A young man named Nirab Hossain (25) was beaten to death by pump workers during an argument at Taj Filling Station in Jhenaidah town. The incident took place around 9 pm on Saturday (March 7)
Labonno Chowdhury : Oil chaos is going on in Bangladesh citing the war in the Middle East as the reason. Although the government has repeatedly assured that the country has sufficient oil reserves and there will be no shortage till this month. But this has not improved the situation. The Energy Minister has said that there is no immediate plan to increase oil prices, yet the demand has increased abnormally due to the spread of rumors.
Since the beginning of March 2026, due to the ongoing war situation in the Middle East, an unstable or “anarchic” situation has arisen in the fuel oil market of Bangladesh. A class of businessmen and oil sellers have heated up the oil market across the country by creating rumors and crises, saying there is no oil, no oil. There has been a cry among the common people due to the fear of a crisis.
Long lines at the pump-
Panic buying: Rumors that the Middle East crisis could lead to an oil shortage in the country have been causing crowds at filling stations in Dhaka and Chittagong since March 5.
wait all night-
Bikers and motorists are standing in lines for hours to fill their tanks, and even many pumps are struggling to cope with the crowds, even though they stay open late into the night.
Fights and Conflicts-
There have been incidents of scuffles and fights among customers standing in line to get fuel. There has also been a tragic incident in Jhenaidah where a young man was beaten to death by workers for protesting against not getting fuel at the pump.
Government rationing and sales limits-
To control the situation, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has set a maximum limit for the sale of oil by vehicle from March 6, 2026:
Motorcycle: Maximum 2 liters (per day).
Private car: Maximum 10 liters.
Jeep/microbus: Maximum 25 liters.
Bus/Truck: 80 to 220 liters.
Artificial crisis and black market-
There have been allegations that many pump owners are turning away ordinary customers saying ‘no oil’ but are selling oil in drums or containers through the back door at higher prices.
fine-
A mobile court has fined two filling stations for creating an artificial crisis in Chatkhil, Noakhali.
Govt position-
The government has repeatedly assured that the country has sufficient oil reserves and there will be no shortage until this month. The energy minister said there are no immediate plans to increase oil prices, yet demand has increased abnormally due to rumors.
Nirab Hossain killed in beating by pump workers
A young man named Nirab Hossain (25) was beaten to death by pump workers during an argument at Taj Filling Station in Jhenaidah town. The incident took place around 9 pm on Saturday (March 7). The deceased Nirab is the son of Alimur Biswas of Badurgacha village in Kaliganj upazila. He lived in a rented house in Bakultala area of Jhenaidah town. RAB-6 immediately arrested three people in this incident.
Additional Superintendent of Police Mehedi Imran Siddiqui, commander of Jhenaidah RAB-6, said that Nirab Hossain went to the city’s Taj Filling Station to get oil on his motorcycle at night. Then the pump workers said there was no oil and the pump was closed. Later, when they went to another pump and did not get oil, they saw that oil was being supplied in bottles at that pump when they returned. Then they told the workers that you did not give us oil, now you are selling it again.
At one point during the argument, the pump workers beat up Nirab Hossain. When he returned home and felt unwell, he was taken to the hospital, where the doctor on duty declared him dead. Dr. Sabyasachi Pal Sumon, the doctor on duty at Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital, said that the deceased had several injuries on his body. It is possible that he died due to some internal cause.
