Fire breaks out at Udichi office in Dhaka

The day after the attacks on Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, and Chayanat, a fire broke out at the central office of the cultural organisation Udichi Shilpi Goshthi on Topkhana Road in Dhaka.

Amit Ranjan Dey, General Secretary of a faction of Udichi, claimed that the fire was deliberately set. However, the Fire Service has not yet confirmed the cause of the blaze.

A week earlier, Sharif Osman Hadi, convener of Inqilab Moncho and a key figure in the July uprising, was shot during the attacks and passed away on Thursday while undergoing treatment in Singapore.

Exploiting this murder, a terrorist attack was carried out at midnight on Prothom Alo and The Daily Star offices in Karwan Bazar. At the same time, the Chayanat Cultural Centre in Dhanmondi was also attacked.

A day later, around 8 PM on Friday, news of a fire at the Udichi office on Topkhana Road was reported. Their office is located on the second floor of a five-story building.

Amit Dey, General Secretary of a faction of Udichi, told Prothom Alo that the office was first vandalised around 7:45pm, after which it was set on fire. He said he was on his way to the site.

Amit Dey added that the fire at the Udichi office follows the series of arson attacks on Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, and Chayanat.

When contacted around 8:30pm, Md Shajahan Shikder, Officer-in-Charge of the Media Wing of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, told Prothom Alo that four fire service units responded to extinguish the fire after receiving the report.

The fire was brought under control around 8:15 PM. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage could not be confirmed immediately.