United News of Bangladesh

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained a man on Friday while he was attempting to smuggle US $51,000 into India through the Mujibnagar border in Meherpur. Acting on a tip-off, Lt. Col. Md. Nazmul Hasan, commander of the BGB’s Chuadanga Battalion (6 BGB), deployed a team led by Acting Quartermaster Assistant Director Md. Haider Ali. The team set up an ambush at Fashitala, approximately 200 yards inside Bangladesh from Main Pillar 99 of the border, under the jurisdiction of Anandabas BOP in Mujibnagar upazila. Around 12 noon, the BGB team noticed a suspicious individual riding a bicycle from the zero line area, carrying a bag filled with grass. Upon sensing the presence of BGB members, the man attempted to flee but was quickly caught. BGB destroys seized drugs worth Tk 1,322 crore in Cox’s Bazar Upon searching the bag, the patrol team recovered five packets wrapped in black scotch tape, which—according to the detainee’s confession—contained foreign currency. A total of $51,000 USD was recovered from the packets. Additionally, the team seized one bicycle and a mobile phone. The total estimated value of the seized foreign currency and goods is Tk 62,01,540. Naib Subedar Md. Harun Or Rashid filed a case with Mujibnagar Police Station as the complainant. The detainee was later handed over to the station, while the recovered US dollars were deposited with the Meherpur Treasury Office.

A gunfight took place between members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and hill-based group United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) in Matiranga upazila of Khagrachhari district on Monday. Armed miscreants of UPDF opened fire on a BGB patrol team in the deep forest of Tongpara under Taindong Union in Matiranga upazila, prompting the border guards to fire back, said Lt Col Khalid Ibne Hossain, Commanding Officer of 23 BGB in Jamunipara, Matiranga. After exchanging several rounds of bullets, the miscreants fled the scene, leaving behind their arms and ammunition, Khalid said. 4 held after case finally filed over indigenous teen’s gang-rape in Khagrachhari He said drives to arrest the armed group members will continue. BGB personnel recovered some arms and ammunition from the scene, including two rifles, one pistol, one shotgun, and 16 rounds of bullet and other equipment. No casualties were immediately reported.

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) pushed 13 Bangladeshis into the country through the Motua border in Chhagalnaiya upazila of Feni in the early hours of Friday without following due process, according to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). A patrol team of BGB’s Chhagalnaiya Border Outpost (BOP) under Battalion-4 found the group [four men, three women, and six children] inside an abandoned house near the Motua area around 9am and detained them, BGB said.  BSF 'push-ins' continue: 14 more sent through Matiranga border The detained individuals were identified as Md Altaf, 39, his wife Momina Begum, 32; Md Aminul Islam, 38, his wife Urmi Begum, 29; Mominul Haque, 35, his wife Shefali Begum, 30; and Ishraq Hossain, 40. The remaining six are children. Quoting the detainees, BGB said they were brought to the border with their hands and eyes tied. Taking advantage of bad weather, the BSF untied them and forced them across the border into Bangladesh. Lt Col Md Mosharraf Hossain, commanding officer of BGB Battalion-4 in Feni, said the BGB company commander lodged a verbal protest with his BSF counterpart over the incident. BGB said the 13 individuals were handed over to Chhagalnaiya Police Station. The local administration will take further action regarding them. Chhagalnaiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nazrul Islam said the detainees are currently being sheltered at a room in Motua Government Primary School and are receiving food and necessary assistance. “A formal protest note will be sent over the incident,” said Lt Col Mosharraf. BSF pushes 19 people into Bangladesh: BGB Since May 7, the BSF has illegally pushed almost a thousand individuals into Bangladesh - not all of them Bangladeshis -through various points of the border.

