Md Asaduzzaman Tuhin
Dhaka/Geneva: A brutal murder near Bangladesh’s capital has claimed the life of Md Asaduzzaman Tuhin, a 40-year-old journalist with the Mymensingh-based newspaper Dainik Pratidiner Kagoj. On the evening of August 7, 2025, Tuhin was hacked to death by assailants at a tea stall in Gazipur city’s Chandana Chowrasta market, about 20 kilometres from the capital city of Dhaka. On 8 August, five persons were detained over suspected involvement in the killing, with local sources identifying Ketu Mizan, Shah Jamal, and others known as Bullet and Sujan, all reportedly notorious extortionists and muggers in the Chandana Chowrasta area.
This chilling act of violence, captured on CCTV footage, serves as a stark reminder of the growing dangers journalists in Bangladesh face while carrying out their professional duties in the public interest. Preliminary police findings indicate Tuhin was murdered solely for documenting a crime in progress, recording footage of extortionists demanding money from local vendors who then clashed among themselves. When ordered to stop filming, Tuhin refused, prompting the attackers to fatally wound him. Police in Dhaka recovered his body and sent it for autopsy.
The incident has cast a shadow of grief and anger among journalists, professionals, and the general public, who are demanding swift justice and the immediate arrest of the killers. On Friday morning, the Gazipur Journalists’ Union organised a human chain and rally in front of the Gazipur Press Club, reiterating the call for the apprehension of those involved. Speakers, including Union President Delwar Hossain and prominent journalists Fazlul Haque Morol, Majharul Islam, Masud Rana, and others, condemned the deteriorating law and order situation in Gazipur. Tuhin’s first namaz-e-janaza took place after Friday prayers near Eidgah field at Chandana Chowrasta, followed by a second janaza in the afternoon at the family graveyard in his native village, Bhatipara, in Fulbaria Upazila of Mymensingh, where he will be laid to rest.
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), a global media safety and rights organisation, expressed profound shock at the killing and demanded swift action from Bangladesh’s interim government to apprehend the perpetrators, emphasising the need to combat the climate of impunity emboldening violent actors to silence journalists without fear of consequence. PEC President Blaise Lempen condemned the murder, stating it is “utterly deplorable” for a journalist to lose his life while exposing criminal activity in a bustling capital. He highlighted the recent killing of another journalist, Khandaker Shah Alam, on 25 June in Dhaka’s Nabinagar area, where a released prisoner, reportedly angered by Alam’s investigative reporting for Dainik Matrijagat, was responsible. Lempen urged the interim regime, led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, to ensure the safety of journalists as Bangladesh prepares for national elections in mid-February 2026. Yunus has pledged a more supportive environment for the media compared to the tenure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and PEC insists this commitment must translate into tangible protections for journalists.
PEC’s south and southeast Asia representative, Nava Thakuria, reported that another Dhaka-based journalist, Anwar Hossain Sourav of Dainik Bangladesher Alo, was assaulted by miscreants in Gazipur’s Sahapara area on 6 August. Sourav is currently receiving hospital treatment. Tuhin’s death marks the second killing of a Bangladeshi journalist in 2025, contributing to a global toll of 95 media casualties this year. Other countries have also faced losses, with the Philippines mourning radio journalist Erwin Labitad Segovia, India losing five media workers, Pakistan reporting three, and Nepal one in the first half of 2025. PEC reiterated its call for justice, demanding that the perpetrators of these crimes face legal consequences to safeguard press freedom.
– global bihari bureau
