Investigation yet to progress after 10 and a half months, all arrested suspects out on bail

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) could not complete the investigation into the attack, vandalism, looting and arson at the Prothom Alo office, even after 10 and a half months.

The identities of those who planned and coordinated the attack remain unconfirmed, and the charge sheet has yet to be submitted. This is despite Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed directing investigators in February to complete the investigation and submit the charge sheet within two months.

Thirty nine people were arrested in the case at different times, all of them have since been released on bail. The officer supervising the investigation said he sees little possibility of identifying any new suspects.

Investigation officials concerned said police arrested 25 people in the first eight days following the attack, vandalism and arson at the Prothom Alo building in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka, around midnight on 18 December last year. Another 14 people were arrested later. No further arrests have been made since one person was shown arrested in the case last July.

After taking charge of the investigation, DB officials had said they would examine the roles of not only the attackers but also those who incited and planned the attack.

However, even after reviewing video footage, photographs and livestreams circulated on social media for nearly 10 months, the DB has been unable to identify everyone involved.

Questions also remain unanswered about who devised the plan, how long preparations had been underway, and whether financial or political support was involved.

Asked about the progress of the investigation, Additional Commissioner (DB) of the DMP Md Shafiqul Islam, who is supervising the case, told Prothom Alo, “We had assigned a group from the dark web, but they too could not identify anyone new. So, at this point, we do not see any possibility of identifying additional suspects.”

However, the current investigation officer said two more people involved in the attack have been identified, although no decision has yet been made about bringing them under the law.

DB officials said the identities of many other people present at the scene during the attack remain unconfirmed. Some of them directly participated in vandalism, looting and arson. Others stayed with the attackers, chanted slogans, incited unrest and remained active around the site during the arson.

Law enforcement agencies have collected several video recordings from the night of the attack, photographs taken by news media and various still images from the scene. However, investigation officials concerned said they had been unable to identify everyone involved despite reviewing the footage and photographs.

Asked why the investigation had made little progress, DB chief Shafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo, “When we started detaining those who are involved, they then deleted posts from their Facebook pages. We could not continue the arrests on the same scale as in the first phase. We brought in some people who had incited others over mobile phones. But their mobile phone locations showed neither their presence at the scene nor any link to it. So, they could not be included in the case.”

The current investigation officer (IO), Sub-Inspector (SI) Shah Minhaj Uddin of the DB's Cyber and Special Crime Division, told Prothom Alo that he was the third IO in the case. He took over the case documents from the previous investigation officer, SI Tridip Barua. The analysis of video footage from the night of the attack is still incomplete.

Minhaj Uddin said two more people involved in the attack on the Prothom Alo office had been identified. They are from a madrasah in Dhaka. However, no decision has yet been made on bringing them under the law.

On the afternoon of 28 February this year, after visiting a special exhibition organised at the burned-out Prothom Alo building in Karwan Bazar in the capital, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told journalists, “I have instructed them to complete a proper investigation and submit the charge sheet within the next two months. The judicial process will begin afterwards.”

The home minister also said that day, “We will seek everyone's cooperation in the judicial process so that exemplary punishment is ensured and we never have to witness such incidents again. So that this nation does not have to witness them again.”

Eight months have passed since the home minister's directive, but the investigation remains incomplete and no charge sheet has been submitted.

Asked about the matter, DB chief Md Shafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo that he had met the home minister four months ago to brief him on the progress of the case.

Investigation officials concerned said Tejgaon police arrested 25 people in the first eight days after the attack on the Prothom Alo building. The responsibility for investigating the case was then transferred to the DB. Over the next 10 months or so, the DB arrested another 14 people. A total of 39 people were arrested, all of whom have now been released on bail.

Of those arrested, 15 were initially arrested in connection with the attack on the Daily Star building and one in another case. They were later shown arrested in the Prothom Alo case as well. Police said they were shown arrested in the case after their involvement in the attack on Prothom Alo was found.

The 39 people arrested and subsequently released on bail are Zakir Hossain alias Shanto, Aynul Haque Kashemi, Mainul Islam, Zulfikar Ali alias Sourav, Abdur Rahman alias Palash, Zubayer Hossain, Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri, Jahangir Hossain, Mirza Mahmud alias Korban, Md Hasan, Md Rasel, Md Rubel Hossain, Ahad Sheikh, Sohel Mia, Md Biplob, Rashedul Islam, Nazrul Islam, Yasin, Riazul Islam, Nazmul Hasan, Sohel Rana, Abdul Baker Sheikh, Al Amin, Almas Ali, Shafiqul Islam, Niaz Mahmud alias Farhan, Khaled Ahmed, Jannatul Naim, Qari Muaz bin Abdur Rahman, Naim Islam, Sagor Islam, Abul Kashem, Faisal Ahmed, Azmir Hossain alias Akash, Md Hashem, Saiful Islam, Anwar Hossain, Azhar Hossain and Swapan Mondal.

