-linked group organized a subsequent demonstration against journalists.

Three reporters alleged they were assaulted while covering Tuesday’s protest, naming Molla and others. Journalists also said an audio recording contains threats attributed to Molla. BNP vice-president Sirajul Haque Molla denied having information that party leaders beat journalists, but called one leader’s remarks regrettable and said organizational action would follow an investigation. Police said legal action would depend on verified findings.

Thieves stole most of the Treasure of Villena, a major Bronze Age collection, from a museum in Villena, Spain, early Thursday. The alarm sounded at 5:20 a.m., and the intruders left the building four minutes later, at 5:24 a.m. Authorities said the group likely entered through a window after arriving near the museum in several vehicles.

The collection contains more than 50 objects, including 29 bracelets, 11 bowls and three bottles. Mostly made of gold, it also includes silver, iron and amber artifacts dating to about 1000 BC. Archaeologist Jose Maria Soler discovered the treasure in 1963 in a buried vessel beneath a dried-up riverbed in Villena. The mayor estimated the gold alone at about $2 million, while its historical value was described as nearly impossible to determine.

Mayor Fulgencio Cerdan said the thieves took “most of the collection” and called the loss devastating for Villena’s heritage. Officials said all security systems activated and denied a museum security failure. Investigators are examining whether an earlier alarm at a city sports center was intended to distract security staff. The theft has renewed debate over museum security across Europe.

Rangpur Metropolitan Police said two arrested suspects gave court statements describing the alleged killing of retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty and three family members at their Machhuapara home in Rangpur. Police Commissioner Abdul Mabud said the suspects claimed they were seen consuming yaba on the roof after 20 August and then killed the victims by strangulation.

According to the briefing, Ganapati, his wife and daughter were allegedly killed on the roof, while 12-year-old Ayush Chakraborty was killed inside after waking up. The suspects allegedly moved bodies to less visible areas, cut an electrical wire over fears of CCTV, ransacked rooms to portray the incident as robbery, and took gold jewellery and Tk15,000.

Police said Mugdha Das was arrested at a cremation ground about three kilometres away after allegedly seeking water and shelter from caretaker Bidyut Das, who later gave a Section 164 statement in court. Postmortem reports confirmed strangulation in all four deaths, police said. Testing of the suspects’ dope and DNA samples is under way. Police said vaginal-swab tests found no evidence of rape.

Police have submitted a chargesheet against madrasa teacher Aman Ullah Mahmudi, also known as Sagar, and his brother Maimun, also known as Mamun Mia, in a case involving the alleged rape of an 11-year-old madrasa student in Madan upazila of Netrokona. The investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Md Aktaruzzaman of Madan Police Station, filed the chargesheet in court on Thursday, 27 August.

The two accused face charges under Section 9(1) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, and Section 506 of the Penal Code. Police filed the chargesheet after a CID DNA test found a 99.99 percent match between the newborn delivered by the child and Aman Ullah Mahmudi. Public Prosecutor Advocate Nurul Kabir Rubel said the final DNA report from the CID laboratory in Dhaka had recently reached the court.

The child gave birth to a daughter at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital on 2 July. Her mother filed the case on 23 April, alleging repeated rape. The court sent the child to a Sylhet safe home on 12 May, while the investigation has now concluded and the case will proceed through further legal steps toward trial.

Police arrested four suspected criminals, including Kala Mobarak, also known as Golakata Mobarak, during a pre-dawn operation on Wednesday in the Shahnagar Pollanpara area of Lelang Union in Fatikchhari. Officers recovered four firearms, 23 rounds of ammunition, three magazines and spent cartridge cases, Superintendent of Police Masud Alam said at a Thursday press conference at the Chattogram District Police office.

Police said one recovered weapon was a Brazilian-made 9mm foreign pistol that matches the list of government weapons looted from Kotwali police station. After reviewing CCTV footage of the killing of Jubo Dal leader Masudul Haque Chowdhury, investigators identified Kala Mobarak and initially believe the 9mm pistol was used in the murder. Chowdhury was shot dead publicly in Rauzan's Pahartali area on June 13.

The other recovered weapons included a 7.65mm foreign pistol, a foreign revolver and a locally made pistol. Police describe Kala Mobarak as a close associate of David Emon and Raihan and as a principal shooter for the Boro Sazzad group. Investigators will examine serial numbers, official records, ballistic evidence and the weapons' supply route.

Rapid Action Battalion personnel arrested two alleged drug traffickers and seized 100,000 yaba tablets from a pickup truck in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar. The operation was conducted at a checkpoint set up in front of the RAB Teknaf camp on the Teknaf-Cox’s Bazar road at about 6pm on Wednesday, August 26.

The detainees were identified as Jafar Alam, 55, of Notun Para in Ward No. 3 of Sabrang Union, and Md Tariq, 19, of Karachi Para in Ward No. 2 of the same union. Both are residents of Teknaf Upazila. RAB-15 Assistant Director for Law and Media and Assistant Superintendent of Police A. M. Faruk confirmed the matter.

According to RAB, a patrol team signalled the suspicious pickup to stop during regular duty and searched the vehicle and its occupants. The tablets were found concealed behind the driver’s seat. Officers also seized the pickup and two mobile phones. The suspects and recovered evidence were handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station for a regular case under the Narcotics Control Act.