Journalist’s battered body recovered from under bridge in Khulna, journalists insecure

❐ Local correspondent

The body of journalist Wahed-uz-Zaman Bulu (60) has been recovered from under the Khanjahan Ali Bridge in the Rupsha River in Khulna.

The naval police recovered his body at around 8:15 pm last night. There were clear signs of injury on his face and right hand. It is clear from the circumstances that the killers killed him and dumped his body under the bridge.

The deceased Bulu was a senior staff reporter of the daily Sangbad Pratidin. In his long career as a journalist, he worked for several national dailies in Khulna. He was a member of the Khulna Press Club and the Khulna Union of Journalists (KUJ).

Locals said they saw a body floating in the basement of pillar number 2 of the bridge and informed the police. Later, the Luanchara police station and the naval police reached the spot. The body was then recovered and sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

Members of the PBI and CID were also present at the scene and collected evidence.

Senior officials from RAB, Coast Guard and police visited the scene last night.

Naval Police SI Bellal Hossain said that when the body was recovered, Bulu was wearing blue gabardine pants and a sky-blue T-shirt. His face and right hand were severely injured.

According to the family, the killers brutally murdered him and dumped his body in the river.

Meanwhile, the journalist community is now insecure due to such brutal murders. Questions are being raised about the unnatural death. This death is not just an isolated incident, say journalist leaders. Media freedom has been violated since the riots of July-August last year. Journalists are becoming victims of mobs.

Since the Baischa movement, false and mass cases, attacks, and harassment against hundreds of journalists have been on the rise.

In addition, many journalists have been dismissed. TV and newspaper offices have been occupied. The country’s journalists are living their daily lives under constant threats, surveillance and intimidation. The journalist community believes that the Yunus government is harassing journalists, who are considered to be the advanced class of society, without taking any action against the torture.

Currently, journalists at the district and upazila levels across the country are also at the highest risk. They are being targeted by mobs for reporting on unstable politics, corruption, and human rights violations, labeling them as ‘provocateurs’ or ‘conspirators’.

Leaders of the Khulna Journalists Union and Press Club say that a proper investigation into the death of journalist Bulu must be carried out immediately and those responsible must be identified and brought to justice. They also say that the state must take effective steps now to ensure the safety of journalists.