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Motivated by the Own Village Advancement, a local NGO, the members of the Harijan community in Lalmonirhat town are now sending their children to schools for education.
   The OVA has set up two schools at Driver Para Colony and Store Para Colony in the town for the education of the children of Harijans belonging to low cast Hindu community.
   Overwhelming majority of the Harijan in this district town earn their living buy sweeping roads, cleaning drains and toilets and doing many other odd jobs.
   The elderly people of this backward community are illiterate and they never cared to send their children to school.
   They know nothing about the importance of education and its efficacy in empowering people in all spheres of life.
   They thought their children would end up as sweepers and cleaners following their foot prints.
   But the motivational campaign launched by the OVA is gradually changing the mindset of many elderly Harijans and they are sending their wards to school for education.
   The two schools for the Harijan community have now 60 students on their rolls. Of them, 29 are girls.
   Talking to New Age, some of the students of the two schools said that they were determined to pursue higher studies and that they would never take up the odd job of their fathers and forefathers for their livelihood.
   About 150 Harijan students of these two schools are now reading in other educational institutions of this town.
   Raj Kumar Bashfor and Gorib Bashfor of the Harijan community said the students of their community were facing discrimination in some schools while some others were refusing to admit Harijan students.
   They complained that some school authorities drove out the Harijan students when they came to know about their community.
   At a discussion organised by the OVA, the leaders of the Harijan community urged the government and the non-government organisations to create job opportunities for their sons and daughters.
   They also called for imparting vocational training to the youths of their community to enable them to become self-reliant.

Rangamati town dwellers expressed resentment as the chair coach owners started realising extra fare from the Dhaka and Chittagong bound passengers.
   The coach services are Saudia, S Alam, Challenger, Karnaphuli and ‘Nonstop’ bus service that ply the roads from Rangamati to Chittagong and Dhaka.
   Allegations have it that additional Tk 10 is being realised for Rangamati-Chittagong route while Tk 40 for Rangamati-Dhaka, on the plea of hike of fuel price.
   Now, the passengers here for Chittagong destination have to pay Tk 70 that was Tk 60 earlier, while the passengers for Dhaka destination have to pay Tk 290 that was at Tk 250 earlier.
   Md Faruk, manager of the S Alam service in Rangamati, admitting the matter said that they are realising additional fare following a decision from their top men.
   ‘As the price of fuel once again increased recently the transport owners decided to increase the fare,’ he said.
   The fare-hike has however created resentment among the town dwellers who used to travel to and from Dhaka and Chittagong for business and other purposes.
   ‘Yes, this is an abnormal rise of fare that created an ‘extra-pressure’ on my fixed expenditure,’ said Shaon, a student of Chittagong University who travel to Chittagong on the class days, almost twice a week.
   An indigenous mother was travelling accompanied by her daughter made supplement saying that, ‘I am worried about the fare hike, because, I have to travel to Dhaka once a month to see my daughter, studying in
   BKSP (Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan).’
   Milon Kanti Choudhury, a small trader used to travel to Chittagong to look after his daughter at the residence of father-in-law, said, ‘The fare hike posed a burden for me.’

A Barisal court on Wednesday sentenced three persons to death penalty, two to life imprisonment and three to 10 years’ imprisonment on charge of burning two persons at Baligram, Garuria, at Bakerganj in Barisa.
   Barek Molla, Kamrul Islam and Swapan Talukdar were sentenced to death for killing Jhantu Mandal and Draupadi Mandal.
   Rafiq Khalifa and Kalam Khalifa were sentenced to life imprisonment, and Sultan Ali Khan, Nurul Islam and Liton alias Litu Khalifa to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment. Another accused, Hemayet Khan, was acquitted.
   Those sentenced to imprisonment were also fined with Tk 6,000 each, in default to suffer six more months in jail.
   The ruling was given in the absence of Swapan Talukdar, Liton Khalifa and Hemayet Khan, who are in hiding.
   The home affairs ministry sent an order on January 18, 2002 to acquit Barek Molla, Liton alias Litu and Hemayet Khan.
   The court rejected the order after it had been opposed by Ferdous Alam Khan, assistant public prosecutor, in charge of the court. The High Court later vacated the order.
   The accused attacked and looted the house of Niranjan Mandal on July 19, 2001 and tied Jhantu Mandal, Dulal Mandal, Mintu Manadal, sons of Niranjan Mandal, Malina Rani, wife of Dulal Mandal, and Draupadi Mandal, sister-in-law of Niranjan Mandal.
   The assailants wrapped the victims in bed sheets and bed rolls and set them on fire. Neighbours rescued the victims and sent them to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.
   Jhantu Mandal and Drowpadi Mandal died from their injuries on July 19 and July 21.
   Niranjan lodged a murder case and Sohrab Hossain, the Bakerganj police officer-in-charge, filed the charge sheet against on February 10, 2002.
   Assistant public prosecutor Ferdous Alam Khan pleaded for the state; Enayet Pir Khan, Abdul Majid Munshi, Md.Shamsuddin, Masudul Huq Khan and Mokhlesur Rahman defended the accused.

