Police assaulted two senior journalists and confined them to Farmgate Traffic Police Box under Tejgaon Police Station in the city yesterday.
The journalists are Nikhil Bhadra, senior journalist of Jaijaidin and Amitosh Pal of Kaler Kantho.
Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) yesterday closed three traffic police — sergeant Mahbub and constables MA Rashid and Raihan — in this connection, Assistant Commissioner Saydur Rahman of Mirpur traffic division told The Daily Star.
DMP also formed a two-member probe committee headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Elias Sharif of traffic West Zone.
Amitosh told The Daily Star that on duty constable Rashid pulled down Nikhil from their slowly moving motorbike near the police box around 11:15am as Nikhil made a comment on the role of traffic police deployed at the spot.
The traffic police there allowed some traffics taking right turn near the police box while some are barred, said Amitosh who along with Nikhil was heading towards Farmgate from Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban area.
Traffic sergeant Mahbub rushed in and seeing the word “Press” on the bike got furious and instructed constables Rashid and Raihan to beat them up, he said.
The two policemen then took the journalists to the police box and beat them up severely, Amitosh added.
At one stage, traffic inspector Rafiq reached the spot and stopped the constables from beating, he said.
Following the incident, journalist leaders at an emergency meeting at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity office demanded immediate suspension of the policemen for the act and impartial investigation into it.
