Faridpur
Croplands inundated in Faridpur as major rivers swell
The major rivers in Faridpur including the Padma River have started to swell, inundating low-lying char areas and causing worry to local farmers.
Following the authority’s instruction farmers of the low land areas of Faridpur Sadar have started harvesting half-ripe nuts, paddy and sesame to reduce losses.
Also read: Sylhet: Flood-hit city dwellers suffer crisis of gas, power and safe drinking water
Ramzan Ali Bhuiyan, a farmer from Paldangi area in sadar upazila, said that he cultivated nuts on eight bighas of land. But due to the sudden rise in water level of the Padma River nuts of all lands have been submerged, causing huge losses, he said.
Sufia Begum, wife of another farmer, said, “I cultivated nuts on one acre of land spending Tk 30,000 and selling these nuts I planned to run my family. But the sudden flood forced me to harvest the unripe nuts which will have no use other than fodder.”
Dikrir Char union parishad chairman Mehedi Hasan said onrush of water from the upstream flooded the char areas in sadar upazila and nut cultivators of the union are the worst sufferers as nut is the major source of their income of the char residents.
Faridpur: Both Nixon, Zafarullah want investigation into killing of UP chairman's son
Faridpur-4 MP Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury Nixon and Kazi Zafarullah, a former lawmaker and presidium member of the Awami League (AL), have urged the administration to investigate the killing of the ten-year-old son of a union parishad chairman in Faridpur.
They made the call while briefing journalists after attending the namaz-e-janaza of the deceased child in Sadarpur upazila Thursday. The two are aspirants to the AL ticket in the constituency for the 2023 election. Nixon is MP on an independent ticket, twice running, but has made no secret of his desire to be officially the "Nouka" candidate as well.
Zafarullah's wife, Nilufar Zafarullah, served the constituency as MP before Nixon on the AL ticket. The family is related to the Sheikh family.
"Miscreants hacked Rafsan, a third-grader, to death as they came to kill his father Mizanur Rahman, chairman of Dheukhali union under Sadarpur upazila. I have requested the Faridpur superintendent of police to look into the matter," Zafarullah said.
The deceased Rafsan was buried in the evening. Earlier in the day, his body had been brought to his maternal grandfather's house at Sadarpur after a post-mortem examination.
Wednesday afternoon, a youth named Ershad Mollah of Dheukhali union killed the sleeping Rafsan and left his mother Diljahan Ratna, 35, injured over the outcome of a mediation, according to Fahima Quader Chowdhury, additional superintendent of police (Bhanga Circle).
Later, Ershad killed himself by jumping off a building, Fahima added.
Also read: One killed, 10 injured in Faridpur clash
Lightning kills 25-yr-old in Faridpur
A 25-year-old man who had come to his native village on Eid holidays, was killed after being struck by lightning in Faridpur early on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Rakibul Islam 25, son of Chiru Matubbor from South Gopalia village in Sonapur union of Saltha upazila. He worked with a private firm in capital Dhaka.
“He had come to his native village to celebrate Eid with his family. The tragedy occurred around 6.30am as Rakibul was going to the cow shed," said Khayruzzaman Babu, chairman of Sonapur UP.
Also read: Lightning strikes kill 6, injure 3 in four districts
On Tuesday, six people, including two teens, were killed and three others were injured in lightning strikes in Tangail, Brahmanbaria, Meherpur and Habiganj districts.
According to government data, lightning strikes — electric discharges between the atmosphere and the ground — have claimed about 2,800 lives in the past 11 years.
An approximate 200 people die every year in lightning strikes in Bangladesh, more than by floods, cyclones and other natural calamities, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
Also read: Lightning strike kills 2 in Dinajpur
Experts said about 70% of the total lightning strikes usually occur between April and June, and advise everyone to move with caution during this time.
2 killed in Faridpur road crash
Two people were killed and another one was injured when a bus rammed a rickshaw at Mechordia intersection in Madhukhali upazila on Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Kalam Sheikh, 62, son of Chener Uddin and Rubia Begum, 55, wife of Pachu Sheikh of the upazila.
READ: 2 motorcyclists killed, 1 injured in Brahmanbaria road crash
The accident occurred around 2:30 pm when the Dhaka-bound ‘Royal Express Paribahan’ hit the rickshaw, leaving two people including the rickshaw puller died on the spot and another injured, said Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Madhukhali Police Station.
The injured Mannan Molla was taken to Madhukhali Sadar Hospital.
Two killed by rivals in Faridpur village
Two men were killed and another injured in an alleged attack by members of a rival group over establishing dominance in Jandi village of Faridpur on Thursday night.
The deceased were identified as Kamrul Matubbar, 32, and Chhaleman Sharif, 35, residents of the village in Tujarpur union under Bhanga upazila.
Eyewitnesses said that around 15 people attacked Kamrul and Sharif while they were returning home on a bike from a local bazar around 10pm. Miscreants chopped the duo mercilessly, leaving Sharif dead on the spot.
Also Read: One killed in fight between football fans in Sylhet; two critically injured
A critically injured Kamrul was rushed to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College and Hospital in Faridpur. However, his condition worsened and he succumbed to his injuries on the way to a Dhaka hospital.
Aminul, the one riding the bike, also sustained minor injuries in the attack. He is being treated at Bhanga upazila health complex.
Police suspect Kamrul and Sharif were killed by their rivals over establishing supremacy in the village. The other group is led by Jamal Sheikh.
