BANGLADESH: Reporter receives death threat from BNP leader

A journalist here narrowly escaped an attempt on his life Thursday night while another in Bagerhat was given an explicit death threat allegedly by a BNP leader there on Friday

The Daily Star
Sunday, January 11, 2004

A journalist here narrowly escaped an attempt on his life Thursday night while another in Bagerhat was given an explicit death threat allegedly by a BNP leader there on Friday.

Saiful Islam Bablu, 30, crime reporter of Dainik Loksamaj of Jessore, narrowly escaped an attempt on his life when a powerful bomb hurled by three men on a motorcycle missed him by a few yards and exploded on impact, sources said.

The incident happened at around 10:00pm Thursday, a quarter kilometre from Bablu's house at Amdabad under Rupsha Police Station, soon after he left home on his motorbike.

Bablu is stationed at the Khulna office of the newspaper owned by Information Minister Tariqul Islam.

A general diary was filed with Rupsha Police Station.

In Bagerhat, Joint Secretary of Bagerhat district Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Ali Reza Babu allegedly issued a death threat to Nikhil Kumar Bhadra, senior crime reporter of Dainik Purbanchal, during a milad (religious function) at Mongla Friday evening.

Reza also threatened to get Dainik Purbanchal banned in Bagerhat and punish its management for carrying an investigative report in its January 8 issue on the motive behind the murder of BNP leader and former Mongla municipal ward commissioner Talukder Abdul Halim.

"I know how to finish off the daily and liquidate Nikhil Bhadra. I shall throw his body in Passur river or dump it elsewhere," Reza, the function's chief guest, was quoted by sources as saying.

Presided over by another BNP leader Belayet Hossain, the milad was organised by Greater Barisal Divisional Association to commemorate Halim, who was gunned down in December last year.

Halim's murder was allegedly a sequel to his dispute with a gang of six robbers over the share of Tk 34 lakh received from the sale of 300 maunds of rice and rice paddy looted on October 1 last year from a barge named MV Kafela, the Purbanchal report said.

The murder investigation also found that Halim was killed by the robbers for not paying them up their share of the loot proceeds, sources said quoting a police report.

Reza's supporters brought out a procession after the milad, chanting obscene slogans against Bhadra and Purbanchal.

Reza, who belongs to a BNP faction rival to BNP lawmaker MAH Selim, Bagerhat district president of BNP, was annoyed to receive a phone call from this Daily Star correspondent. He said angrily that he would teach Bhadra a lesson for "writing (unpleasant things) about a dead man," and that it would serve as a good example to others.

MAH Selim MP said BNP believes in the freedom of press. He said action would be taken against Reza for issuing death threat to the journalist.

Date Posted: 1/11/2004