By Dhaka Correspondent
Gazipur, Bangladesh, August 7: A Bangladeshi journalist was brutally hacked to death on Thursday night in Gazipur, just outside the capital Dhaka, allegedly by local political thugs angered by his reporting on extortion and illegal occupation of public spaces.
The victim, Asaduzzaman Tuhin(38), was a correspondent for the daily newspaper ‘Protidiner Kagoj’. He was attacked around 8 p.m. in front of the Mosque Market in the Chandna Chowrasta area while sitting at a tea stall, police and witnesses said.
According to eyewitnesses, a group of armed assailants surrounded Tuhin and launched a frenzied attack using sharp weapons, leaving him fatally wounded on the spot. The attackers fled the scene immediately after the assault, despite the presence of bystanders.
Tuhin, originally from Bhatipara village in Fulbaria upazila of Mymensingh district, had been residing in Gazipur with his wife and two children.
Colleagues of the slain journalist said that just hours before the attack, Tuhin had conducted a Facebook Live broadcast highlighting alleged extortion and illegal occupation of footpaths in the area. He later posted another video criticizing the chaotic traffic and poor infrastructure in Chandna Chowrasta.
Police say the murder appears to be directly linked to his journalistic work.We recovered the body and sent it to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital for autopsy,” said Shahin Khan, Officer-in-Charge of Basan Police Station. “We are actively investigating the incident and conducting operations to arrest those responsible. This killing is being treated with the utmost seriousness.
The incident has sparked outrage among press freedom advocates and journalists’ unions, who demand swift justice and protection for media workers.