Staff Reporter :
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said that the miscreants who attacked daily Amar Desh acting Editor Mahmudur Rahman in Kushtia wanted to kill him.
He said it while addressing a demonstration in front of National Press Club arranged to protest the attack on Mahmudur Rahman. The programme was jointly organised by pro-BNP factions of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ). He demanded immediate arrest of the guilty for justice.
Presided over by BFUJ President Ruhul Amin Gazi, the programme was also addressed by journalist leaders Shaukat Mahmood, Abdul Hye Sikder, Syed Abdal Ahmed, Kader Gani Chowdhury and Shahidul Islam.
Mirza Fakhrul said, “I talked with the Home Minister on phone before attack on Mahmudur Rahman and the minister assured me of taking necessary steps for his safe exit from the court. Even then, the way the attack was launched, it targeted to kill the acting editor of the Amar Desh paper.” He said, it was totally unprecedented incident of attack on journalists in recent time.
Fakhrul said, “The government is strongly working against the freedom of expression. The attack is a warning for those of the people who fight for freedom of press and speech.”
They (ruling party) want to establish one-party rule in disguise, precondition whereof is to gag the media, he added. The BNP leader also demanded an investigation into inaction of the police officials who were present but remained inactive during the attack.
