Widespread protests are being witnessed in Bangladesh following the death of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. The demonstrators have taken to the streets and are attacking media offices by burning their
buildings and targeting the staff.
Several videos are being circulated on social media showing protesters vandalising and setting fire to the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, two of Dhaka’s leading newspapers. Journalists and staff inside the buildings are urging the public to stop the violence.
The newspapers are reportedly targeted as protesters accused them of having ties with neighbouring India, AFP reported.
Hadi, a senior leader of the student protest group Inquilab Mancha, was shot during his campaign for the upcoming national elections in Dhaka. He was initially rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. However, he was later airlifted to Singapore, where he succumbed to his injuries.
‘Escaped Big Disaster’: Journalist Recalls Horror
According to BD News24, a journalist, who was trapped on the rooftop of The Daily Star, recounted the harrowing ordeal and said a warning call alerted staff that the mob, after attacking Prothom Alo, was moving toward their building.
“We were lucky — we narrowly escaped a major disaster today. I don’t know where this country is headed,” the journalist told BD News24.
Amid thick smoke, as the protesters were approaching them, a group of journalists sought refuge on the 10th-floor rooftop, despite leaving the building.
“There were 28 of us on the roof, all gripped by intense anxiety and fear,” the journalist said, adding that at one point, a canteen worker attempted to climb down using an external fire-exit ladder but was caught and beaten by the mob.
Zyma Islam, a Daily Star reporter, wrote on Facebook, “I can’t breathe anymore. There’s too much smoke.”
Editor Attacked
Editors’ Council President and New Age editor Nurul Kabir, along with photographer Shahidul Alam, when tried to calm the attackers was reportedly harassed.
A report in BBC Bangla on Friday said that two fire service personnel were injured while trying to put out the fire that broke out at Prothom Alo, they are currently under treatment at a hospital in Dhaka.
