A Shahjalal University of Science and Technology student was held at knifepoint, robbed and injured in Sylhet’s Goabari tea garden area at about 9pm on Saturday. Local residents helped detain one of the three alleged robbers, who was later handed over to police. The victim was identified as Md Habibullah Mesbah, a 2021-22 academic session student in the university’s statistics department.

University administration sources said Mesbah had gone to teach private tuition in Kucharpur, Goabari, at 7pm. While returning after the tuition, he was stopped near the foreign, Nepali hostel of Ragib-Rabeya Medical College. Three assailants allegedly took him into a nearby tea garden and stole his mobile phone, wallet and cash. Mesbah said they also struck him with a sharp weapon after taking his money and phone.

Mesbah said he sought help from locals while injured, leading to the immediate detention of one suspect. No case had been filed by the time of reporting, although the university proctor, Professor Mokhlesur Rahman, said steps were being taken to file one. Jalalabad police station officer-in-charge Shamsul Habib said legal action would follow if a case is lodged.

Testimony has concluded in the crimes-against-humanity case over the July Revolution against Obaidul Quader, general secretary of the activities-banned Awami League, and six senior leaders of Jubo League and Chhatra League. International Crimes Tribunal-2 set August 4 for arguments. The three-member judicial panel, led by Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, fixed the date on Sunday afternoon.

The other panel members are Judge Md. Manjurul Bachid and Judge Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir. On the day, state defence lawyers Lokman Howlader and Ishrat Jahan cross-examined investigation officer Ahmed Naser Uddin Mohammad, the 26th witness. Prosecutor Faruk Ahmad represented the prosecution at the hearing, accompanied by Prosecutor Moinul Karim and others.

Journalist Ashraf Kaiser testified on July 26, describing the Awami League's long period in power and the July mass uprising. The first phase of testimony had ended on April 27 and a date for arguments was set, but Kaiser's statement was later taken following a prosecution application, and the investigation officer testified again. The other accused are AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Mohammad Ali Arafat, Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, Saddam Hossain and Wali Asif Inan; all are absconding.

Police in Chattogram say the gang of fugitive top criminal Sajjad Ali Khan, known as Boro Sajjad, systematically recruited disadvantaged teenagers and young people with small cash payments. In a report published on August 2, police said recruits were initially paid Tk500 or Tk1,000 for minor crimes before being gradually drawn into weapons use, extortion, assaults and attempted killings.

District police officials said the group targeted youths living on pavements, waste pickers, day labourers, school dropouts, unemployed people and those raised in risky environments. Initial tasks included accompanying armed members, conducting surveillance and intimidating people during extortion demands. Police said recruits were also allegedly used to throw bricks, detonate cocktails, create fear from motorcycles and vandalise premises when business owners refused to pay. Chittagong University assistant professor Moumita Pal said criminal groups exploit the financial vulnerability of poor and helpless adolescents.

Police allege that recently arrested Mobarak Hossain, also known as David Iman, played a key role in recruiting members, coordinating attacks and distributing money. The network was run through small cells across Chattogram city and district, with members often not knowing one another personally. Police said replacements were recruited and given progressively greater responsibilities when older members were killed, arrested or left the group.

District Detective Branch police arrested three people, including the alleged leader of a criminal gang, during a raid on a forested hideout beside the Karatoya River in Bogura Sadar. The hideout was located near the border of the Thengamara and Baghopara areas. Three DB teams, led by Officer-in-Charge Md Iqbal Bahar, conducted the operation at about 10 p.m. on Saturday in an isolated area behind a paper mill and a TMSS factory.

Participating DB sub-inspectors Shamim Ahmed and Fazlul Haque said the raid followed confidential information. Police said the group had been operating alleged criminal activities for a long time from the temporary shelter, which was made of tents and polythene. Officers recovered a foreign revolver, locally made weapons, drugs, cash and a high-powered electric shocker said to have been used for torture.

Police identified those arrested as alleged gang leader Rocky, also known as Pichchi Rocky, his associate Rakib, and another person. Police said five to seven other members escaped by jumping into the Karatoya River and swimming away after becoming aware of the operation. Rocky is the son of late Ratan Member of Mahishbathan village in Shekherkola Union, police said, adding that he faces multiple cases, including murder and fighting allegations.

RAB has arrested death-row convict Md Moazzem Hossain in Cumilla, two years after he escaped from Kashimpur High Security Central Prison. A special team from RAB-11 detained the 30-year-old on Saturday afternoon in the Batakandi Bazar area of Titas upazila. Moazzem is the son of Tara Mia from Kajra in Araihazar upazila of Narayanganj, according to RAB-11 CPC-2 Company Commander Major Sadman Ibne Alam.

RAB said Moazzem and several other inmates climbed the prison wall and fled amid unrest involving a prisoner riot, vandalism and arson at Kashimpur prison on August 6, 2024. Prison authorities filed a case at Konabari Police Station in Gazipur Metropolitan area, naming 199 accused in connection with the incident.

