Zahidul Islam Saimon, a first-year student at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of Rajshahi University (RU) who was airlifted to Dhaka in critical condition after suffering a stroke, has passed away.
wo students of Chattogram University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) drowned and died in a campus pond around 1:30pm near the Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall on Wednesday.
Police have arrested two people, including a leader of the National Citizens Party (NCP), in connection with the abduction of a Class 10 schoolgirl in Ashulia, Savar.
Law enforcement agencies claim that the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was operating a bomb-making cell in Savar, Dhaka, after renting a house under false identities. Following the recovery of 15 pipe bombs, various chemicals, and bomb-making equipment from the residence, a JMB operative named Arif was arrested.
Protests, vandalism, and assaults on journalists were reported in Natore-1—the constituency of State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin Putul—following the publication of recruitment results for family card census data collectors and supervisors. Chatra Dal activists staged demonstrations by entering the upazila parishad complexes in both Bagatipara and Lalpur, leaving the respective Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) trapped in their offices. The incidents occurred around 11:30am in Bagatipara and 12pm in Lalpur upazila parishads on Wednesday (August 12). Protesters alleged that transparency was not maintained in recruiting data collectors and supervisors for the family card census, claiming that Awami League-affiliated individuals were favored on political grounds while Chhatra Dal activists were excluded. Consequently, they demanded the cancellation of the published results and a re-verification process. According to eyewitnesses, Chatra Dal activists gathered in the morning at the temporary upazila BNP office in the Malanchi rail gate area of Bagatipara. Later around 11:30am, a procession led by Upazila Chatra Dal Convener Sohel Rana and Municipal Chatra Dal Convener Motaleb Hossain Panna marched toward the upazila parishad. Upon reaching the complex, protesters positioned themselves in front of the UNO's office, with some allegedly kicking the door of the UNO's room. Several flower tubs, plastic chairs, and a corridor gate were vandalized during the unrest. Bagatipara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Debashish Basak was confined to his room for approximately 30 minutes, after which protesters moved down to the ground floor following assurances from upazila administration officials. Meanwhile, around 11:30am, Lalpur Upazila Chhatra Dal activists gathered at the upazila parishad compound and entered the UNO's office, where two local journalists were reportedly beaten. Lalpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md. Barkat Ullah was subsequently blockaded inside his office. Protesters in Lalpur similarly complained that they were deprived of data collector and supervisor positions in favor of Awami League supporters, demanding the scrapping of the list and a fresh evaluation. Attempts to reach Bagatipara UNO Debashish Basak and Lalpur UNO Md. Barkat Ullah for immediate comments were unsuccessful. Additional police forces have been deployed in the upazila parishad areas following the incidents, while Bagatipara Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Hannan did not respond to mobile calls as he was reportedly in a meeting with the UNO.
Tension flared up at the Meherpur General Hospital following a physical altercation between a Jamaat-e-Islami Member of Parliament and local BNP activists, which disrupted medical services in parts of the hospital and sparked panic among patients and their attendants.