TBT DESK

An agitated crowd carried out attacks on the headquarters of Prothom Alo in Karwan Bazar and the Daily Star office in Farmgate in the capital. The incident took place around 12:00 midnight on Thursday. Following the incident, the army and additional police forces were deployed at the scene. After the arson, hundreds of students and members of the public gathered in front of the two offices and continued chanting various slogans.

Eyewitnesses said that after news spread of the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, angry students and members of the public took to the streets in protest processions. Initially, the agitated crowd marched from Shahbagh and arrived in front of the Prothom Alo office. At that time, they shouted various slogans against Prothom Alo and against India. At one point, some individuals entered the office premises and vandalized it, throwing papers and computers onto the ground. They also set fire in front of the office. After setting fire in front of Prothom Alo, the protesters gathered in front of the multi-storey Daily Star building located some distance away. Eventually, they entered the Daily Star building and set it on fire as well.

Law enforcement agencies were seen trying to prevent the arson by the agitated crowd. However, the crowd did not comply with the instructions of law enforcement and continued chanting slogans after setting the fires. Many people were also seen taking away various items from the two offices.

Fire Service Media Cell Acting Officer Md. Shahjahan Sikder said that a total of eight units from three fire stations were sent to the scene in response to the fires at Prothom Alo and The Daily Star. However, due to the agitated crowd, the units were blocked at various locations. With the assistance of the army, two units are working to extinguish the fire at Prothom Alo and one unit at The Daily Star. With police assistance, the other units are trying to reach the scene.