Chaos in front of Prothom Alo; cops drive away demonstrators

A group of people demonstrated in front of the daily Prothom Alo’s office in the capital’s Karwan Bazar almost throughout the day yesterday.
This caused disruptions to vehicular movement on the main road in the city’s largest kitchen market.
In the evening, when trucks carrying essentials started arriving in the market area, law enforcers asked the protesters to clear the road. Many shopkeepers closed their stores, and the gates to the Karwan Bazar metro station were also shut.
The law enforcers tried to disperse the crowd using whistles, but the protesters tried to shove them away.  Some threw brickbats at the officers, who then used tear gas and sound grenades to break off the crowd.
At that time, a clash broke out between the law enforcers and the demonstrators, resulting in injuries to some protesters and six police officers, including Tejgaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mobarak Hossain.
Around 9:00pm, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sheikh Sajjat Ali visited the scene.
Earlier, witnesses said, 15-20 people attempted to block the road in front of the Prothom Alo office around noon. However, police intervened and dispersed the crowd.
The protesters returned around 2:30pm and engaged in a scuffle with the police. Later, they sat on the road.
In the afternoon, they slaughtered a cow they had brought and chanted slogans denouncing the daily.
By the evening, the number of protesters rose to around 50, intensifying the situation.
This group demonstrated in front of the Prothom Alo office on Thursday and Saturday. They also staged protests at the entrance to The Daily Star office on Friday and Saturday.
Meanwhile, in a statement last night, the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal condemned what it said were “extremists’ attempts to shut down the publication of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star”.
The statement added that since August 5, there has been a series of attacks aimed at seizing control of the media and curtailing press freedom, freedom of speech, and independent journalism. The recent attempts to target Prothom Alo and The Daily Star are part of this ongoing campaign.