During preliminary questioning, RAB learned that Moazzem had been sentenced to death in a murder case at Motijheel Police Station in Dhaka. He had been held at Kashimpur prison after the court verdict and had remained in hiding in different parts of the country after escaping, RAB said. The force said it intensified intelligence surveillance of fugitives and used confidential information and technology support to locate him. Further legal action is under process.

Nearly 800 fruit-bearing papaya trees in a privately owned orchard on the outskirts of Rangamati town were cut after an alleged demand for Tk10 lakh in extortion money was not met, according to a report published on August 2. The central committee of the Parbatya Chattogram Nagorik Parishad, or PCNP, expressed deep concern over the incident.

In a press release issued to the media on Saturday, PCNP central chairman Abdul Hamid Rana and general secretary Solaiman called for stern action against those involved, described in the release as indigenous terrorists. The organization said extortion, abduction, assault over extortion demands and other terrorist activities have increased alarmingly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in recent times.

PCNP urged the administration to take strict legal action against all active terrorist and extortion groups in the region and ensure the safety of ordinary people, their lives, property and assets. It said that if effective measures are not taken promptly to stop such activities, the organization would be compelled to announce tougher programmes with affected residents of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

A shooting erupted Saturday at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, southern Idaho, killing three people and injuring two, according to city spokesperson Josh Palmer. State police said the suspected gunman was also dead, though Palmer did not clarify whether the attacker was included among the three reported fatalities. Authorities were still investigating the exact casualty count.

Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said the shooting created an extremely chaotic and frightening situation inside and around the restaurant. State police confirmed that several people were killed or injured but said the specific numbers remained under investigation. Police and investigators were continuing work to establish the confirmed number of victims.

Video aired by local media showed a young man outside the restaurant holding a long gun. Other videos circulating on social media showed frightened people running from the area as gunfire was heard. Twin Falls, a city of about 56,000 people roughly 180 miles from Salt Lake City, was described as a quiet city, and the attack at a busy restaurant spread fear across the community.

An explosion near the Balzi Rossi restaurant in Moscow’s Kudrinskaya Square killed at least three people and injured 21, Russian authorities said. The blast occurred at about 8 p.m. local time on Saturday near the entrance to the restaurant, located on the ground floor of a Stalin-era high-rise building.

Russia’s Interior Ministry said on the social media platform Max that the explosion came from a hand grenade or improvised explosive device carried by a woman. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said she was stopped by a security guard while trying to enter the restaurant, and the device exploded at that point. It said those killed included the guard, the woman and a restaurant guest, though the account could not be independently verified.

Police initially reported three deaths and 15 injuries before the number of injured was updated to 21. Armed security forces cordoned off the area and barred public access to the restaurant. Authorities rejected early speculation of a gas-cylinder explosion and described the incident as an attack. They have not released the identities of those killed or injured, or named any additional suspects.

Police in Chaugachha, Jashore, have arrested Arafat Hossain Rabbi, senior joint general secretary of Chaugachha Government College Chhatra Dal, over allegations of raping an 18-year-old second-year HSC student. He was detained around 9pm on August 1 following the student’s written complaint, and a rape case has been recorded against him.

According to the case statement, the student had approached Rabbi, described as her neighbouring maternal cousin, for help obtaining a national identity card. Despite the upazila election office being closed for a public holiday, he brought her to Chaugachha town around 9am. The complaint alleges that he misled her and took her to the home of Jahanara Begum in Niribili Para of municipal ward 4, where he raped her against her will.

The statement says the student became ill after the incident and returned home when she felt somewhat better, then informed her parents. She and her mother later submitted a written complaint at Chaugachha police station. Officer-in-Charge Mamunur Rashid PPM confirmed the arrest and said Rabbi would be sent to a Jashore court on Sunday, while other legal procedures remain under way.

Two 25-year-old men died in separate incidents in Matlab North upazila of Chandpur, with police initially viewing both deaths as suicides. In one case, Shadhin of Mulluk Majhirkandi village in Chengarchar municipality allegedly consumed poisonous tablets in an abandoned cattle farm on July 31 because of debt pressure. He was declared dead at a private hospital in Dhaka at about 10:30 a.m. on August 1 while receiving treatment.

Police said Shadhin made a voice call to his friend Ashraful after taking the tablets and asked him to repay his debt. Ashraful and Saikat rescued him and took him first to Matlab North উপজেলা Health Complex before he was referred to Dhaka after his condition deteriorated. His wife Ayesha, father Chalu Sarkar and relatives told police they had no allegations or suspicions against anyone and sought burial without an autopsy.

In the other incident, Sabbir Hossain was found hanging from a mango tree beside his home in Diglipar Par Pradhan Bari area at around 12:30 a.m. on August 1. Family sources said he had become mentally distressed following marital conflict and his wife leaving for elsewhere. Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Kamrul Hasan said police visited both scenes, investigations were under way and legal procedures would be followed.

