Case filed over attack on The Daily Star office; damages estimated at Tk40 crore

A case has been filed over the recent arson attack, vandalism and looting at the office of the English daily The Daily Star in Tejgaon, Dhaka, accusing 350-400 unidentified people.

The amount of damage has been estimated at Tk40 crore.

The case was filed on Monday night (22 December) night at Tejgaon Police Station by The Daily Star's Head of Operations Mizanur Rahman as the plaintiff.

Confirming the matter to The Business Standard, Tejgaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Kaishainu Marma said the case was filed the Penal Code, 1860, the Special Powers Act, 1974, the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, and the Cyber Security Ordinance, 2025.

According to the first information report (FIR), at around 12:30am last Thursday night, approximately 350-400 unidentified people, armed with weapons, sticks and flammable materials, marched to and unlawfully assembled in front of The Daily Star office with the intention of creating public outrage, riots and acts of sabotage. The group chanted provocative slogans against the organisation.

The FIR further states that several people had earlier posted inciting content on social media, encouraging a mob to attack the newspaper premises. Acting on these provocative instructions and in collusion with one another, the miscreants broke the steel gate and glass doors of The Daily Star building at around 12:35am and forcibly entered the premises, carrying out vandalism, arson and intimidation.

The case alleged that the attackers attempted to assault employees who were inside the office, vandalised furniture and looted various items. They smashed the glass at the front of the building, threw down sofas, tables, chairs and other furniture, equipment and documents, gathered them in one place and set them on fire.

The complaint also alleges that the assailants looted more than 200 computers, laptops and cameras, along with lenses, televisions, scanners, servers, printers, studio equipment and other electronic devices from different floors of the building, with an estimated value of Tk5 crore. 

In addition, approximately Tk35 lakh kept in several lockers on different floors was also looted.

The FIR further states that, with the intention of burning to death journalists and employees working at The Daily Star and destroying the building, the attackers set fire to various parts of the premises. The ground floor, second floor and third floor were burned, while assets on the remaining floors were completely or partially damaged by the fire.

As a result of the vandalism and arson, the total estimated damage to The Daily Star building stands at approximately Tk40 crore. The amount of damage may increase further following verification.