UP chairman threatens journalist after getting bail
A Union Parishad (UP) chairman, who has been made accused in a case filed on charges of keeping confined a journalist and beat him up, on Thursday afternoon issued threat to the journalist upon getting interim bail from the High Court.
Siraj Uddin Chowdhury, the chairman of Islampur Union Parishad in Rangunia Upazila in Chattogram, was made accused in an attempted murder case journalist Abu Azad filed at Rangunia Model police station.
The UP chairman, also president of ruling Awami League’s Islampur Union unit, allegedly beat up Abu Azad, a staff correspondent of The Business Standard’s Chattogram office.
Addressing a small gathering of supporters in front of the Islampur UP office in Rangunia on Thursday, Siraj Uddin Chowdhury said, “The journalist has undermined the people of Islampur by filing the false case. He has disrespected Islampur. Those who have done this be careful. Those who have done such sabotage, I will get back to you.”
This speech of Siraj Uddin Chowdhury was broadcast live from a Facebook page ‘Islampur Digital Centre Entrepreneur’. The speech drew scorns from various quarters when it went viral.
Talking to Prothom Alo over phone, chairman Siraj Uddin Chowdhury said, “I did not say anything against the plaintiff or that journalist. I have addressed those who are spreading false rumour against me in the area.”
Abu Azad was attacked while collecting news about illegal brick kilns in the Union on 25 December. Later, he filed the case with Rangunia Model police station.
In the case, Mohiuddin Talukder Mohan, a member of Ward no. 3 of Islampur UP, was made the key accused while the UP chairman Siraj Uddin Chowdhury was made the second accused.
In addition, the brick kiln’s manager Kanchan Kumar and a worker Kamran were made accused as well. Police arrested Kanchan Kumar.
The two main accused Mohiuddin Talukdar and Siraj Uddin Chowdhury got four weeks interim bail from the High Court on Tuesday.
When Siraj Uddin Chowdhury was issuing threaten to the journalist on Thursday, another main accused, Mohiuddin Talukder, was standing by his side.
Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a global organisation that vocalise the rights of journalists, has demanded that the Bangladesh government quickly investigate the incident of journalist Abu Azad being confined and beaten up and bring the culprits to book.
Earlier, the National Human Rights Commission in a statement has instructed the deputy commissioner of Chattogram to investigate the incident and send a report to the commission by 1 February.