Journalist Assaulted and Arrested in Late-Night Police Raid

Police in Tangail’s Kalihati upazila have been accused of breaking into a journalist’s home in the middle of the night, assaulting him, and arresting him in a false case following the publication of a news report. On Sunday (7 December) afternoon, journalist Jahangir Alam was sent to jail through the court.

Earlier, around 2 a.m. on Saturday night, police from Tangail Sadar Police Station arrested Jahangir Alam — the Kalihati correspondent of the newspaper Dainik Nirapekkho — from his home in Narandia village of Narandia Union.

Jahangir Alam is also a member of the Kalihati Press Club. The journalist community expressed strong outrage and condemnation over his late-night arrest and assault without any preliminary investigation, calling it a clear act of harassment based on a fabricated case.

According to reports, on 20 August, a man named Shawkat Talukdar held a press conference accusing his wife of embezzling Tk 30 lakh through fraud. Journalist Jahangir Alam published a report on the press conference. Following this, Shawkat’s wife began threatening the journalist in various ways. On 17 November, she filed a false attempted rape case against Jahangir, allegedly in retaliation for the published news report.

Jahangir’s younger brother, Almgir Hossain, said, “A police team led by Sub-Inspector Ripon Kumar Das of Tangail Sadar Police Station broke our front gate and tin fence and entered the house at night. My parents started shouting, thinking they were robbers. When my brother and I came outside, the police scuffled with Jahangir, beat him, and took him away. They did not inform us of any case or the reason for his arrest. We are shocked by the police’s actions. We demand his immediate release.”

Local journalists said Jahangir previously worked at a local educational institution. A video of students taking an exam while using books went viral online and in the media. For this, Jahangir was dismissed, which angered the institution’s head and several business associates who own multiple multi-storey buildings in Tangail town. Later, they allegedly used a woman to file the false case against him. Journalists added that Kalihati police previously broke another resident’s gate without an arrest warrant.

Police stated that the complainant initially filed the case with the Tangail court, which later ordered Tangail Sadar Police Station to register the complaint as an FIR.

Molla Mushfiqur Rahman Milton, General Secretary of Kalihati Press Club, said, “A false case was filed through a woman with clear malicious intent. That woman herself is accused in a court case for fraudulently embezzling money from her husband. The fabricated case was filed only because news about her was published. We demand Jahangir’s immediate release.”

Sub-Inspector Ripon Kumar Das of Tangail Sadar Police Station, the investigating officer, said, “We removed the tin fencing and arrested Jahangir with assistance from Kalihati police. There is an attempted rape case against him. He was not beaten. Rather, they became agitated upon seeing us.”

Tangail Superintendent of Police Muhammad Shamsul Alam Sarkar said, “An attempted rape case has been filed against him. However, allegations against the police will be investigated, and if any officer is found guilty, action will be taken.”