More than a hundred miscreants have been identified from CCTV footages of the attacks, vandalism, and arson in Bangladesh. On Thursday night (December 18), miscreants vandalised and set fire to Bangladesh’s leading dailies Prothom Alo and The Daily Star’s office. Prothom Alo filed a case at Tejgaon Police Station on Sunday night, and Daily Star filed a case on Monday evening regarding the attacks.

Among more than a hundred individuals who have been identified as being involved in the attack, vandalism, looting, and arson at the Prothom Alo and The Daily Star offices, 29 have been arrested. In addition, at least 20 more people have been identified as instigators of the attacks on the offices of the two national dailies. Furthermore, several individuals involved in the harassment of Nurul Kabir, the editor of the English daily New Age, in front of the Daily Star office have also been identified.

Youth seen celebrating media office vandalism with axe in hand

From video footages of the media house attack, a young man identified as Mohammad Mainul Islam was seen celebrating with an axe in his hand in front of the burning building. Video and photos of this incident have gone viral on social media. In another video, another young man is seen shouting saying Prothom Alo and The Daily Star have been destroyed.

After analysing the videos, social media posts, and photos, law enforcement agencies have identified two individuals and several others. Bangladesh Police announced the arrest of 10 more people on Tuesday, December 23. This brings the total number of arrests to 29 in two days. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Media and Public Relations, Talebur Rahman, confirmed this information on Tuesday.

The young man seen celebrating with an axe was arrested yesterday by the Detective Branch (DB) of police in Uttara, Dhaka. He is a native of Isla Bari village of Bagmara Upazila in Rajshahi and currently resides in Uttara, Dhaka.

Video of Bangladesh media house vandalism viral

The other youth who was seen in the viral video standing at the scene that night and telling a private television channel that Prothom Alo and The Daily Star had been destroyed has also been arrested by the DB. He has been identified as Kari Muaz bin Abdul Rahman, leader of the Jubo Majlis’s Shariatpur district branch. His home is in Paschim Kandi village of Shariatpur Sadar Upazila. In the video that went viral on social media, he was heard saying, “What we were supposed to do on August 5 (2024), we couldn’t. Today we have done it through the grace of Hadi Bhai.”

Police also announced the arrest of a man who shared pictures of the attack on Prothom Alo on social media platform Facebook that night and urged others to join the attack. His name is Niaz Mahmud Farhan. He is a resident of Bara Manika village of Borhanuddin Upazila in Bhola.

Others who were arrested in Prothom Alo and The Daily Star office atttack
The other seven miscreants arrested on Tuesday are Abdur Rahman from Noakhali, Md. Jannatul Naim from Rangpur, Md. Faisal Ahmed from Chandpur, Zubair Hossain from Noakhali, Md. Almas Ali from Mymensingh, Zulfiqar Ali alias Sourav from Shah Ali, Dhaka, and Md. Zakir Hossain Shanto from Mymensingh.
Zakir Hossain Shanto was arrested by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit. A native of Mymensingh, Shanto currently resides in Hazaribagh, Dhaka. Sources associated with the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit say that Shanto live streamed the attack on Prothom Alo and Daily Star offices on his Facebook profile.

The attack on the Prothom Alo and Daily Star offices on Thursday night was planned and instigated through social media. Miscreants carried out the attack, vandalism, arson, and looting for a long time. They also obstructed fire service vehicles that came to extinguish the fire. The same night, the Chhayanaut building was also attacked and set on fire. The following day, Friday evening, the Udichi office was attacked and set on fire.

Long or Short, get news the way you like. No ads. No redirections. Download Newspin and Stay Alert, The CSR Journal Mobile app, for fast, crisp, clean updates

App Store – https://apps.apple.com/in/app/newspin/id6746449540

Google Play Store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inventifweb.newspin&pcampaignid=web_share