Among those arrested, Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri had been detained in prison since 23 December last year under a detention order on the grounds that he posed a threat to public order. On 3 April, police showed him arrested in the Prothom Alo attack case. He is accused of inciting the attack.

One of the arrested accused is Mohammad Mainul Islam. A video footage shows him celebrating with an axe in his hand in front of the burning building while the attack, vandalism and arson were taking place at Prothom Alo. The DB arrested him from Uttara in Dhaka on 23 December last year. His ancestral home is in Islabari village of Bagmara Upazila in Rajshahi. He lives in Uttara, Dhaka.

Another video footage shows a man standing at the scene during the attack and announcing in front of a camera of a private television channel that Prothom Alo and the Daily Star had been demolished. He was heard saying, “What we were supposed to do on 5 August, we could not do then. Today, we have done it through Hadi Bhai.” The DB later identified and arrested him. His name is Qari Muaz bin Abdur Rahman. Police said he is a leader of the Shariatpur district unit of Jubo Majlis. His home is in Paschim Kandi village under Shariatpur Sadar Police Station.

During the attack, Niaz Mahmud Farhan shared photographs of the assault on Prothom Alo on Facebook from the scene and called on others to join the attack. He was also arrested. His ancestral home is in Borhanuddin Upazila of Bhola.

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit arrested Zakir Hossain alias Shanto. His home is in Chakpatra village of Moshakhali in Gafargaon Upazila, Mymensingh. He lives in Hazaribagh, Dhaka. Sources associated with the CTTC said Shanto was present during the vandalism at the Prothom Alo and Daily Star offices. He also recorded a live video from the scene and shared it through his Facebook account.

In April, 10 of the accused arrested in the case over the attack on the Prothom Alo building were released on bail in the first phase. The remaining accused who were in prison were subsequently released on bail as well.

The 10 people granted bail in the first phase are Nazmul Hasan, Riazul Islam alias Sumon, Md Yasin, Mohammad Rasel, Md Nazrul Islam alias Minhaj, Md Rashedul Islam, Zakir Hossain alias Shanto, Md Biplob, Md Ahad Sheikh and Md Rubel Hossain.

On 24 April at 6:19 am, a person named Altaf Hossain posted on a Facebook page called ‘Baisommyahin Karamukti Andolon’ (Discrimination-Free Prisoners' Release Movement), claiming that he had arranged bail for six of them. However, he did not name the six individuals. The post also mentioned that they were handling the cases of four other people who were still in custody. Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri was among them.

Police sources said that after the 2024 mass uprising, demonstrations and attempts to create mobs were organised outside various prisons under the banner of ‘Baisommyahin Karamukti Andolon’, demanding the release of people arrested at different times on allegations of links to extremist groups. The Facebook page had also been used to run a sustained smear campaign against Prothom Alo.

Around midnight on 18 December last year, a group of extremists attacked the Prothom Alo building in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka. The attackers broke the shutter at the building's entrance, forced their way inside and carried out widespread destruction through vandalism, looting and arson.

Coordinated attacks also took place on the same night at the offices of The Daily Star and the Chhayanaut building. A section of those who attacked Prothom Alo later joined the attack on the Daily Star building. The following evening, the Udichi office was attacked and set on fire.

A case was filed at Tejgaon police station on the night of 21 December in connection with the attack, arson and looting at the Prothom Alo building. The case was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Special Powers Act, the Cyber Security Act and various sections of the Penal Code. Eight days later, the case was transferred from Tejgaon police station to the DB.

The case includes allegations of rioting, unlawful entry into the office and looting, causing damage, arson with the intention to kill, intimidation and destruction of evidence. It also alleges arson and vandalism aimed at stopping Prothom Alo's publication and disrupting office activities, issuing instructions for criminal activities online and carrying out acts of sabotage.

CCTV footage of the attack and video recordings by various media outlets are available. Based on these recordings, several people who directly participated in the attack have been identified and arrested. However, the masterminds and coordinators of the attack remain unidentified.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik told Prothom Alo, "The Prothom Alo office was vandalised and set on fire. This was one of the most heinous attacks on freedom of expression in our country."

"I hope the police or investigating officers will carefully gather evidence against the actual perpetrators and take steps to resolve the case through a proper investigation," he added.

According to Shahdeen Malik, "If they fail to act diligently, those who seek to curtail freedom of expression will be encouraged."