Two more accused sent to jail over attack on Prothom Alo building
Following a petition by police, Metropolitan Magistrate Didarul Alam passed the order after the accused were produced before the court.
A Dhaka court today (27 December) sent two more people to jail in connection with the attack, arson and vandalism at a building of national daily Prothom Alo in the capital's Karwan Bazar area.
Following a petition by police, Metropolitan Magistrate Didarul Alam passed the order after the accused were produced before the court.
The accused are Md Rubel Hossain, 38, and Nazmul Hasan, 21.
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Earlier in the day, investigation officer Inspector Abdul Hannan of Tejgaon Police Station produced the two before the court and sought their detention in jail. The court granted the plea. No lawyer appeared on behalf of the accused during the hearing.
So far, a total of 34 people have been arrested and sent to jail in cases filed over the attacks on Prothom Alo and The Daily Star.
According to the case statement, on the night of 18 December, around 11:15pm, 20–30 unidentified assailants carrying sticks, sharp weapons and flammable substances marched towards the Prothom Alo office and attempted to launch an attack.
When police intervened, the group unlawfully gathered in front of the office, chanting provocative slogans. They allegedly mobilised more people through phone calls and social media posts, including posts inciting attacks on Prothom Alo. As a result, around 400–500 attackers reportedly gathered at the scene from different parts of Dhaka.
At around 11:50pm, the attackers allegedly broke the office gate, glass panels and shutters, and carried out vandalism, looting and arson. They threw furniture, documents and other items from different floors and set them on fire, looted around 150 computers, laptops, electrical equipment, cash from lockers and books of Prothoma Prokashan.
The attackers also damaged the fire safety system, destroyed CCTV cameras to eliminate evidence, and obstructed fire service personnel from extinguishing the blaze.
The case statement estimates that looted property was worth Tk2.5 crore, while total damage amounted to Tk32 crore. The case was filed by Maj (retd) Md Sazzadul Kabir, head of security of Prothom Alo.
The case was filed by Prothom Alo's head of security, Major (retd) Md Sazzadul Kabir, with Tejgaon Police Station.
