Bangladesh media offices attacked: 150 computers, cash and valuables stolen; CCTVs smashed; how violence unfolded

According to witnesses, nearly 200 attackers breached the main gate of the Daily Star after midnight on Thursday and stormed the ground floor

For the first time in its 27 years of establishment, Bangladesh's leading daily Prothom Alo’s publication was closed for a day, for reason other than a newspaper holiday. It’s online version, meanwhile, was closed for about 17 hours.

Another leading daily, The Daily Star, also faced a similar situation, after protests erupted in the country over the death of youth leader Sharif Osma Hadi.

Fresh protests broke out across Bangladesh late Thursday night after 32-year-old youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi died days after being shot in the head. Demonstrators also attacked and vandalised the offices of Bangladeshi newspapers, including The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.

In an article published on its website, Prothom Alo shared the details of the attack, “At around 11:15 pm on Thursday, 30 to 35 attackers marched from Shahbagh to the Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar. When they tried to attack, the police stopped them. Failing, they took positions in front of the office and started shouting various slogans. Then some of them started making various threats, including burning Prothom Alo and attacking anyone from Prothom Alo if they found them.”

The assailants allegedly urged more people to gather at the site, searched the mobile phones of those nearby, and attacked traders and hawkers in the market area, with the incident continuing for about an hour and a half.

At around 12:15 am, the attack began.

It started with attackers throwing bricks and breaking the glass of the building and then they went on to break the shutters of the main gate of the building. They broke the glass in front of the building and threw down various furniture, equipment and all the documents, including sofas, tables and chairs, and gathered them in one place and set them on fire.

“The attackers completely destroyed the building's firefighting system. CCTV cameras were also broken,” the report said.

During the attack, the attackers looted every floor of the building, the daily said. They looted more than 150 computers and laptops, multiple lockers for storing money, cash, and personal belongings from the employees' desks.

During the looting, the attackers set the building on fire and were seen celebrating outside the Prothom Alo office as the flames raged. Around 1 am, the blaze intensified, spreading to neighbouring buildings, with a nearby electricity connection also catching fire.

The first fire service unit dispatched to Prothom Alo reached the area beneath the Karwan Bazar metro station around 1.45 am, but was attacked by a group of assailants in front of the newspaper office. Faced with the assault, two fire service vehicles were forced to retreat. At one point, a section of the attackers joined another group arriving from the Shahbagh direction to target the Daily Star.

According to witnesses, nearly 200 attackers breached the main gate of the Daily Star after midnight on Thursday and stormed the ground floor, vandalising the building. Furniture and newspapers were later set on fire, causing the blaze to spread to the third floor. The fire filled the building with dense black smoke, forcing 28 journalists and staff to seek safety on the roof.

"I can't breathe. Lots of smoke. I'm trapped inside. You're killing me," wrote Daily Star senior reporter Zaima Islam on Facebook.

“It was found on the spot that when the Daily Star office was vandalised, looted and set on fire, members of the law enforcement agencies were in front of the building. In front of them, the attackers climbed from the first to the seventh floor of the 12-story building and vandalised it. At that time, various electronic equipment including computers and cameras were looted. Food items kept in the canteen were also looted,” Prothom Alo said in its report.

According to the Daily Star’s human resources department head, Mahmudul Hasan Khan, the attackers burned and demolished almost all facilities from the ground floor to the second floor. A wide range of equipment, including computers, tables, chairs, sofas and camera lenses, was vandalised throughout the building, the report said.