Journalists across the country on Friday staged protests and demanded justice for Jamalpur reporter Golam Rabbani Nadim murdered in an attack over publishing a report involving a local union parishad (UP) chairman.
Police till Friday afternoon detained six people for their alleged link to the murder that took place in Bokshiganj Upazila of Jamalpur, with the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) starting a probe and raiding to arrest the killers.
However, there was no trace of Sadhurpara UP Chairman Mahmudul Alam Babu, who allegedly masterminded the killing, as of 10:30pm as he went into hiding soon after Nadim's death.
Nadim was the Jamalpur district correspondent of the Banglanews24.com online news portal and the upazila stringer of Ekattor TV.
He was attacked on the night of June 14 in Bokshiganj and was brutally beaten by unidentified assailants. Up to 15 people, allegedly led by UP Chairman Babu, attacked Nadim in the Paathaati Mor area when he was returning home on a motorbike after work.
He died of a severe brain hemorrhage on Thursday morning at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.
Nadim was buried at his family graveyard in the Gomer Char village after two rounds of funeral prayers on Friday.
Anger boils
The Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, the Dhaka Union of Journalists and the Dhaka Reporters Unity protested the murder, demanding immediate arrest of the killers.
Other than rallies and human chains in Savar, Jamalpur, Khagrachhari, Bagerhat, Manikganj, Kushtia, Shariatpur, Tangail, Dinajpur, Faridpur and Jamalpur among other places, journalists on social media vented their anger on the killing.
They also demanded that the attackers be given exemplary punishment.
In a talk show on Thursday night, Jamalpur Superintendent of Police Nasir Uddin Ahmed said that the attack on Nadim was not meant to kill him.
Journalist leaders on Friday condemned his statement, demanding him to withdraw it and apologise for the remark in 24 hours.
They also sought the government's interference in stopping the harassment of journalists through false cases. They also demanded a separate law on the safety and security of journalists.
BNP and a faction of Bangladesh Chhatra Union on Friday expressed deep concern and vigorous condemnation over the killing.
Transparency International Bangladesh, too, joined the condemnation on Friday.
The arrests
Police identified the six arrestees by examining CCTV footage and apprehended them by conducting raids throughout Thursday night.
The arrestees are Golam Kibria Suman, Md Tofazzal Hossain, Ainal Haq, Kafil Uddin, Shahid and Fazlu.
Meanwhile, RAB spokesperson Commander Khandaker Al Moin on Friday said they initiated a shadow probe right after the incident and RAB-14 has been conducting raids to nab the killers of Nadim.
“No matter how powerful the killers are, they will be brought to book soon," the RAB official told reporters in Dhaka.
International condemnation
The murder has also garnered condemnation from the international arena.
The International Press Institute, the International Federation of Journalists and the Press Emblem Campaign while protesting the killing demanded a speedy and thorough investigation into the incident.
Bangladesh has dropped one notch in the World Press Freedom Index 2023, prepared by Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF.
The country ranked 163rd out of 180 countries assessed on the index released on May 3.