Demand for withdrawal of GD against journo Samsul

Staff Reporter:

A General Diary (GD) has been filed against Dhaka Reporters Unity’s permanent member and Daily Naya Diganta senior reporter Shamsul Islam by Bonani Biswas, former Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Netrakona and currently a Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology. She lodged the allegedly harassing GD at Ramna Model Police Station in the capital on November 5 over a news report published about her.

Condemning and protesting the move, journalist leaders have demanded that the GD be withdrawn within 48 hours and that Bonani Biswas be withdrawn from her post and faced with departmental action.

At a protest rally organized by the Anti-Repression Journalist Alliance in front of the National Press Club at noon on Sunday, the journalist community made these demands. The rally was attended by organizations such as the Rajshahi Division Journalists Association, North Bengal Journalists Forum, Rajshahi University Press Club Alumni Association, and Natore District Journalists Association, each under their respective banners.

The meeting was presided over by Masudul Haque, president of the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF), and conducted by Abul Kalam, convener of the Anti-Repression Journalist Alliance.

Speakers included Shahidul Islam, president of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ); Rashidul Haque and Rafiq Mohammad, vice presidents; Khurshid Alam, general secretary; Modabber Hossain, former vice president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ); Rafiqul Islam Azad and Morsalin Nomani, former presidents of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU); Muhammad Baker Hossain, former general secretary of DUJ; Tofazzal Hossain, general secretary of North Bengal Journalists Forum; Saheed Khan, organizational secretary of DUJ; Khandaker Alamgir Hossain, treasurer of DUJ.

Gazi Anwar, vice president of DRU; Mahmudul Hasan, former vice president of DRU; Deepak Dev, general secretary of Rajshahi Division Journalists Association; Alamgir Hossain, former general secretary; Mainul Hasan, vice president of BSRF; Obaidullah Badal, general secretary of BSRF; Emdadul Haque, former president of Natore District Journalists Association; Akhtaruzzaman, executive committee member of DRU; Kazi Khairul Bashar, editor of E-Math; Mahmudul Haque Khokon, editor of Dainik Chalonbil Probaho; Mohammad Mominur Rashid Shahin, president of Bangladesh Journalists Development Association; Muhammad Kamrul Islam, general secretary; Hasan Sardar Jewel, vice president; Arfat-ur-Rahman Apel, joint secretary general; Delwar Hossain, president of Thakurgaon District Journalists Association, Dhaka; Nasim Shikdar, treasurer of the Bangladesh Photo Journalists Association; and Syed Shimul Parvez, senior reporter of The New Nation, among others.

During the rally, the journalist leaders stated that after a news report exposing Bonani Biswas’s corruption was published, an initial inquiry found the allegations credible, leading to her withdrawal from the post of DC, Netrakona, and her placement in the Ministry of Public Administration. She was later reassigned to the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Ministry of Public Administration is currently conducting a formal investigation into the allegations.

The leaders said that out of revenge, Bonani Biswas filed the GD to intimidate and harass journalist Shamsul Islam. The claims made in her GD were fabricated, baseless, motivated, and a direct interference in independent journalism.

They further questioned, “How could this official, a collaborator of tyranny and the No. 13 accused in the International Crimes Tribunal case, dare to file a GD against a journalist?”

Publishing news is a professional responsibility of journalists, they said. Any journalist has the right to report an incident as part of their duty. The fact that Bonani Biswas was withdrawn following the report proves there was a prima facie case of corruption.

If she was aggrieved by the news, she could have submitted a rebuttal to the concerned newspaper or lodged a complaint with the Press Council, as per established procedure. Instead, she chose the wrong and retaliatory path.

The journalist leaders issued a 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw the harassing GD and to initiate departmental action against Bonani Biswas. They also called upon the Chief Adviser, Information Adviser, Cabinet Division, Ministry of Public Administration, and the Ministry of Science and Technology to take appropriate measures.

Earlier, on July 30, Daily Naya Diganta published a report on Bonani Biswas’s irregularities and corruption. Finding preliminary evidence of wrongdoing, the Ministry of Public Administration withdrew her from the post 25 days later, on August 25. A formal investigation into the allegations was then launched by the Ministry.