Political leaders including Mahmudur Rahman Manna, visit Prothom Alo office damaged in attack

Leaders from various political parties, including Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikko and former vice-president of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU), visited the Prothom Alo office that was damaged in a targeted and organised miscreant attack involving arson.

They arrived at the Prothom Alo office around 11:30 am today, Saturday, and visited different rooms of the damaged building.

Speaking on the occasion, Mahmudur Rahman Manna said the attack had been carried out after prior announcements. He noted that some people had tried to resist it, yet the attack still occurred.

No effective measures were taken to prevent it, he said, adding that if people do not stand by the victims after such an attack, it is difficult to imagine what the future holds, he added.

Following the death of Inquilab Moncho convener Sharif Osman Hadi, who had been shot, a vested group allegedly used the incident to carry out a planned attack on the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar area.

Referring to last year’s incident involving the slaughter of cattle and a demonstration in front of the Prothom Alo office, Mahmudur Rahman Manna questioned how many people had been arrested at that time.

Others who visited the damaged Prothom Alo office today included Saiful Haque, coordinator of Ganatantra Mancha and general secretary of the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, Sheikh Rafiqul Islam Bablu, chairman of the Bhasani Janashakti Party, and Shahid Uddin Mahmud Swapan, general secretary of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD).

They were accompanied by Nagorik Oikko general secretary Shahidullah Kaiser and joint general secretary Sakib Anwar, joint secretary general of the Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) Kazi Md Nazrul, JSD vice-president Md Touhid Hossain, member of the political council of the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh Akbar Khan, Bhasani Janashakti Party presidium members Babul Biswas and Bilkis Khandaker, among others.