The reporters present at the Secretariat immediately met the minister and protested the incident.

When contacted for his comment, Kabir categorically denied to The Daily Star of assaulting any journalist.

"A journalist from the daily Janokantho entered my chamber without permission and began asking all sorts of ill-motivated baseless questions," the minister said, terming the incident "pre-planned and conspiratorial".

It was learnt that Janokantho reporter Tapan Biswas went to the minister's office and put before him a barrage of questions on the Monga situation in the minister's area and about changing his personal assistant 18 times and assistant personal secretary nine times. He also asked the minister if it is true that he draws salaries for six orderlies although he has two.

The minister became excited at this and exchanged heated words with the reporter. At one point, the minister manhandled the reporter, the latter claimed to the press.

"The minister grabbed the collar of my shirt and tore up my notebook," Tapan told The Daily Star yesterday evening. The minister also allegedly snatched Tapan's cell phone as the latter tried to make a call.

Following the scuffle, the minister first asked Tapan to leave his office but then changed his mind and asked him to sit in his rest room.

After a while, some leaders of the photojournalists' association went to the minister's room to invite him to their convention. Two Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal leaders also entered the minister's room at around the same time. Their presence cooled down the situation.

Earlier in 2003, Kabir once reportedly drove away some local journalists from a meeting on law and order situation held in Rangpur.

The Dhaka Reporters' Unity protested yesterday's incident.