Journalists form human chain in Tahirpur demanding trial for Alif murder and arrest of attackers on Motalib
A human chain was held in Tahirpur, Sunamganj, demanding trial for the murder of journalist Lutfuzzaman Alif Fakir in Durgapur, Netrokona, and the arrest of those who attacked journalist Abdul Motalib Bhuiyan in Doarabazar, Sunamganj.
The programme was held on Tuesday (20 October) at Badaghat Bazar in the upazila, organised by journalists working in Tahirpur. Alongside journalists, leaders of local social organisations and dignitaries took part.
Speakers at the human chain said the shooting death of journalist Lutfuzzaman Alif Fakir in Durgapur, Netrokona, last Thursday and the attack on journalist Abdul Motalib Bhuiyan in Doarabazar have deeply worried the journalist community.
They demanded proper investigation of these incidents, exemplary punishment for those involved, and guaranteed safety for journalists. Without trials, they said, criminals grow reckless even as journalists keep facing attacks and killings while doing their professional duty.
Among those who addressed the programme were Abir Hasan-Manik, Kaler Kantho multimedia's Tahirpur correspondent; Rokon Uddin, upazila correspondent of Dainik Khola Kagoj; and MA Razzak, Sunamganj district correspondent of Dainik Manabzamin.
Also speaking were Alam Sabbir, Tahirpur upazila correspondent of Dainik Ittefaq; social worker and organiser Abul Hossain; Harun Or Rashid, general secretary of the Badaghat Bazar traders' association; and Sarowar Ibne Gias, president of the Gono Kalyan Foundation.
Present were Kamal Hossain Rafi, upazila correspondent of Dainik Sangbad; Abul Kashem, Tahirpur correspondent of Dainik Bangla; Jahangir Alam Bhuiyan, upazila correspondent of NTV multimedia; and Md A Mannan, director of the Dainik Alor Sokal online news portal.
Also present were Md Babul Mia, Tahirpur correspondent of Dainik News Bangla; Samayun, Tahirpur correspondent of Dainik Ediner; and Azharul Islam Sohag, Tahirpur upazila correspondent of Dainik Haor Bangla, among others.
Journalism in Sunamganj's haor region is already practised amid many risks; amid that, a journalist's murder and attacks have spread fear among local news workers — an anxiety that echoed through the human chain.
The speakers demanded that those behind the Alif murder be quickly identified and brought under the law, and that the administration take effective steps to arrest the attackers in Doarabazar.
The human chain called on the government and the administration to ensure journalists' professional safety. The organisers also warned of further programmes if the demands are not met.
That such a programme took place in Tahirpur, a small upazila on the haor's edge, shows the question of journalist safety is no longer confined to debate in the capital — journalists in the mofussil, too, have taken to the streets demanding justice for a murdered colleague. They now look to the administration to act.
