Ganosamhati Andolon has castigated the detention of Prothom Alo staff correspondent Samsuzzaman Shams from Savar in Dhaka by the plain-clothed cops and demanded his immediate release.
In a media release on Wednesday, Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon, and Abul Hasan Rubel, its central executive coordinator, also said such activities would not be able to suppress the public as well as the truth.
Some plainclothesmen, identifying themselves as members of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), picked up Samsuzzaman Shams from his residence in Savar around 4:00 am.
He incorporated a quote of a day laborer on exorbitant commodity prices into a report on Independence Day, which went viral on social media and created a huge buzz.
The release said the government’s failure in controlling the commodity prices and the unbearable public sufferings came to the limelight through his quote. It went viral on social media quickly, proving that the rise in commodity prices has taken a toll on the public and made them aggrieved.
“As a result, we saw that the mandate-less and unpopular government got afraid and forced Prothom Alo to remove the photo despite giving corrections,” the party said, adding that it gives a message to the people that nothing can be said about the looting, corruption and misrule of the government.
“We want to say unequivocally that the public cannot be suppressed by beating up in the RAB custody or picking up from the residence at the dead of night. The people will organise themselves against the misrule of the current regime and make themselves free from this dictatorship,” it added.