[12 October, 2020] Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) expresses its grave concern and condemnation at the murder of journalist Elias Sheikh, Bandar Bazar, Raiganj. Elias Sheikh (45) who was a staff reporter of the daily Bijoy newspaper, was hacked to death in public. He had been reporting on the drug dealers and illegal gas connection providers in the Adampur area of Narayanganj. ASK demands a fair investigation of Elias Sheikh’s murder, and the arrest and punishment of those involved.

According to news media reports and eyewitnesses, on Sunday 11 October 2020 when Elias Sheikh was returning to his home through the Adampur Jiodhara Chowrasta Bazar in Kolagachia Union, BandarUpazila, Narayanganj, two criminals named Tushar and Turjo, along with their accomplices, were in that area. Seeing Elias, Tushar started verbally cursing him. Elias ignored him and continued his way home. Suddenly, Tushar ran towards Elias and started to randomly beat him up indiscriminately. At one point, they hacked him with sharp weapons. Locals rescued Elias and took him to the Narayanganj 150-wardGeneral Hospital, where he was declared dead by the doctors. After the incident, the police arrested Tushar with the help of the locals. It was further found that a few days back, Tushar was arrested for the possession of drugs. Tushar and his family members were suspicious that Elias had provided information about them to the police. There are also allegations against Tushar and his family members being involved in providing illegal gas connections in their area. It is to be noted that Elias had previously sought security and protection from the police through filing a general diary (GD) with the police. Sabbir Ahmed Sentu, the editor of the daily Bijoy shared that despite the GD, the police had taken no initiative to ensure Elias’s security.

ASK is deeply concerned and strongly condemns this act of killing a journalist publicly. The incident has already created fear and panic among journalists about publishing stories. Incidents like this are threats to press freedom and security of journalists. According to ASK’s statistics, in the first nine months of this year, 209 journalists have been victims of torture and harassment, while one has been killed which is extremely concerning. ASK demands that those involved in this killing must be arrested immediately and punished according to the law. Besides, it also demands that a safe and secure environment must be ensured for journalists so that they can carry out their professional duties without any fear or threats.

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