Five people were killed when a private car was hit by a bus on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway. 10 more people were injured in this accident.

The accident took place on Friday (December 27) in the Dhaleswari toll plaza area. The victims were not immediately identified.

It is learned that a bus lost control and rammed the private car at Dhaleswari toll plaza in the morning. Five people including pedestrians were killed. 10 more people were injured in this incident. The injured were rescued and sent to the hospital.

Deputy Assistant Director of Munshiganj Fire Station Safiqul Islam said that a private car and a motorcycle were involved in the accident when a Bepari Paribahan bus hit the private car going to Mawa from behind. The people who were there immediately including the army and fire service rescued the accident victims.

A child on the bike was killed on the spot and 4 others died on the way to hospital in Dhaka.

At present, the traffic is normal after the rescuers have removed the accident vehicles from that place.

Three agricultural workers were killed in a truck collision in Pabna's Santhia. Five more were injured in the incident.

The accident occurred at a place called Rangamatia on the Santhia-Madhpur road on Friday (December 27) at around 5 am.

The deceased were identified as Khokon Islam (27), son of Altaf of Rangamati village in the upazila, Dhani Pramanik (50), son of Nazimuddin of Chondoh village, and Russell Ahmed (27), son of Said of the same village. The injured were rescued by locals and sent to the hospital.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Santhia Police Station A. Latif said that in the morning, the agricultural workers were preparing to go to another area by Karimun to plant onions. When they reached the place, a freight truck heading to Santhia ran over them, killing three people on the spot. Legal action is being taken after recovering the bodies. The injured have been treated at various places including the hospital. 

The army is working with other law enforcement agencies to prevent attacks and sabotage and to secure important installations or KPIs in the country. Colonel-Staff Colonel Intekhab Haider Khan of the army headquarters said that regular reviews are held with other law enforcement agencies in this regard.

He gave this information in response to a question at a press briefing organized by the army headquarters at the Officers' Mess of Dhaka Cantonment on Thursday (December 26) afternoon. The press conference was organized to inform about the activities of the army deployed under the 'In Aid to Civil Power'.

Regarding the fire in the secretariat and security at important installations, Intekhab Haider Khan said, 'We can tell about the fire in the secretariat after investigating. However, the issue of security at important installations (KPIs) is definitely the responsibility of the army. Since the deployment of the army, measures have been taken after reviewing each threat in coordination with the relevant people.'

Colonel Intekhab said, referring to the government's decision on how long the army will be on duty in the field, 'The army is working to maintain order on the government's decision. Therefore, the army will be withdrawn on the government's decision. The army has undergone training to take pressure to maintain law and order. However, the army is working in coordination with other forces to maintain law and order.'

When asked whether there is a security risk in the Cox's Bazar area, he said, 'There is no risk to the security of sovereignty at the moment. The army is always working in that area on alert. If there is ever a risk, the army is ready to take action accordingly. In addition, other forces including the BGB and Coast Guard are working to deal with the Rohingya infiltration.'

Regarding the attack and arson on Tripura people in Bandarban, he said, 'This happened due to a land dispute. There was no other reason.’

The army officer said that 67 unstable situations were created in different industrial areas (Gazipur, Ashulia, Savar). In this, the army played a role in controlling the main road blockade 13 times and took steps in coordination with the owners, workers, the concerned ministry, the industrial area police and BGMEAS to keep the factories running. As a result, all but one of the 2,093 garment factories in the country are currently operating.

He further said that apart from the industrial areas, the army members have controlled 45 different types of chaotic situations in the past one month. Of which, five were incidents related to educational institutions, three were related to government organizations or offices, seven were political conflicts and 30 were other incidents. In addition, the army members provided direct assistance to the police in the attempted robbery of Rupali Bank in Keraniganj on December 19.

The press briefing was informed that the army provided medical care to a total of 3,589 people injured in the anti-discrimination student movement. Currently, 36 people are still undergoing treatment. Maqbul Hossain, father of Abu Sayeed, a martyr of the anti-discrimination student movement, was ill and undergoing treatment at Rangpur CMH. As his physical condition deteriorated, he was transferred to Dhaka CMH on December 10 for better treatment. He is currently undergoing treatment at Dhaka CMH's HDU.

Ship workers are going on an indefinite strike from 12 midnight on Thursday demanding various demands including uncovering the real incident of 7 murders on a ship in Chandpur, trial.

Bangladesh Boat Workers Federation President Md. Shah Alam confirmed this information on mobile phone.

He said, Akash Mandal alias Irfan, son of Jagdish Mandal of Mulghar Purba Union of Bagerhat, cold-bloodedly hacked to death 8 staff members of the cargo ship "MV Al Bakhera". He operated a huge ship alone. It seems that this cannot be his work alone. We are demanding a proper investigation by the administration into the real mystery of this incident and who else was involved in it.

The Boat Workers Federation President further said, we are also demanding the safety of 10,000 small cargo ships and lakhs of workers across our country. We are also demanding compensation of Tk. 20 lakh per person from the government for those who were killed on that ship. The strike of cargo ships, including this strike, will continue until the demands are met.

After the arrest of Akash Mandal alias Irfan was taken on a 7-day remand, efforts are underway to find out various information, said Chandpur Naval Police Assistant Superintendent of Police Imtiaz Ahmed.

He said that Akash Mandal converted to Islam a year ago. 8 months ago, he took the job of a pilot on that ship through the murdered ship master Golam Kibria.