Arson attack on Prothom Alo, The Daily Star offices; Army deployed

Angry protesters made vandalism and set on fire the offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, Bangladesh’s two leading newspapers, in the capital’s Karwan Bazar late night.

The unrest escalated at night over the death of Inqilab Moncho Spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.

The protesters entered the offices breaking gate and made vandalism.

At least 20 employees were initially trapped on the roof of the Daily Star building, several others reportedly trapped in different floors. Firefighters brought the blaze of The Daily Star under control at 1:40AM on Friday.

All The Daily Star staff have been successfully evacuated to a safe place.

Eyewitnesses said the angry people entered second and third floors and thrown down furniture, computers, important documents from the windows. Later, piled up those downstairs and set fire.

Upon receiving the news of the fire at Prothom Aloa and Daily Star offices, the fire fighting units tried to reach the spot quickly, but was delayed because hundreds of people standing on the road obstructed their movement. Later with the help of police Army personnel, fire fighters were able to douse the blazes.

Additional number of Army personnel have been deployed near the two offices to control the situation.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam visited Prothom Alo office, which was damaged by the angry protesters, on Friday morning.

The Daily Star and Prothom Alo have temporarily suspended their print and online operations following devastating fire attacks.