Prothom Alo journo files GD after receiving threat from Chapainawabganj SAD leader

The Chapainawabganj district correspondent for Prothom Alo has filed a general diary (GD) after receiving an online threat from a leader of the Student Against Discrimination.

The journo Anwar Hossain was threatened via a Facebook post made on Tuesday (29 April) by Mottasin Biswas, the chief coordinator of the SAD's district chapter.

Confirming the GD on Wednesday (30 April), Sadar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Matiur Rahman told Prothom Alo that a police officer has been assigned to investigate the matter.

"Since the threat was issued via Facebook, this falls under cybercrime. We will proceed with assistance from the cyber unit if needed," he added.

In the controversial post, Mottasin shared two images of journalist Anwar Hossain marked with red cross signs and wrote, "...Write the truth, or you too will not be spared. Inqilab Zindabad."

Following the post, several Facebook users, whom Anwar mentioned as Mottasin's followers in the GD, commented threats of physical assault toward him.

Photo: Collected

Although the original post was removed by 3:16pm on Wednesday, a modified version—omitting the red-crossed images and inflammatory label "yellow journalist"—was re-uploaded shortly after.

Outraged by the post, journalist organisations across Chapainawabganj, under the collective platform Chapainawabganj Sangbadik Samaj, strongly condemned the threats and held an emergency meeting Tuesday night.

Speakers at the meeting decried the post as an unacceptable threat against professional journalism, stating, "This is an attack on press freedom."

The forum has demanded a public apology from Mottasin Biswas and the immediate withdrawal of the post. If no satisfactory action is taken within three days, the journalist groups warned they would collectively boycott all news coverage related to SAD.