BGB
Army teams from Bangladesh and India to start joint cycle rally Monday
A 20-member Indian army team arrived in Bangladesh on Sunday to take part in a joint cycle rally with Bangladesh army team to promote friendship between the two countries.
The November 15-19 cycle rally will kick off at Jashore Cantonment on Monday.
It will run through Jhenaidah, Kushtia,Jibonnagar and Darshana.
Also read: BGB-BSF border conference begins in Guwahati
During the tour the cyclists will stop at historical sites of the 1971 Bangladesh War of Liberation in which Indian army joined with Mukti Bahini. They will speak to valiant freedom fighters to learn about their experience.
The Indian team, led by Colonel Mohit Singh, was welcomed at Benapole by Brigadier General of Jashore Cantonment Hafizur Rahman.
Also read: BSF reaffirms to use non-lethal weapons on border
Bangladesh and Indian army teams held their first joint cycle rally in 2017. It has since then been an annual event.
BGB steps up vigilance along Benapole border to prevent diesel smuggling
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has tightened its vigilance to prevent diesel smuggling through Benapole border.
BGB members were seen patrolling the import-export gate of Benapole landport at noon.
Read: Consumers have to bear some of the burden of increased fuel price: Finance Minister
The oil tank of trucks arriving at Benapole landport with imported goods from India is being measured with a scale and recorded in the registrar's book and the trucks are being rechecked at the time of departure.
When the price of diesel in Bangladesh was Tk 65.20 per liter, the price in India was Rs 101.56 per liter (Tk 118.78).
On November 4, the price of diesel in Bangladesh was increased to Tk 80 per liter while its price in India was reduced to Rs 89.79 (Tk 105).
Ari Hossain, general secretary of the Benapole Importers and Exporters Association, said due to the high price of diesel in India, smugglers used to fill barrels with diesel from various fuel stations and supplied it to Indian trucks through pipes.
Read: CPD for reinstating previous fuel prices
A diesel smuggling syndicate was active in the landport area and they have become inactive due to BGB vigilance, he added.
Jashore-49 BGB Battalion Commanding Officer Lt Colonel Selim Reza said instructions have been given from the headquarters to increase surveillance to prevent fuel smuggling to India.
BGB seizes smuggled goods, drugs worth Tk 80cr
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized smuggled goods, arms and drugs worth over Tk 80 crore in various drives across the country in October.
The seized narcotics include 12,86,951 Yaba pills, 1.75kg crystal meth ice, 22,398 bottles of phensedyl, 18,077 bottles of foreign liquor, 1,614 cans of beer, 1,496 kg of cannabis, 4.87 kg of heroin, 1,043 bottles of Cofidil and 38,373 Senegra tablets.
Als Read: BGB seizes 1500 grams of crystal meth in Teknaf
Around 4.66 gm of gold, 26.40 kg of silver, 151,674 pieces of cosmetics, 6,818 sarees, 5,580 readymade garments, 5,535 kg of tea leaves, 15,855 kg of coal, two trucks, six private cars/microbuses, 39 CNG/battery run auto-rickshaws and 75 motorcycles were also seized.
The arms and ammunition seized include four pistols, seven different types of guns, three magazines, 31 mortar shells and 26 rounds of bullet.
Also Read: Arms, valuables, drugs worth Tk 120 crore seized from Benapole in 2020
Legal action has been taken against 302 people for their involvement in smuggling. Some 131 Bangladeshis and three Indian citizens were arrested for illegal border crossing, BGB said.
60,000 Yaba pills seized in Cox's Bazar
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday seized 60,000 Yaba pills during a drive at Palangkhali UP No. 5 in Ukhia upazila of Cox's Bazar district.
Tipped-off, a team of BGB Battalion-34 of Cox’s Bazar conducted a drive in the area in the early hours of Thursday while some Yaba traders were entering Bangladesh from Myanmar, said a press release.
Also read: Man held with Yaba pills in stomach at Dhaka airport
When the BGB men challenged the Yaba traders, they fled the scene abandoning a bag containing the contraband pills on the spot.
Later, the BGB men recovered 60,000 Yaba pills worth TK 1.80 crore from the bag.
Also read: 3 arrested in city with 40,000 pcs of yaba
‘Need some rest now,’ BGB man says in suicide note
A Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member allegedly killed himself with his own gun on Friday night apparently having failed to endure acute poverty.