The government is set to procure sound grenades and teargas shells for the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (ret) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. "The BGB has always been equipped with deadly weapons, but they have not had non-lethal alternatives like sound grenades or tear gas. On January 18, there were tensions along the Chapainawabganj border, where Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) reportedly used teargas and sound grenades. But the BGB did not have these options at their disposal," he said following a meeting at his ministry on Monday. Over 33,000 foreigners illegally staying in Bangladesh: Home Adviser In the past, the Adviser said, the BGB had been equipped solely with lethal weapons, which had led to questions about why the force did not use sound grenades or tear gas during border confrontations. In light of these developments, Jahangir Alam said, the government had now authorised the purchase of non-lethal crowd control equipment for the BGB. "We have given permission to procure these items. The BGB already has access to deadly weapons, but they did not have items like sound grenades or tear gas, which will now be acquired for their use," he added. In comparison, the BSF currently possesses such equipment, giving them an advantage in handling border situations that require non-lethal means of crowd control, he said. Despite these issues, the Adviser said, the border situation remains stable, with no major problems reported at present. Meeting underway to finalise new uniform designs for police, RAB, Ansar Turning to the issue of foreign nationals residing illegally in Bangladesh, the Adviser provided updates on a previous circular regarding the matter. "Previously, we reported that 49,226 foreign nationals were residing illegally in Bangladesh after their visas had expired. However, this number has now been reduceda to 33,648. The deadline for these individuals to leave the country is set for January 31," he said.

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has returned the body of a businessman who was killed along the Dhobaura border in Mymensingh on October 24. Lt Col ASM Kamruzzaman, commander of 31 Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) battalion, confirmed the matter on Saturday. The deceased, Rezaul Karim, was a medicine trader from Sherpur. He died while attempting to cross the border at the Dhobaura frontier on October 24. Bachchu, officer-in-charge of Durgapur Police Station, received the body in the presence of BGB members at the Bagmara Land Checkpoint in Netrokona District on Saturday afternoon. An initial examination revealed no signs of gunshot wounds on the body, according to the BGB official. Rezaul hailed from Alinapara village in Sherpur Sadar upazila. He owned a pharmacy on Hospital Road in the Narayanpur area of Sherpur. BGB thwarts BSF's attempt to erect barbed wire fence along Joypurhat border On the evening of October 24, Rezaul was reportedly killed near pillar 1139/9 in the Indian Territory, close to the BGB camp in the Munshipara area of South Maizpara Union in Mymensingh’s Dhobaura upazila. Following the incident, the BSF took his body to the Dhamdam camp. Local residents heard gunfire from the BSF shortly after Rezaul entered India to procure medicines at a lower cost, leading them to believe that he was shot by the BSF. However, on Saturday morning, the BSF informed the 31 BGB battalion in Netrokona that seven individuals encountered challenges from the BSF while trying to cross into India. Six managed to escape, but Rezaul fell off a culvert, suffered a head injury, and became unconscious, subsequently drowning in the water. BSF personnel rescued him and took him to a local primary treatment centre, where he was declared dead. OC Bachchu noted that a case is underway to be filed at the police station.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) thwarted yet another attempt by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) to construct a barbed wire fence along the Panchbibi border in Joypurhat. The incident occurred early Saturday around 5:30 am in the Sonatala border area under the jurisdiction of the Hatkhola BOP camp. Lt Col Mohammad Nahid Newaz, commander of Joypurhat-20 BGB Battalion, confirmed the matter. International law prohibits any construction within 150 yards of the border. Despite this, BSF personnel began erecting a temporary barbed wire fence using bamboo poles approximately 20 yards inside Indian territory, near the third and fourth sub-pillars of main pillar 280, according to BGB sources and local residents. 7 held while trying to enter India through Dinajpur border Local residents alerted the BGB patrol team, who arrived at the scene to intervene. The BGB’s action forced the BSF to halt their construction efforts, ensuring the integrity of the border remained intact. In a related development, a flag meeting was held on Saturday evening between the BGB and the BSF. Under the leadership of Naik Subedar Naeemul Islam, company commander of Koya BOP, and AC Ankur, company commander of the 137 Battalion BSF, both sides discussed the ongoing issue of border construction. The BSF commander assured the BGB that there would be no further attempts to construct the barbed wire fence outside areas allowed under international law. On October 17, BSF members had made two attempts to build a barbed wire fence using iron poles in the same area, but their efforts were similarly obstructed by BGB personnel. Following those incidents, a protest letter was sent by Joypurhat Battalion-20 BGB to the commander of the 137 Battalion BSF.

