Police have arrested two accused in the case over an attack on the journalist Mahbubul Ahsan Ullas, who had gone to gather information about irregularities in road construction in Kumarkhali, Kushtia. They were arrested late on Saturday night from the Elangi area of Nandalalpur union in the upazila. They were sent to court on Sunday morning.
The two arrested are Amirul Islam, 55, the uncle of the Jamaat-e-Islami member of parliament for the Kushtia-4 seat, Md Afzal Hossain, and his so-called personal secretary Maruf Hossain, 35. Kumarkhali police officer-in-charge Jamal Uddin confirmed the arrests in the afternoon.
According to police and the case statement, Mahbubul Ahsan Ullas, the Kumarkhali-Khoksa correspondent of the private television channel Bangla TV, was attacked on Saturday afternoon in front of the Kalibari temple in the municipality when he went to gather information about irregularities in road construction. That evening the journalist Ullas filed a case at Kumarkhali police station under the attempted murder law, naming 11 people including Shobhon Hossain, the son of the Kushtia-4 member of parliament Afzal Hossain, his uncle Amirul Islam, his cousin Anwar Hossain and the so-called personal secretary Maruf Hossain. The case also names 20 to 25 unidentified people as accused.
The other accused in the case are Ruhul Amin, 22, son of Shariful of Shibrampur; Liton Hossain, 45, son of Altaf of Durgapur; Md Al Amin, 27, son of Md Kafi of Pathorbaria; Sohan, 26, son of Shafiqul of the Elangi area; Al Amin, 26, son of Ziarat; Sabbir, 28, son of Badsha; and Sadiq, 26, son of Obaidul. Police said operations to arrest them were under way.
The journalist Mahbubul Ahsan Ullas said the municipal authorities had stopped the road construction work over various complaints. But the son, brother and relatives of the Jamaat member of parliament were using their influence to carry on the work by force. There were widespread irregularities in the work, including the use of substandard materials. When he went to gather information and photographs of this, the MP’s relatives attacked him without warning, leaving him bleeding and injured. He filed the case at the police station in the hope of a proper trial, and demanded exemplary punishment for the accused.
The former general secretary of Kushtia Press Club, Abu Moni Jubaed Ripon, strongly condemned and protested against the attack on the journalist. He said a case had been filed over the incident. However powerful the accused may be, he said, they must be brought within the law and punished. Otherwise there would be a hard movement.
Kumarkhali police officer-in-charge Jamal Uddin said a case had been filed under the attempted murder law naming 11 people over the attack on the journalist. Two had already been arrested and sent to court, and operations were under way to arrest the other accused.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report