“Too tired of fighting with poverty for the past seven years; need some rest now,” the BGB man said in his Facebook handle barely an hour before taking his life.
Sohrab Hossain Chowdhury, 23, hailing from Parshuram upazila in Feni district, killed himself at 39 BGB battalion camp in Khagdahor area in Mymensingh, said assistant director of the battalion Yunus Ali on Saturday.
Around 8:03 pm on Friday, he posted the suicide note on social media about his job dissatisfaction and urged all to forgive him.
Read: Schoolboy commits suicide over motorcycle
Sohrab narrated how “shamefully” he had to borrow money from his uncle for his mother’s treatment last month as he could not afford it with his small amount of salary.
“Didn’t get any chance to do anything for my physically- challenged younger brother,” he wrote.
“Amid the situation, people ask me why I’m not getting married. I never thought of getting married; only wanted to live a decent life somehow, but that has not been possible.”
”I’m too tired after fighting with mental pressure and poverty for the last seven years. Now I need some rest,” he wrote adding, “I seek pardon from my family, seniors, juniors and friends for this heinous act. But I had no other alternative.”
Bangladesh reports 70% more deaths from suicide than Covid-19, according to a recent study by Aachol Foundation published on March 14, this year.
Read: RU student commits 'suicide'
Poverty in Bangladesh
The percentage of the population living below the poverty line (upper poverty line) in Bangladesh has nearly doubled from 21.6% in 2018 to 42% in 2020, while the percentage of extreme poor (lower poverty line) trebled from 9.4% in 2018 to 28.5% in 2020, according to South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM).
The poverty rate has increased in both urban and rural areas in Bangladesh. The percentage of the population below the poverty line in rural areas was 45.3%, while the number was 35.4% in urban areas. The percentage of extreme poor in rural areas was 33.2%, while in urban areas it was 19%.
Cumilla incident: BGB troops deployed in 22 districts
Amid the escalating tension over the Cumilla incident, members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in 22 districts, including Chattogram, Cumilla, Narsingdi and Munshiganj districts to assist the civil administration.
The BGB troops have been deployed following the demand of local administrations and as per the directives of the Home Ministry to ensure security during the ongoing Durga Puja celebrations across the country, said BGB Director (operation) Lt Col Foyjur Rahman.
“BGB troops will be deployed in Dhaka too, if needed,” he said.
Earlier, eight platoons of BGB members have been deployed in different parts of Chattogram district to maintain law and order in the wake of tension triggered by desecration of holy Quran in Cumilla.
Also read: 1016 platoons BGB deployed
The BGB troops were deployed around 9 pm on Wednesday and they will remain out there till October 16, said deputy commissioner of Chattogram Mominur Rahman.
The incident occurred on Wednesday when the Hindu devotees are celebrating Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu community in Bangladesh.
Sources at the local administration said two platoons of BGB troops have been deployed in Hathazari and Banshkhali upazilas each, one each in Patiya, Sitakunda, Fatikchhari and Chandanish upazilas of the district.
Meanwhile, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has warned that those involved in the Cumilla incident will be brought to justice and no offender will be spared.
“It’s an act of an evil communal force, and those who attack Hindu temples won’t be spared either, even if they belong to any party,” Obaidul Quader said while addressing the Mahastami (8th day) of Durga Puja at KIB premises in the capital on Wednesday evening.
He said a united resistance has to be built against those who want to destroy the communal harmony in the country before the national election.
Besides, State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan has urged the people of the country to exercise restraint and not to take law into their own hands over the reported desecration of the holy Quran in Cumilla.
Also read: None of those involved in Cumilla incident to be spared: Obaidul Quader
“Don’t take law into your own hands. Everyone should maintain religious harmony and peace,” he said in an emergency announcement on Wednesday evening.
“We’re closely monitoring the situation in Cumilla. The local administration has been instructed to investigate what really happened [there].” he said.
“Anyone involved in destroying religious harmony [in the country] must be brought under the ambit of law and arrangements be made to give proper punishment,” the state minister added.
Border Guard Bangladesh BGB Job Circular on www.bgb.gov.bd
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has published a recruitment notification for the post of Sepoy (GD) in the 96th batch.
Position Name: Sepoy (GD)
Position Number: Not Mentioned
Educational Qualification: Minimum GPA-3.00 in SSC / equivalent and minimum GPA-2.50 in HSC.
