23 Dead, Nearly 6 Mn Affected By Floods In Bangladesh

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The floods in several parts of Bangladesh have left 23 people dead, affected nearly 6 million, and displaced hundreds of thousands of families.

Dhaka, Aug 26: The floods in several parts of Bangladesh have left 23 people dead, affected nearly 6 million, and displaced hundreds of thousands of families.

According to the daily disaster situation report by the country's National Disaster Response Coordination Center (NDRCC) under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 57,01,204 people were affected due to floods in 11 out of the country's total 64 districts as of Monday afternoon, Xinhua news agency reported.

The report published on the ministry website said 23 people died in flooding in the country while 12,38,048 families remained marooned in the 11 districts. Two people were also reported missing.

TV reports showed that wide areas of land are underwater in parts of Bangladesh as major rivers overflowed since last week.

Floods also reportedly caused widespread damage to habitation, crops, roads and highways across vast swathes of the country.

Bangladeshi interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Sunday asked all concerned to continue their robust efforts in rescuing stranded people, providing emergency healthcare and extending all-out cooperation for the flood victims.

Authorities have rushed teams of disaster response forces to carry out rescue operations, distribute relief materials, and supervise centres where around half a million flood-affected people have taken shelter.

In the face of the significant challenges posed by the flooding in Bangladesh, the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh donated ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, and essential living supplies to the hardest-hit area of Feni on Sunday.

Apart from this, the Red Cross Society of China donated to the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society $100,000 for emergency humanitarian assistance.

Also, the Chinese Embassy here announced to donate $20,000 to the Chief Adviser's Relief and Welfare Fund.

--IANS

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Odisha: Man Held For Cheating Women Through Matrimonial Fraud

by Hemanta Pande

Bhubaneswar, Sep 13: The Odisha Crime Branch on Friday arrested a person on the charges of sexually as well as financially exploiting women in Odisha and outside the state under the pretext of a ‘second marriage’.

The accused identified as Biranchi Narayan Nath is a resident of Chhendipada in Angul District of Odisha.

Based on the complaint lodged by one of the victims who hails from Cuttack district, the crime branch on Thursday registered a case against accused Nath. The accused was arrested on Friday and will be brought to court on Saturday.

The victim who lost her husband to a road accident in 2022 has been staying in Cuttack along with her family and two daughters. With an aim to remarry so as to ensure a safe and secure future for herself and her children, the victim widow October last year opened a profile in the same matrimonial portal where the accused has a profile as well.

The crime branch sources revealed that the accused created the profile under the tagline "Second Marriage," and disguised himself as a Railway Employee, Income Tax Inspector or Officer in Customs & Central Excise Department etc. He also used to dupe the victims with multiple names such as Manas Ratha, Pravakar Srivastav and Biranchi Narayan Nath etc.

“She received a request from one Pravakar Srivastav, aged 43, from Khamar, Talcher. He claimed to be a TTI in Railways at Visakhapatnam. He stated that he had lost his wife and mother and was living with his father, who he claimed was a manager at SBI in Rourkela. On October 7, 2023, Pravakar visited the victim’s home and expressed his desire to proceed with the marriage proposal,” said a senior crime branch official on Friday.

Meanwhile, the accused, who managed to clandestinely capture the victim’s nude videos during video calls, forced her to visit multiple trips outside Odisha and have a sexual relationship with him. The accused stayed at the victim’s house for five months after they got married. He used to physically abuse the victim and also extracted Rs 5 lakhs and 32 grams of gold from her.

The victim eventually discovered that Pravakar was involved in similar relationships with other women, prompting her to report the matter to the authorities.

During the course of investigation, the cops ascertained that the accused used to trap middle aged women who were unmarried, separated, widows or divorced women on matrimonial sites through his fake identity and disguising himself as senior government officers.

The crime branch official also revealed that the accused also promised many of his victims to get them job after marriage. He underwent marriage rituals with many of his victims in temples and later cohabited with them at their home but never took any of them to his own place. He used to capture objectionable videos and photos of the victims and later extort money from them.

During the investigation, police found that he had defrauded numerous other women and cases have been registered against him at various police stations in Berhampur, Angul, Balasore, Rourkela, Dhenkanal and Bhubaneswar. The accused has also been involved in similar cases in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. (IANS)

23 Dead, Nearly 6 Mn Affected By Floods In Bangladesh

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