AL leader detained for assaulting journalist

A local Awami League leader was detained yesterday for allegedly assaulting a journalist in Tangail's Sakhipur upazila.

The victim Saiful Islam, 45, upazila correspondent of the Asian Television and editor of News Tangail, an online portal, is undergoing treatment at the Sakhipur Upazila Health Complex.

For the last couple of years, Saiful has been renting a space for his online portal's office at Upazila Road.

Yesterday, the landlord Monir Uddin, also a member of AL's upazila unit, got into an argument with Saiful over the matter of renewing the rental agreement, witnesses said.

The victim alleged that at one stage of the argument, Monir hit him on the head with an iron rod. Later, locals rescued him and took him to the hospital.

Contacted, Monir Uddin, however, denied the allegation of attack, claiming that Saiful might have accidentally received the injury during a scuffle between them.

Contacted, Tangail Addl Superintendent of Police Md Sharfuddin said a written complaint has been filed over the incident and meanwhile, Sakhipur police have already detained Monir and questioned him at the station.