DHAKA– A local newspaper journalist was left seriously injured after being brutally assaulted in Bangladesh’s Kushtia district on Monday, according to local media reports.
The attack occurred in Mirpur upazila of Kushtia, where Firoz Ahmed — a correspondent for the local daily Daink Ajker Sutropat and joint general secretary of the Upazila Press Club — was beaten with hammers, metal rods, and bricks.
This marks the fourth assault on journalists reported in August, amid a surge of violence targeting media workers in the country.
Mirpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mominul Islam confirmed the incident, saying, “Though we have not yet received a written complaint, we are working to identify and arrest the attackers after investigating the matter.”
According to locals and the victim’s family, tensions had been brewing for days following an altercation between the families of Firoz and the prime suspect, Milon, stemming from a scuffle involving their children. Early Monday morning, Milon and four to five others allegedly ambushed Firoz on his way to the mosque.
Locals rushed him to the Upazila Health Complex before he was transferred to Kushtia General Hospital. Hospital official Hossain Imam said Firoz sustained serious injuries to his head and legs.
The assault comes just a day after another journalist, Helal Hossain Kabir, executive editor of the weekly Alormoni, and his mother were violently attacked by a group of assailants in Lalmonirhat district. Both remain under medical supervision.
On August 7, a reporter for a Bangladeshi daily was hacked to death in Chandana Chowrasta, Gazipur district, only hours after going live on social media to expose local extortion. A video of the killing went viral, sparking outrage in the press community.
A day earlier, on August 6, another journalist, 35-year-old Anwar Hossain Sourav, was assaulted in Gazipur’s Sahapara area while investigating allegations of extortion from auto-rickshaw drivers. Witnesses said the attack happened in broad daylight, reportedly in the presence of police officers.
Bangladesh has seen a wave of violent attacks on journalists and other civilians since the Yunus-led interim government came to power last year.
Last month, the Awami League reported that 51 journalists had signed a statement condemning the ongoing killings, assaults, and harassment of media workers under the Muhammad Yunus-led administration. The group demanded an immediate end to such abuses, justice for slain colleagues, bail for imprisoned journalists, and the restoration of the Dhaka Union of Journalists’ operations. (Source: IANS)
