A group of men allegedly swooped on journalists at Dhanmondi today.

According to what the victims told The Daily Star, students of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) and journalists of Priyo.com were attacked during today’s protests demanding road safety.

Sadaat Mahmood, one of the victims, told The Daily Star: “I heard news of attack on ULAB students around 6:00pm. When I went to my campus, I saw some people dragging one of the students controlling the traffic.”

The broken glass of Priyo.com reception office. Photo: Collected

As I went to save him, they started beating me up. Some locals came to rescue me, but they were also beaten up," he told The Daily Star. “I ran to my friends and they followed. They beat my friends too, and anyone who tried to come to help.”

Another staff of this newspaper, Md. Mahamudul Hasan came under attack by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists while taking pictures of a clash near Govt. Bangla College, Mirpur around 11:00am. A group of people was started beating him up with a stick, kicked and punched him. He was hit in the head with a piece of wood when they saw his press ID of The Daily Star. He was seriously injured. The attackers were the Bangladesh Chhatra League activists of the ruling Awami League party.

As a reporter of Priyo.com, an online portal, Pradip Das, was taking photographs, the group also attacked him and broke his phone. When the head of news, Rafiqul Ranju, of the portal went to save him, the attackers chased at him.

As he ran inside his office in front of ULAB, the attackers rushed in and smashed glasses of their office reception, Rafiqul told The Daily Star, adding the attackers were aged around 30-35 years.

Contacted, Abdul Latif, officer-in-charge of Dhanmondi police station, said they heard the incident but when a team rushed there they found nobody.