Local journalists in Ishwardi, Pabna, staged a protest and held a demonstration on Saturday (September 26) against the inclusion of young journalist Sourav Kumar Debnath Krishna as an accused in the murder case of Mehedi Hasan Akib.
Journalist leaders alleged that Sourav was implicated in the case to harass him because of investigative reports he had published on political disputes and various local issues.
At a protest meeting held at the Ishwardi Press Club on Saturday afternoon, journalists demanded that Sourav’s name be withdrawn from the case within 48 hours. They also announced that they would launch continuous programmes if the demand was not met.
Speakers at the meeting alleged that Sourav had been implicated at the direction of Pabna District BNP convener Habibur Rahman Habib and with the patronage of Zubayer Hossain Bappi, a member of the newly formed convening committee of Ishwardi Municipal BNP.
According to the case statement and discussions with people concerned, Anisur Rahman of Mazdia Islampur village in Sara Union filed the murder case over Mehedi Hasan Akib’s death on September 20. Fifteen people, including journalist Sourav Kumar Debnath Krishna, were named as accused.
Akib, 18, went missing on the night of September 1. Early the following morning, he was left at Ishwardi Upazila Health Complex in an auto-rickshaw in an ailing condition. He later died in the Lalpur area while being taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment. Reports published after the incident said police and the family had not at that time confirmed who had assaulted Akib or what had caused the incident.
At the time, Akib’s father Anisur Rahman had reportedly told journalists that he did not know who had assaulted his son and left him at the hospital. Speakers at the protest meeting said he subsequently filed a case against unidentified persons with the police.
While that case was under investigation, a new case was filed in court about 20 days after the incident, and Sourav’s name was included, according to the journalists.
The journalists said Sourav had published a series of reports on the sand quarry in Sara Islampur, sand extraction and activities of local political leaders in Ishwardi. They alleged that he had subsequently come into conflict with a political group because of those reports.
They further alleged that, as a result of the dispute, Sourav’s name was added to the Akib murder case along with 14 leaders and activists of a faction of the BNP. They demanded an impartial investigation and said they would not accept any harassment of the journalist or obstruction of his professional duties.
Speakers at the meeting also said that being named in a murder case does not by itself establish that a person committed the offence. They said legal action should be taken if an investigation finds evidence of his involvement, but added that harassing a journalist before such an investigation would raise concerns for independent journalism.
The journalists demanded that Sourav Kumar Debnath Krishna’s name be removed from the case statement within 48 hours and that the matter be investigated impartially. They also called for an investigation into how and on what information his name was added to the case.
Abdul Mannan Tipu, president of the Ishwardi Press Club, said a journalist may publish investigative reports on issues as part of his professional responsibilities. If there is any complaint against a journalist, he said, it should be addressed through legal means.
He added that the inclusion of a journalist in a serious murder case warranted investigation.
Ishwardi Press Club Vice Presidents Jahangir Hossain and Selim Sardar, General Secretary Sheikh Mehedi Hasan, Joint General Secretary Ohiduzzaman Tipu, Organising Secretary Mahidul Islam and Treasurer Shahidullah Khan also spoke at the protest meeting, along with other local journalists.
Representatives of various television channels, national newspapers, online news portals, and local and regional media outlets were also present.