READ: Job Circular: Video Visualizer and Graphic
Physical Qualifications: 5 feet 6 inches for male candidates and 5 feet 2 inches for female candidates. Male weight 49.895 kg and female candidate weight 47.173 kg. In men, chest size is 32 inches in normal condition and 34 inches in swollen condition. In case of female candidates, chest size is 28 inches in normal condition and 30 inches in swollen condition.
Age: 18-23 years
Salary Scale: TK. 9,000-21,800
Nationality: It is the BGB Jobs Circular of Bangladesh. So you know, only Bangladeshi candidates can apply on this BGB Jobs Circular 2021.
READ: Job opportunities at the Marine Fisheries Academy
How to apply: Interested candidates should register between October 15-24 via SMS in English from Teletalk prepaid mobile phone.
Application fee: TK.150
Detailed information can be found on the website (www.bgb.gov.bd).
Chasing smugglers BSF raids Bangladeshi home in Kurigram border
A Bangladeshi family suffered harassment at the hands of Indian border guards who entered their frontier home while chasing drug smugglers, border officials said on Friday.
The incident occurred on Thursday night at the Phulbari border of Uttar Kuthi Chandrakhana in Kurigram Sadar.
Read:Bangladeshi man found dead at Kurigram border, police suspect BSF shooting
Local villager Rafiqul Islam said BSF members forced their entry into the house despite his protest that no smuggler was there. They misbehaved with him and his family members.
However, BSF members told the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at a flag meeting on Friday that they entered Bangladesh by mistake while chasing the smugglers in darkness.
Read:2 Bangladeshi youths killed in BSF firing along Lalmonirhat border
Lalmonirhat 15 BGB Battalion Commander Lt. Col. SM Touhidul Alam PAC said that the situation was brought under control after the flag meeting.
The BSF guards have admitted their wrongdoing, he said.
Cox's Bazaar: Drugs worth Tk 2.7cr seized, 5 held
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has nabbed five suspected drug peddlers in Cox's Bazaar.
The arrestees have been identified as Md Shamsul Alam (25), Md Akhter Hossain (35) Md. Hossain (28), Md Jamir Hossain (50), and Md Kefayetullah (30).
Around 90,000 pieces of Yaba tablets worth over Tk 2.7 crore have been seized from their possession.
Following a tip off that a trawler carrying a huge consignment of counterfeit goods might arrive at Mistri ghat from Myanmar on Monday, a team from BGB-2 battalion Teknaf raided an anchored vessel, Colonel Mohammad Faisal Hasan Khan, the head of the battalion, told the media.
Read: 2.59 lakh Yaba tablets seized from 2 picnic buses in Chattogram
After a thorough search, the BGB personnel seized the huge quantity of Yaba tablets hidden inside the oil tank and took the five peddlers on board the vessel into custody.
In an unrelated incident, a patrol team of the BGB 2 battalion seized some 14,000 pieces of Yaba tablets near the Damdamia check post in Teknaf.
Sources said that the BGB personnel signalled a biker to stop for checking at the post but he abandoned the two-wheeler and disappeared in the mountains. A search resulted in the drug haul, the sources said.
BGB seizes smuggled goods, drugs worth Tk 106.98 cr in Sept
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized various smuggled goods, arms and drugs worth Tk 106.98 crore in various drives across the country in September.
The seized drugs include 20,03,787 Yaba pills, 2.95 g crystal meth ice, 22,368 bottles of phensidyl, 15,684 bottles of foreign liquor, 2,938 cans of beer, 1,565 kg 965 g of cannabis, 9.15 kg of heroin, 13,099 injections, 7,496 Iskaf syrups, 125 bottles of Magdil/Cofidil, 49,675 Anegra/Senegra tablets and 1,75,102 other tablets.
Around 6.78 kg gold, 53.60 kg silver, cosmetics s, 4,842 sarees, 112 readymade garments, 3,378 Cubic feet of wood, 10,826 kg of tea leaves, 26,050 kg of coal, 5 trucks/covered vans, 10 private cars/ microbuses, 8 pickups, 60 CNG/battery run autorickshaws and 70 motorcycles were among the smuggled goods.
Also read: BGB seizes 2000g crystal meth in country’s biggest haul in Teknaf
The arms and ammunition recovered included three pistols, five different types of guns, five magazines and 12 rounds of bullet.
Besides, legal action has also been taken against 345 people for their involvement in smuggling. Some 221 Bangladeshis and nine Indians were arrested for illegal border crossing.
Also read: Benapole: BGB on high alert to prevent rawhide smuggling