Banned Chhatra league leaders plot Gazipur-style attack on Journalists in Feni
Staff Reporter:
Authorities have uncovered an alleged plot by leaders and activists of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) to launch a sudden, “Gazipur-style” attack on five journalists in Feni, in what investigators believe is part of a broader plan to create political unrest.
The scheme, codenamed the “August Return Hit Plan”, was reportedly orchestrated through a WhatsApp group named “Ektaai Shakti” (“Unity is Strength”), involving both Chhatra League and Jubo League members with close links to the suspended Awami League.
According to police sources and a formal complaint filed at Feni Model Police Station on Saturday night, the targeted journalists include:
Mohammad Shahadat Hossain, Feni bureau chief of Dainik Feni’r Shomoy and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) correspondent, Arifur Rahman, staff reporter at Jamuna TV, Arif Azam, chief reporter of Dainik Feni’r Shomoy, Soleyman Hazarai Dalim, representative of Ekhon TV, Jahidul Alam Rajon, online reporter for NTV.
Shahadat Hossain, who lodged the general diary, stated that on the night of August 8, information surfaced from multiple sources about discussions in the “Ektaai Shakti” group to physically assault the named journalists or set fire to their homes under the cover of darkness.
Screenshots of group conversations obtained by police show members openly calling for violent reprisals against reporters. In one message, a participant named Saif Uddin wrote:
“We should take the chance to do a media trial like in Gazipur. In this chance, we can go after Shahadat, Arif Azam, Arif, Rajon — any of them. Don’t bring up BSL, it will all be blamed on BNP.”
Another, identified as Shahed Abhi, reportedly added:
“Arif Azam and Shahadat Hossain used to serve our leaders, but now they publish pictures of BNP’s rallies. Even if it takes 10 years, we will dig them out. Rajon from NTV, Arif from Jamuna TV — we will deal with all of them.”
Police say the group’s administrators include high-profile BCL figures: district president Tofayel Ahmed Topu, general secretary Nur Karim Javed, vice-president Shahed Akbar Abhi, as well as municipal and college-level leaders such as Ashiq Haider Rajon Hazari, Rony Chandra Das, Abul Hasanat Tushar, and Saif Uddin Manik. Over 25 others, many with criminal cases and reported fugitive status, were active in the chat.
Feni Model Police Station officer-in-charge Mohammad Samsuzzaman confirmed that law enforcement had prior intelligence on the plot.
“We are actively ensuring the safety of the targeted journalists. The Cyber Crime Unit is verifying the information and legal action will be taken. Most of the group’s members are already wanted in connection with murder and other serious cases,” he said.
The revelations have sent shockwaves through the district’s press corps. Veteran journalist A.K.M. Abdur Rahim said reporters in Feni are “deeply alarmed” by the threats and urged authorities to “arrest those responsible without delay.”
Civil society representatives have also condemned the development. Morshed Hossain, joint general secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SUJAN) Feni, alleged that “perpetrators of past atrocities in Feni are now fugitives, conspiring to carry out acts of sabotage,” and demanded their immediate arrest.
Journalist leaders warned that such targeted threats are a direct assault on press freedom. Mizanur Rahman, general secretary of the Feni Journalists’ Union, said:
“Targeting journalists for their work is an attack on professional integrity and media independence. The state must take action regardless of the offenders’ political identity, otherwise the media will face escalating threats that harm everyone.”
The alleged conspiracy mirrors the attack earlier this month on journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin in Gazipur — an incident rights groups say marks a dangerous escalation in politically motivated violence against the press in Bangladesh.