Attack on newspaper office to thwart trial of Taqi murder

What does it transpire from the attack on a newspaper office in broad daylight and the escaping of the miscreants unharmed? It proves that the rule of law in the country is very shaky and the freedom and security of the media is under serious threat.

At around 12:25pm on Saturday, the miscreants attacked the daily Somoyer Narayanganj office, vandalised the CCTV camera and took away computer hard disks. The attackers alleged that Ajmeri Osman, son of former Narayanganj MP Nasim Osman, was labelled as addict in the report published by the newspaper. If the report is not removed within a day, the editor is also threatened to be shot dead.

Jabed Ahmed Juel, editor and publisher of Somoyer Narayanganj, said, "We have published the draft charge sheet provided at the RAB press conference (5 March 2014) on the murder of Tanwir Muhammad Taqi. There was no statement of our own. This report was also published in all the national dailies at the time.” He said this has become a common practice of protest if any untrue news is published in the newspaper or if the concerned party is offended.

They could send a rejoinder to the newspaper or seek redress in the Press Council or in court. It is a criminal offence to carry out an armed attack on a newspaper office and to threaten to kill the editor instead of seeking legal remedy. According to the newspaper, Ajmeri Osman's followers carried out the attack. A video footage of the attack shows that Nasir Uddin, Akhter Noor, Sumon, Sunny, Ismail, Annan, Kajal, Rubel, Sinafi, Robin, Monir, Lakshman, Krishna, Ratul and dozens of others took part in the attack.

Nasir Uddin and Ajmeri Osman's close associates are not among the 10 people arrested by the police after the incident. Only two of the accused in the case have been arrested. The journalist community in Narayanganj has demanded the immediate arrest of all the attackers. The officer-in-charge (OC) of Kotwali police station said the miscreants attacked the newspaper office. But it is a mystery not to find those miscreants.

It is a matter of grave concern that whenever the issue of Taqi’s murder comes to the fore in Narayanganj, miscreants carry out some mishaps. The demand for a trial for Taqi's murder also became strong during the recent Narayanganj City Corporation elections.

Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy has said she will not compromise on the issue of Taqi's murder. Narayanganj-4 MP Shamim Osman also said, he wanted a trial for Taqi's murder. When the miscreants attacked the newspaper office without taking the matter to court, it was clear that the attack was conducted to thwart the trial of the murder. They have been involved in new criminal activities to cover up past crimes.

We strongly condemn the attack on the newspaper office. At the same time, we demand immediate arrest of all the accused and speedy completion of the investigation into Taqi's murder.