Prothom Alo offices attacked in 3 districts outside Dhaka

In addition to its Dhaka office, Prothom Alo offices were attacked in three more districts of the country.

Early on Friday, incidents of vandalism and violent attacks took place at Prothom Alo offices in Kushtia, Khulna and Sylhet. Attempts were made to attack the offices in Chattogram and Bogura as well.

During the attacks, chairs, tables, signboards and other furniture were vandalised in those offices. At the time, no Prothom Alo staff members were present at the offices.

Earlier on Thursday night, Prothom Alo’s head office in Karwan Bazar area of Dhaka, came under what was described as a deliberate and organised attack.

The Prothom Alo office in the Majampur area of Kushtia town was attacked at around 1:00 am early on Friday. The office is located on the third floor of a five-storey building. Chairs, tables, file cabinets and other furniture were extensively damaged there.

CCTV footage shows a group of assailants climbing the stairs after 1:00 am, armed with sticks. They first smashed the signboard at the front, and then broke flower pots outside the room. After breaking the lock, they entered the office and vandalised chairs and tables. Shelves, books and a harmonium belonging to the Kushtia Bandhushava library were also ransacked.

Prothom Alo’s Kushtia correspondent, Touhidi Hasan, said that neither he nor any other staff members were present at the time of the incident. He was informed of the vandalism by the building owner shortly after 1:30 am.

On Friday morning, journalists including Kushtia Press Club member secretary M Zubaid Ripon and Television Journalists Association president Anisuzzaman visited the office and strongly condemned the attack. Later in the morning, Kushtia Superintendent of Police Mohammad Jasim Uddin spoke to Touhidi Hasan over the phone saying efforts were underway to identify those responsible.

Abdur Razzaq, president of the Kushtia Journalists’ Union, said, “We strongly condemn and protest the attack and vandalism at the Prothom Alo office in Kushtia. Such acts only help those who want to destabilise the country and create conditions for the return of fascism.”

At around 1:00 am early on Friday, a group of miscreants attacked the Prothom Alo office on Sultan Ahmed Road in the Moulvibazar area of Khulna city. The attackers removed a signboard and an anniversary banner from the office to set them on fire.

Local residents and eyewitnesses said that around 12:30 am a group of people went to Moylapota intersection in the city looking for the Prothom Alo office, which had long been located there. They later moved to the current office on Sultan Ahmed Road.

Several people threw bricks and stones at the office and removed two large lights from the main gate. Some climbed over the steel gate and took two large signboards and five banners from the office balcony. A table was also vandalised and thrown into the compound.

The signboards and banners were taken to the Modern Furniture intersection on Khan Jahan Ali Road and set on fire. While leaving, the attackers reportedly threatened to demolish the Prothom Alo office on Friday morning.

Following the incident, police were deployed at the Khulna office of Prothom Alo from Friday morning. Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) said security had been tightened and senior officials were monitoring the situation around the clock. Local journalists also visited the office.

Khulna-based journalist Hasan Himalay wrote in a Facebook post, “I have been at the Prothom Alo office since morning… Just as people regardless of their affiliation and views came forward during the uprising, I once again call on everyone to stand together.”

Miscreants threw brickbats and stones at the Prothom Alo office in Sylhet, shattering window panes and damaging some items inside the office. No one was present there at the time.

The incident occurred around midnight on Thursday in the Barutkhana area of the city. Eyewitnesses said that a group suddenly arrived, chanted slogans and began hurling bricks and stones. At the time the window panes of the office were smashed and the group left after throwing a few stones.

Mohammad Saiful Islam, additional deputy commissioner (media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police, told Prothom Alo that police rushed to the scene after receiving the information and have been deployed in front of the office.

At around 12:15 am early on Friday, a group of people arrived in a procession and gathered in front of the Chattogram office of Prothom Alo in the Hillview residential area. CCTV footage shows them chanting slogans and attempting to enter the building. Two cars were also spotted there.

Eyewitnesses said the cars had been parked there earlier. About 50 to 60 people arrived in a procession and stayed for around 30 minutes before leaving. Some of them were carrying bricks and sticks.

Several attempts were made to attack the Prothom Alo regional office in Bogura from Thursday night through Friday afternoon. However, these attempts were thwarted due to heightened vigilance by the law enforcement agencies.

After the attack on Prothom Alo’s Karwan Bazar headquarters on Thursday night, police took precautionary positions in front of the Bogura office. After midnight, following a blockade programme at Banani intersection on the outskirts of Bogura town, announcements were reportedly made about attacking the Prothom Alo office.

Police then established a security cordon from Kalibari intersection in Jaleshwaritala to Jailkhana intersection. Police maintained their position in front of the office during the day, while patrols by the army and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were intensified.

Bogura district Detective Branch (DB) officer-in-charge Iqbal Bahar said DB police patrols had been strengthened since Thursday night due to fears of an attack, and that they remained on alert since Friday morning to prevent any untoward incidents.

On Thursday night, several individuals pushed and shoved at the main gate of the Prothom Alo regional office in Barishal. However, they were unable to enter as the gate was locked.