The bodies of two children who had gone missing the previous day were recovered from a sand pit in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur on Wednesday (6 August) afternoon.

The victims were identified as Maruf Mia (6), son of Jakirul Islam, and Abdur Rahman (7), son of Abdur Rashid—both residents of Dangi Paikan village and pre-primary students of a local government primary school.

According to locals, the children went out to play on Tuesday morning when school was closed and never returned. After extensive searches, Maruf’s body was found in a deep sand pit with a rope and plastic bottle tied around his neck. Fire service personnel later recovered the body of Abdur Rahman from the same pit.

Eyewitnesses claimed signs of injury were found on the bodies, and alleged that someone tried to prevent them from searching the sand area. Family members believe the children were deliberately killed.

“We suspect foul play behind their deaths,” said Officer-in-Charge Al Emran of Gangachara Model Police Station, adding that the bodies have been sent for autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Due to rising water pressure caused by continuous rainfall and upstream flow, authorities at the Kaptai Lake in Rangamati began releasing water through 16 sluice gates on Wednesday (August 6) at 1:00 PM. Each gate is now releasing water at 2.5 feet, discharging approximately 49,000 cusecs per second into the Karnaphuli River.

Kaptai Hydropower Plant Manager Mahamud Hasan confirmed that the lake’s water level stood at 108.76 feet MSL by Wednesday noon, just below the danger mark of 109 feet. To ease the pressure, sluice gates were opened wider.

On Tuesday night, the gates were initially opened 6 inches, then extended by another foot later that night. As pressure continued to mount, they were further widened to 2.5 feet on Wednesday.

Some low-lying areas near the lake have already experienced flooding. Meanwhile, the hydropower station has activated 5 of its units, generating 220–222 megawatts of electricity using an additional 32,000 cusecs of water per second. The station’s total capacity is 230 MW.

The Office of the Chief Advisor has formally requested the Election Commission (EC) to take all necessary steps to hold the next general election before the start of Ramadan in February 2026.

The letter, dated Wednesday (6 August), was sent by Chief Secretary M. Siraj Uddin Mia to the Chief Election Commissioner, urging preparations for a free, fair, peaceful, and festive national election.

This move follows the declaration made by Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus during his national address on 5 August, in which he announced that elections should be held before Ramadan begins next year.

The letter emphasized the importance of making the upcoming polls a “celebration of democracy” after 15 years of electoral deprivation for citizens. It also highlighted the need for appropriate technological integration and reaffirmed the government’s full cooperation to ensure a credible and joyous electoral process.