The strike enforced by doctors in Khulna district hospitals – protesting the attack on a fellow physician, allegedly by a police officer and others – has been postponed this morning for a week. The strike was postponed after three days, following assurance of taking measures in this regard from the authorities concerned. Soon after the postponement, the physicians joined work in respective hospitals.  Dr Baharul Alam, president of Khulna unit of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), said they postponed the strike for seven days upon assurance from Khulna City Corporation (KCC) Mayor Talukdar Abdul Khaleque and local administration of taking action, including arrest of the accused police officer.  Earlier, a tripartite meeting on the strike was held among the demonstrating physicians, the delegation of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the local administration this morning. Awami League Organising Secretary SM Kamal was also present in the meeting. After the meeting, BMA leader Baharul came up with the declaration of the postponement around 11:40 am. Read more: 'Attack' on Khulna physician: Patients continue to suffer as doctors' strike drags into 3rd day Earlier on Friday a series of meetings between the physicians and the DGHS delegation were held but no one could reach a point to call off or postpone the strike.  The DGHS delegation led by its Additional Director General (admin) Dr Rasheda Sultana rushed to Khulna from the capital to address the issue on Friday and held several meetings with the physicians. On February 25, Dr Sheikh Nishat Abdullah, head of Burn and Plastic Surgery Department of Sheikh Abu Naser Specialised Hospital, was physically assaulted, allegedly by a patient’s relatives including ASI Naim, at a nursing home in Sheikhpara of Khulna city during surgery. Protesting the attack, BMA Khulna unit went on a 24-hour work abstention from Wednesday to Thursday morning. The physicians continued the strike for three consecutive days to press home their demand. The strike caused immense suffering to hospitalised patients and others who sought medical treatment. On Thursday, ASI Naim was attached to the police lines after withdrawal from his workplace in Satkhira when the allegation of assaulting a physician surfaced.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested five members of an online gambling gang from Khulna for allegedly laundering money through online gambling platforms. They were arrested in a raid in Khulna’s Rupsa upazila on Thursday night. The arrestees were identified as Md. Rajib, Md. Enamul Gazi, Md. Mehedi Hasan, Md. Idris Mollah and Md. Mamun. According to a press release by the RAB, a group of people in Khulna’s Rupsa upazila have been laundering money through online gambling apps like 1XBET and Velki Live. The ring used to illegally transact money from around the country using Bkash, Nagad and other mobile financial services. Also Read: Money laundering through online gambling platforms: 6 arrested in city Tipped off, the elite force conducted a raid in Khulna’s Rupsa upazila on Wednesday night and arrested the five ring members, including the mastermind. During the raid, the RAB recovered and seized at least five Android smartphones used for online betting. Later, information regarding online gambling, and illegal transactions of both dollars and local currencies through multiple mobile financial services (Bkash, Nogod, Rocket, and Upay) was obtained from various messenger groups found in the recovered mobile phone.   The arrestees were later handed over to the concerned police station.     END/UNB/FK/F

Khulna doctors' strike protesting the "attack" on one of their colleagues by a policeman and others entered its third day on Friday. Healthcare services came to a grinding halt at all government and private hospitals, except for emergency care, in the district due to the strike, causing immense suffering to patients and others. Read more: Assault on Khulna physician: Strike by doctors makes patients suffer Dr Baharul Alam, president of the Khulna unit of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), said a high-level delegation of the Directorate General of Health Services already arrived in Khulna to discuss the withdrawal of the strike. "The delegation will hold a meeting with the BMA, clinic owners and physicians to address the issue," he said. Healthcare seekers said the appointments with specialist physicians, who come from Dhaka and practice privately at clinics, were cancelled on Thursday night due to the strike as the physicians "expressed solidarity with the protesters."  

A 33-year-old man was killed and another critically injured on the Bypass Road in Khulna city Friday morning after police said a truck mowed them down with their motorcycle. The deceased was identified as Mithun Chowdhury from Lakhohati village of Dighalia upazila, Md Wahiduzzaman, officer-in-charge of Aranghata Police Station, said. "The injured, Md Mamun (29), is also from the same area." The accident occurred while Mithun and Mamum were trying to enter the main road. The truck rammed into their motorcycle, leaving them severely injured. Locals rushed Mithun and Mamum to Khulna Medical College Hospital where Mithun succumbed to his injuries around 10:30am. Mamun was sent to Dhaka in a critical condition.

An eighth-grade boy was found hanging from the fan of his classroom in Khulna's Dumuria upazila early Friday, the day after he was reported missing, police said. Six people were detained in connection with the incident. Nirob Mandal, 14, from Gutudiya village of the upazila, was a student of Gutudiya Secondary High School. Locals and police said Nirob did not return home after attending school Thursday morning. Family members looked for him everywhere but could not find any trace of him. An anonymous person called Nirob's father Shekhar Mandal over the phone and demanded Tk30 lakh as ransom in the afternoon, they said. After that, Shekhar Mandal lodged a general diary at the police station. Read more: Islamic Foundation employee strangled to death in Ctg, wife detained Sheikh Kony Miah, officer-in-charge (OC) of Dumuria Police Station, said on information they found the body hanging inside a classroom around 1am. However, he did not say how they were tipped off to the classroom. "It was assumed that Nirob's body was hung from the ceiling fan after he was strangled to death. The body was sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital for autopsy," the OC added.

