Our Correspondent, Faridpur

Two minor cousins drowned in a pond in Sadar upazila yesterday.

The deceased are Monira Aktar, 10, a Class III student at a local primary school and daughter of Mamun Mollah, and her five-year-old cousin Selina Aktar, daughter of Selim Mollah, of Mollahpara village.

Quoting the villagers, Sadarpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Purabi Goldar said Monira and Selina along with some other kids of their age went to play near an abandoned pond adjacent to their house in the morning.

At one stage of playing, Monira suddenly slipped into the pond water and drowned. Selina also fell into the water while trying to save her cousin and drowned.

Hearing the news from their playmates, family member and locals rushed to the spot, rescued the minor girls and took them to Sadarpur Upazila Health Complex, where the doctors declared them dead. A pal of gloom descended in the area after the incident.

1 arrested over attempted rape

Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

Police arrested a youth for allegedly attempting to rape a schoolgirl in Netrakona’s Kalmakanda upazila on Monday.

The arrestee was identified as Noor Jamal, 19, son of Abdul Hakim of Kalihala village in the upazila.

Earlier, victim’s grandmother lodged a case with Kalmakanda Police Station accusing Noor, a battery-run auto-rickshaw driver, on Monday evening.

Quoting the case statement, Officer in Charge (Investigation) of the police station Sirajul Islam Khan said neighbour Noor entered the house of the victim, also a Class V student at a local primary school, on Monday evening and tried to rape her forcibly when none of her family members were present.

Hearing her screams, neighbours rushed in, rescued the girl and caught Noor red-handed

Police produced the arrestee before a Netrakona court yesterday that sent him to jail.