Journo beaten up by 'forest staff for taking snap of extortion'
Forest department staff and their agents allegedly beat up a journalist as he took their photo while they were extorting money from drivers on the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Kharajora of Kaliakoir in Gazipur yesterday.
People, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, said several guards of the department were realising extortion money from truckers by halting their vehicles in the name of a search near their check post.
Sagar Ahmed, Kaliakoir correspondent of the daily Alokito Bangladesh, rushed to the spot riding a motorbike and started taking their snaps, prompting the guards to assault the journalist after taking him to the check post, they said.
On information from other local journalists, police rescued Sagar and arrested Abdul Aziz, 45, an agent of the forest staff who fled the scene with the reporter's camera and laptop, said the victim.
Chandra forest bit officer Akram Hossain said he was in a Gazipur court for an urgent work and during this time the guards could have committed extortion. He apologised for the attack and assured of taking action against them.
Kaliakoir police Officer-in-Charge Abdul Motaleb Mia said Sagar Ahmed filed a written complaint in this regard.
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