Two males were detained with 15 gold bars from Zero Point of Khulna city on Saturday, police said. The detainees—Emon and Abul Hossain are from Chattogram and Cumilla. Enamul Hoque, officer-in-charge of Labanchara police station, said they challenged the duo following their suspicious movement in the Zero Point area in the noon while they got off a bus. Later, a total of 15 gold bars were recovered from the possession of the detainees, he said. Read more: 30 gold bars recovered from airport dustbin During the primary interrogation, the duo admitted that they were heading towards the India border in Satkhira to smuggle, the OC said.  A process is underway to take legal action against the detainees, he added.

A Khulna court on Wednesday sent 66 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) including the party’s Khulna city unit member secretary Shafiqul Alam Tuhin to jail in three sabotage cases.  Khulna Additional Metropolitan and Sessions Judge SM Ashiqur Rahman passed the order turning down their bail pleas, BNP’s counsel Lawyer Touhidur Rahman Tushar told UNB. Read more: Simultaneous Movement: BNP rally begins at Dhaka’s Nayapaltan Khulna Metropolitan BNP convenor Shafiqul Alam Mona alleged that the police filed a case in every police station in Khulna on charges of sabotage to thwart BNP's divisional rally in Dhaka on December 10. In these cases, about 50 leaders and activists were arrested and imprisoned for a long time while others secured six weeks' anticipatory bail from the High Court. Meanwhile, hundreds of leaders and activists of BNP and affiliated organisations present on the court premises became agitated following the court order. Read more: Tenth-grader in Ctg jail after getting picked up at BNP rally They brought out a procession demanding withdrawal of the ‘false and fabricated cases’, unconditional release of their activists and resignation of the illegal government.

Khulna Tigers have finally claimed their first victory in the current season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), coming to their fourth match.  They secured a dominant victory against Rangpur Riders on Tuesday in Chattogram, as Tamim Iqbal scored an unbeaten 60. Following the match, Khulna's captain Yasir Ali expressed relief upon the team's success. Read more: BPL 2023: Comilla break out of cycle of defeat in fourth match Khulna won the toss and opted to bowl first in this match.  The Riders were restricted to 129 for all wickets in 20 overs, courtesy of a well-executed bowling effort by the opposition. Unfortunately, they lost their opener Rony Talukdar in the first over, causing an early setback. However, Parvez Hossain Emon and Mahedi Hasan managed to recover with respective scores of 25 and 38, limiting the damage and keeping the Riders in the game. But the other batter down the order failed to do well. Captain Shoaib Malik scored a mere nine runs.  Wahab Riaz and Amad Butt scalped a combined total of seven wickets for Khulna, with Wahab claiming four and Amad bagging three. Tamim responded impressively by notching up 60 off just 47 balls, including four fours and two sixes. Mahmudul Hasan Joy also performed admirably, contributing 38 runs to the total. Read more: BPL 2023: Chattogram romp to easy win over Dhaka Khulna reached the target in 18.2 overs.  The Riders' captain, Shoaib expressed his disappointment, saying that they had to score more runs to win the match, but they were unable to do so.

Police recovered the body of a woman from a river near Putimari Bazar of Khulna’s Batiyaghata five days after she went missing. The deceased was identified as Fatima Begum, 37, of Khulna. According to police, Fatima Begum had been missing since January 7 when she went to NGO employee Tahmina’s house to collect Tk 4,000 owned. Fatima’s family filed a general diary with the police station following her missing. Meanwhile, NGO worker Tahmina and her husband were called to Khulna sadar police station to inquire about the disappearance of Fatima. At the one stage of interrogation, they admitted to killing Fatima Begum and gave a confessional statement. Their statements were recorded by Metropolitan Magistrate Tariqul Islam on Thursday. Read more: Missing man’s body recovered a day after wife drowned in Padma river Nimai Chandra Kundu, officer-in-charge of Khulna police station, said Tahmina, an employee of Nabolok NGO, took Tk 4,000 from the victim saying that she would get a loan of Tk 40,000 from the NGO. But she started an altercation with Fatima about the non-payment of the loan.   On January 7, Fatima went to Tahmina’s house in Daroga Para in the town to get Tk 4,000 back. But Tahmina started an altercation with Fatima and at one stage she hit Fatima’s head with a brick, killing her on the spot. Later, Tahmina and her husband wrapped the body with a plastic bag and threw it in the Putimari River, he added.   According to their confession, divers conducted a search drive into the river but her body was not found. Later, the locals saw the body floating and informed police and police recovered it. Admitting their responsibility in the murder, the couple gave a statement under section 164 in the court. Later the court sent them to jail. Read more: Body recovered from pond in Pabna’s Ishwardi

A fire broke out in a warehouse of jute scrap in Aronghata area in the district on Saturday noon. Tanharul Islam, deputy director at Khulna divisional Fire Service and Civil Defence department, said on information seven firefighting units from several stations are working to tame the fire. Read more: Over 100 shops gutted in Gazipur textile market fire The origin of the fire could not be known immediately, he added.