The 14th anniversary of the atrocious carnage at the Pilkhana BDR (now BGB) headquarters in the capital will be observed on Saturday. A total of 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed in the carnage beginning on this day in 2009. Read more: Bangladesh peacekeeper dies in Congo Marking the day, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will organize Quran Khawani, doa, and milad mahfil, said a BGB press release. Floral wreaths will be placed at the graves of the slain army officers at the Military Graveyard in the capital's Banani at around 9 am by the representatives of President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. To mark the day, all Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) installations will have the BGB flag at half-mast and all BGB members will wear black badges.  Besides, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, chiefs of the three services -- Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan -- Director General of BGB Major General Md Shafeenul Islam and the family members of the slain officers will also pay their tributes to the slain Army officers. On February 25, 2009, several hundred Bangladesh Rifles (now BGB) men rose up in an armed revolt at the Darbar Hall of the force's Pilkhana headquarters during the three-day "BDR Week". They killed 74 people, including 57 army officers. The mutiny finally ended the following day (Feb 26) with the surrender of firearms, ammunition and grenades through a negotiation between the then government and the BDR rebels. A total of 58 cases including one for murder and looting and the rest for mutiny were filed in connection with the incident. Some 152 people were sentenced to death and 423 others to different jail terms in the killing case. Besides, 277 accused were acquitted in the country’s largest-ever killing case. Among the convicts, 262 mutineers were sentenced to different jail terms starting from three months to 19 years and 161 people, including late BNP leader Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and local Awami League leader Torab Ali, were sentenced to life imprisonment. On the other hand, 5,926 BDR personnel were sentenced to different jail terms ranging from four months to seven years in the 57 mutiny cases.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Wednesday said they detained two people with 70 gold bars worth Tk6.52 crore from the Kaira border area in Benapole. The detainees are Md Shafiqul Islam, 29, of Benapole and Md Hannan, 34, of Chandpur. Read more: 2 held with 20 gold bars in Chattogram’s Sitakunda Tipped off, a team of BGB-21 intercepted a car while it was trying to cross the border in the Panch Kaira Ambagan area this evening, Lieutenant Colonel Tanvir Rahman, commanding officer of BGB-21, said. Later, the BGB men seized the gold bars from the car and detained the duo, he said. "Legal actions will be taken against the detainees."

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members detained a suspected drug trader along with 30,000 Yaba pills from Baroitoli area in Teknaf upazila on Monday night. The arrestee is Sirajul Islam, 25, son of Mohammad Shah of Baroitoli village in the upazila. Read more: Smuggled drugs, other goods worth over Tk 1,565 cr seized in 2022: BGB Tipped-off, a special patrol team of BGB-2 conducted a drive at Sirajul's house and detained him along with the Yaba pills, said Lieutenant Colonel Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar, commanding officer of BGB-2 Battalion. During the drive, two mobile handsets and Tk 5,000 were recovered from the possession of the arrestee. Read more: BGB seizes drugs worth Tk5.6cr in Cox's Bazar Sirajul was handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station, he added.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members seized 91 gold bars weighing 11.73 kg from Chuadanga and Jhenaidah districts on Tuesday. Tipped off, a team of BGB conducted a drive in Darshana Thana in Jhenaidah on Tuesday and detained a man while he was taking six gold bars to Jibannagar upazila, said Mohammad Saiful Islam, assistant director of BGB-58 battalion. Read more: 9 gold bars seized in Benapole The detainee is Abdus Shukur,35, son of Tabir Rahman of Nutanpara village of Chuadanga's Jibannagar upazila. Later, the gold bars worth around Tk 51 lakh were recovered from his possesion, the officer said. A case will be filed against the detainee, he said adding that the gold bars will be handed over to Darshana police. In Jhenaidah, a special patrol team of Jadavpur BOP under Maheshpur Battalion conducted an operation in Gopalpur village in Maheshpur upazila. Read more: 80 gold bars seized from Jashore border During the drive, 85 gold bars weighing 11.390 kg were recovered by digging soil in a banana orchard. The seized gold worth over Tk 8 crore will be deposited at the Jhenaidah Treasury Office after filing a case at Maheshpur Police Station, said Saiful Islam.