Activists of the ruling BNP ransacked and set fire to the offices of Sonatola upazila Awami League, the main opposition in parliament, on Tuesday, alleged local AL leaders.
   Upazila AL general secretary, Ziaul Karim Shampoo, said following a brawl between the Chatra League president, Jewel, and a Juba Dal activist, the local BNP lodged a lawsuit against 17 AL leaders.
   Later around 10:00pm BNP activists brought out a procession and attacked the AL office, he added.
   The police arrested Juba League convener, Masum Morshed Masum, and a member Saiful Islam Prem. The police acknowledged the attack but failed to identify the perpetrators.
   Sariakandi AL lodged three lawsuits against 106 BNP activists accusing them of attacking AL members, hurling cocktail bombs and setting fire to the upazila AL office.
   After the local police station refused to accept the case on June 4, Sariakandi AL president, Pilu Momtaz, filed a case under section 38 of the speedy trial tribunal.

Former Bagerhat Municipality chairman, SM Atahar Hossaaain Abu Bora Miyan, became seriously injured when assailants hurled two powerful bombs on him near his residence of Harinkhana under Bagerhat sadar in the Bagerhat municipality area at around 10:00pm on Tuesday.
   The police and locals said the assailants hurled two powerful bombs on Atahar at around 10:00pm when he got down from a rickshaw and was about to enter his residence premises.
   The locals said the bombs exploded and hit Atahar on the head, chest and belly and he was wounded seriously. Locals rescued him and took him to Bagerhat General Hospital instantly.
   The hospital sent him to Khulna and he was admitted to Khulna Badsha Miyan Memorial Clinic from where he was sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital Wednesday morning, said his family and sources at the medical college hospital.
   The sources in the hospital said, as his condition deteriorated, he was flown to Dhaka at 5:00pm on Wednesday.
   The Bagerhat police said Md Abdus Samad, officer in charge of Bagerhat Sadar police, lodged a case.
   The police transferred the case to the detective branch for investigation, added the police.

Ten-month old Farzana was killed allegedly by her father Faridul Islam when he hurled her to ground at village Kabilpur under Sonatala upazila in Bogra on Wednesday.
   Locals recovered the body from a drum and caught the father, suspected to be the killer, and handed him over to the police.
   Sources said Sabita, wife of Farid went to her fathers’ house with her daughter Farzana on Tuesday afternoon, after a family feud.
   Farid, said to be a drug addict, went to his in-laws on Wednesday morning and took his daughter as Sabita refused to come back.
   He became furious and threw Farzana on the road.
   As a result she died on the spot and Farid dumped the body in a drum.
   On information the
   locals and chairman of the union went to the house and recovered the body and caught Farid.
   The police recovered the body and sent it to Bogra Mohammad Ali Hospital for post mortem examination on Wednesday noon.
   Sahela Bewa, mother of Sabita, filed a murder case with Solatala police.

A housewife of Pashchim Baniakhamar in the Sonadanga police area in the Khulna city died from burn injuries in hospital on Wednesday.
   The Sonadanga police said Panna Akhtar, 22, entered into a brawl with her husband, Mahabubur Rahman, at noon.
   At one stage, Mahabubur set her on fire, the police said. Neighbours rescued her and sent her to a clinic where she died at about 7:15pm.

A housewife died from wrong treatment at Kathalbari union under the sadar upazila on Wednesday, claimed her family members.
   The victim, Kakali, 20, daughter of Abul Kashem of village Shibram of Kathalbari union took herbal medicine from a local quack for abortion, according to the police.
   She started to bleed abnormally immediately after taking the medicine and was shifted to Kurigram Sadar Hospital where the doctors declared her dead.

An unidentified man, 32, died on the spot in a road accident in Tangail Tuesday night.
   An unidentified Dhaka-bound bus ran over him at Chandra crossing under Kaliakoir upazila on Dhaka-Tangail Highway.
   On information the Kaliakoir police recovered the body Wednesday morning and sent it to Gazipur Sadar Hospital for post mortem.