Journos slate police raid at Sangram office

Journalist leaders yesterday deplored a police raid on the daily Sangram office in the capital's Moghbazar.
Some members of Detective Branch of police raided the office on Friday noon and searched different rooms including the newsroom without any prior permission, said the leaders in a joint statement.
During the raid, policemen harassed the on-duty journalists and staff in the name of enquiring about their identities.
“Conducting such a raid without any prior permission and specific allegation is unacceptable to us. The raid on the daily's office is a threat to free and independent journalism,” mentioned the journalists.
They regretted similar raids conducted last year and called upon the members of the law enforcement agencies to refrain from such activities in future.
Signatories to the statement included presidents of both the factions of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury and Ruhul Amin Gazi, secretaries general Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan and Shaukat Mahmood, presidents of both the factions of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) Omar Faruk and Abdus Shahid, general secretaries Shaban Mahmood and M Baker Hossain, president of National Press Club Kamal Uddin Sabuj and general secretary Syed Abdal Ahmad, president of Dhaka Reporters Unity Shahed Chowdhury and general secretary Elias Khan.