9 sent to jail in The Daily Star office attack case

A Dhaka court today sent nine people to jail in a case filed over the attack involving vandalism, arson, and looting at The Daily Star's office early Friday.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamshed Alam passed the order after police produced then before the court, seeking their confinement, said a sub-inspector.

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The nine who have been sent to jail are: Mainul Islam, 22; Zulfikar Ali Sourav, 22; Almas Ali, 32; Jubayer Hossain, 21; Ainul Haque Kashemi, 30; Abdur Rahman Palash, 30; Jannatul Naim, 21; Qari Muaz bin Abdur Rahman, 34, and Faisal Ahmed, 24.

They were arrested from various areas of Dhaka yesterday.

Mizanur Rahman, head of operations of The Daily Star, filed a case yesterday with Tejgaon Police Station against 350-400 unidentified people over the attack.

Section 6(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Section 15(3) of the Special Powers Act, and Section 26(1) of the Cyber Security Ordinance were included in the case.

According to the case statement, on December 19, the attackers, carrying local weapons, sticks, and flammable materials, gathered outside The Daily Star building around 12:25am, chanting provocative slogans against the newspaper.

At approximately 12:35am, the group forcibly broke steel gates and glass doors to enter the premises. Inside, they physically assaulted staff, vandalised office property, looted valuables, and set fire to furniture and documents.

More than 200 computers, laptops, cameras, printers, and other electronic equipment, valued at about Tk 5 crore, were damaged or destroyed. Additionally, around Tk 35 lakh in cash stored in several lockers was looted.

The assailants set fire to the ground, second, and third floors of the building, severely damaging assets and documents, including important accounting records and tax files related to the National Board of Revenue. Other floors also suffered extensive vandalism and looting.

The attackers deliberately sabotaged the building's fire suppression system, central air conditioning, elevators, and electrical wiring, and attempted to ignite the electrical substation. They also destroyed multiple CCTV cameras and network recorders, hampering evidence collection.

The total estimated loss is around Tk 40 crore, with potential for further revision following assessment.

2 more sent to jail in Prothom Alo attack case

Two more people were sent to jail in a case filed over the attack at the Prothom Alo office in Dhaka on Thursday night.

They are Yeasin, 39, and Mohammad Hashem, 24. With them, a total of 17 arrestees were sent to jail in this case.

Maj (retd) Sazzadul Kabir, head of security of Prothom Alo, yesterday filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station against 400-500 unidentified people.

As per the case document, the value of Prothom Alo's looted property is estimated at Tk 2.50 crore, while the total damage from vandalism and arson amounts to approximately Tk 32 crore.