A six-year-old madrasa student, Maria Akter Priti, died after being hit by a battery-operated autorickshaw while crossing a road in Purbadhala, Netrokona. The crash occurred on Saturday afternoon in the Nayapara, Thana Road area of উপজেলা সদর Union on the Purbadhala-Netrokona road. Priti was the daughter of Abul Kalam Azad of Pukuriakanda village and attended the infant class at Darul Ulum Nayapara Women’s Madrasa.

Police and local sources said Priti had gone to the madrasa on Saturday morning as usual. After classes ended, she saw her father standing on the other side of the road in Nayapara and attempted to run across. A moving battery-operated autorickshaw struck her, throwing her onto the road.

One wheel of the autorickshaw ran over her body, leaving her seriously injured. Local residents and relatives took her quickly to Purbadhala Upazila Health Complex, where the attending doctor declared her dead. Purbadhala police station officer-in-charge Abdullah Al Mamun said the body was handed to the family after necessary legal procedures, following an application from relatives who made no complaint.

Police Headquarters has issued a nationwide highest alert over possible sabotage targeting vehicles used by police, including jeeps, pickups and buses. The directive, sent in an emergency message by the headquarters’ Operations Control on Saturday, ordered all field-level units to immediately strengthen security arrangements. The warning was based on intelligence information that members of extremist groups or criminals could attack police vehicles.

The message said there can be no laxity or negligence in ensuring the security of police vehicles. It directed personnel to exercise maximum caution both while vehicles are on duty and after they are parked. If a vehicle on duty must stop temporarily, it must be parked in a secure location and kept under constant observation by police members.

No police vehicle may be left without its driver or responsible personnel, with a strict ban imposed on leaving vehicles unattended. Security must also be increased for government vehicles kept after duty at police stations, police lines, office compounds and other designated locations. Headquarters emphasized regular patrols, necessary surveillance and special vigilance to identify suspicious people or objects, calling on officials in all metropolitan areas, ranges, districts and units to implement the instructions strictly.

The 8th Armed Police Battalion arrested 166 people in operations centred on Rohingya camps in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, from May 2025 through July 2026, according to APBn sources. The arrests were made in 71 cases and included 22 suspects in murder cases, eight in arms cases, 12 in abduction cases and 43 in narcotics cases. Police also said 13 abducted women, men and children of different ages were rescued alive and safely.

The operations recovered 204,031 yaba tablets, a submachine gun, a pistol, a revolver, seven one-shooter guns, two single-barrel guns, ammunition, locally made weapons and narcotics. Other seized items included 37 stolen or lost mobile phones, a walkie-talkie set, Tk30,000 linked to bKash fraud and Tk1,434,500 described as proceeds from drug sales and other sources.

Police said the campaign also made progress in controlling group clashes, weapons displays, child marriage, direct and online gambling, and domestic violence in the camps. APBn commander Riaz Uddin Ahmad said intelligence-based planned operations would continue to maintain order and suppress crime.

Students at শাহজালাল বিজ্ঞান ও প্রযুক্তি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় (SUST) held a human chain on Saturday at about 1pm at the university’s Gol Chattar, demanding exemplary punishment for a National Chhatra Shakti leader accused of making offensive remarks about a female student. Participants, including students from different departments and activists from several student organisations, also called for administrative action and a safe campus environment for women students.

The accused, Sajid Ahmed Molla, is a 2021-22 student of the Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science department and had served as joint convenor of the SUST unit of Chhatra Shakti. Bangladesh Chhatra Union organiser Naznin Liza alleged that his comments about a female student of BRAC University were crude and degrading. Speakers linked the allegation to concerns over misogyny, victim blaming and disclosure of personal information.

SUST Chhatra Dal joint general secretary Ashikur Rahman urged a prompt investigation and exemplary punishment. Parts of Molla’s Messenger conversations were circulated in a Facebook post on Thursday, prompting online discussion and criticism. Chhatra Shakti later relieved him of organisational duties through a notice signed by its central office secretary. Protesters reiterated demands for a swift inquiry, legal action and women students’ safety.

Police have arrested Md. Sohel Rana, the husband of dentist Sarah Roksana Pinu, as a suspect in her murder at their home in the Faidabad Jamtala area of Dakshinkhan, Dhaka. Pinu was killed last Thursday. Her sister, Sarah Sultana Poly, filed a case against unidentified people on Friday. Police sought seven days of remand after producing Sohel before a court on Saturday; the court sent him to jail and set Monday for the remand hearing.

Investigators said they are examining family disputes and other aspects of the case. CID members found a shoe print on the inner balcony near a cut window grille and matched it with a pair of shoes found in the home. Police said Sohel acknowledged that the shoes were his. No shoe or foot prints were found on the roof outside the cut grille. The motive has not yet been identified.

Police said the incident occurred between 11:20am and 3pm. A grille on a window of an adjacent room was cut, while about eight bhori of gold jewellery and Tk50,000 in cash were reported missing. The victim's daughter told police she did not see or hear her mother move or speak before leaving for school that day, and later found her lying motionless on the bed.