“I visited the spot immediately after the killings. Efforts are on to nab the perpetrators of the crime,” said Fahima Quader Chowdhury, additional superintendent of police (Bhanga Circle).
Additional police force has been deployed in the area to avert an unwanted incident, the police officer added.
Also Read: One killed, 7 injured in bus-van collision on Cumilla highway
Akij sets up rooftop solar plant with Huawei's technology
Akij Group recently set up its first rooftop solar plant at Janata Jute Mill in Boalmari, Faridpur.
Chinese telecom giant Huawei provided technical solutions and support to this initial 470 KW project along with the engineering procurement construction partner Cynergy.
"Bangladesh should now turn its attention to renewable energy as this is where the future lies. We should set a goal to generate 100 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025," Akij Group Managing Director Sheikh Bashir Uddin said.
Read: Self-reliance in seed production essential for food security: FBCCI
Jason Li, board member of Huawei Bangladesh, said: "Huawei wants to empower the energy sector of Bangladesh by increasing efficiency with its extraordinary digital power solutions as we are working here for building a fully connected, intelligent Bangladesh."
Faridpur school student found murdered
A 15-year-old school student who pulled a rickshaw to support his family, has been found dead in Faridpur.
Police said on Saturday that Sabbir Biswas, son of Alamgir Biswas of Char Madhabdia union under Faridpur Sadar upazila, was, in all likelihood, killed by muggers for money as well as his hand-pulled rickshaw.
Sabbir’s uncle Jahangir Biswas said the Class VIII student of Padmar Char High School in Guldangi had been missing since Friday morning.
READ: Faridpur violence: 48-yr-old accused dies in police custody
His body was recovered by police from a playground at Doyarampur in Macchar union this morning.
Faridpur additional superintendent of police (Sadar circle) Suman Ranjan Sarkar said, "We suspect that muggers killed the school student to steal his rickshaw."
12 seized buses burnt; 3 held in Faridpur
Police have arrested three people for setting fire to 12 buses seized by police in Faridpur. The arrestees are Zahurul Islam Johnny, 24, a resident of West Goalchamat area, Parvez Mridha, 21, of the same area and Mohammad Ali, 41, of Gorail village in Nagarkanda. They were arrested from Goalchamat area on Monday, said Additional Superintendent of Police Jamal Pasha in a press conference. Arrestee Johnny and Mohammad Ali gave confessional statements at a Faridpur court on Monday afternoon, he said.
READ: One held over murder of schoolgirl ‘after rape’ in Magura
It was learnt that Johnny used to look after the buses in police custody and Mohammad Ali was a night guard there. On the night of March 12, seized buses of South Line enterprise were set on fire. Of the 22 buses 12 were burnt. The buses were owned by brothers Barkat and Rubel. The buses were seized by Kotwali Police in a money laundering case of Tk 2,000 crore filed by CID at Kafrul Police Station in Dhaka. Imdadul Haque, head of the probe committee formed over the fire incident, said at the press conference that the buses were insured by various insurance companies and had debts to banks. However an investigation will reveal more on this, he said
Tk 13 lakh stolen cash recovered, 2 held in Faridpur
Police have arrested two people for allegedly stealing Tk 20 lakh from Sonali Bank in Faridpur.
During the arrest drive police recovered Tk 13 lakh from them.
The arrestees are Md. Faruk Sheikh, 60, of Khulna and Mohammad Ali, 45 of Munshiganj.
On Tuesday, at around 5 am, Faruk was arrested from his house in Hogladanga village of Khulna and Tk 3 lakh was recovered from his house. On his information, police same day arrested Mohammad Ali and recovered Tk 5 lakh from his father-in-law's house in Munshiganj area around 11 pm.
However, police couldn’t arrest the third accused recovered Tk 5 lakh from his house in Barishal, said Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance) Jamal Pasha in a press conference on Wednesday
The incident occurred on February 6, as Tk 20 lakh cash was stolen from the manager’s room of Faridpur Sonali Bank.
READ: 2 fake DGFI men held in Faridpur
Next day, Mohammad Nazrul Islam whose father’s money it was, filed a case at Kotwali Police Station.
Faridpur’s Kotwali police sub-inspector (SI) Shamim Hasan reviewed the video footage of the area during the investigation and identified the three accused. Of them two have been arrested 37 days after the incident.
During interrogation the arrestees said that they have been doing this for over 17 years in different districts including Dhaka, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Narayanganj. They mainly target elderly people at government post offices and banks.
Police sources said, four people involved with the innocent have been identified. There are several cases against the accused in different police stations. The other two accused would be arrested soon, they said.
Meanwhile, investigation officer of the case SI Shamim said, after the arrestees
gave a confessional statement on Wednesday afternoon, they were sent to the jail as per order of the court.
2 fake DGFI men held in Faridpur
Detective Branch (DB) of Faridpur district police arrested two fake Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) members from the housing estate area in Faridpur town on Tuesday.
The arrestees are Md. Anwar Hossain Babu,54, a former army member and his son Limon Babu, 24, residents of Haldibari village in Kaunia upazila of Rangpur district.
Also read: Fake magistrate held in Jashore
Tipped-off, a team of DB police conducted a drive in the area and arrested them, said Rakikul Islam, officer-in-charge of Faridpur DB Police.
During the drive, the DB men also seized 8 unlicensed walkie-talkies, blank stamps with signature, SIM cards and a private car from their possession.
Legal action will be taken against them, he added.
Also read: Fake Covid test certificates: 14 fraud gang members held