Five female Ansar die

Five female Ansar members drowned as a boat capsized in the Ghorautra river of Kishoreganj's Mithamoin upazila early yesterday.

The dead are Asma Begum, 45, Beauty Begum, 38, Sabina Akhtar, 45, Momena Khatun, 40, and Ambia Khatun, 35, of Dampara of Nikli upazila.

They were returning home in Dampara after their duty in the fifth phase of union parishad polls held in the upazila on Saturday, said Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Mithamoin Police Station.

The police official said around 4:30am, the engine-run small boat sank in the river near Mithamoin Bazar ghat as the passengers, mostly Ansar members, were getting on the boat hurriedly.  

Due to strong current in the river, several passengers, including the five Ansar members, went missing while others managed to swim ashore, the OC added.

On information, police and Fire Service and Civil Defense officials rushed to the spot. They recovered the bodies from the river with the help of locals.

Later, the bodies were handed over to the victims' families.

An unnatural death case was filed with Mithamoin Police Station.

Contacted, Anwar Hossain Khan, superintendent of Kishoreganj police, said each of the victims' families got Tk 20,000 and 50kg of rice from the district administration.

Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque expressed deep shock at the death of the Ansar members and conveyed sympathy to the members of the bereaved families.

In a condolence message, the IGP said the Ansar members set an example as they made the highest sacrifice while on important duty like maintaining law and order.