Nine policemen were suspended and a senior assistant commissioner was closed to the DMP headquarters hours after they had attacked three photojournalists and a contributor to a Bangla daily newspaper at Agargaon in the capital on Saturday when they went there to cover demonstrations Dhaka Women Polytechnic Institute students\u00a0went on.
\nThe three Prothom Alo photojournalists \u2014 Jahidul Karim Selim, Khaled Sarkar and Sajid Hossain \u2014 were sent to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation. The feature page contributor Imam Hasan was given first-aid treatment, their colleagues said.
\nWitnesses said that the police did not charge with truncheons at the students on demonstrations blocking Rokeya Sarani but attacked the journalists who were taking snaps.
\nMd Shahidul Islam, senior assistant commissioner of the Tejgaon police zone, was closed to the DMP headquarters, the Tejgaon police division\u2019s deputy commissioner Imam Hossain told New Age.
\nSubinspector Zahirul Islam, assistant subinspectors Safiudddin and Nazmul Alam, constables Motiur, Razzak, Shahjahan, Joynal, Ratan and Jahangir were suspended, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said.
\nDMP additional deputy commissioner (media and community service) Md Masudur Rahman told New Age, \u2018We have taken the decision after establishing that they policemen were responsible for the incident\u2026 Others may be suspended if they are found guilty.\u2019
\nThe authorities, meanwhile, set up a committee, led by joint commissioner (headquarters) Shabuddin Koreshi, to investigate the incident and the committee was asked to submit the report in seven days, he said.
\nThe home minister, Sahara Khatun, in April asked law enforcers to ensure the safety of journalists carrying their professional duties and stop repression on them.
\nThe injured Sajid Hossain said that he had reached the area where the students blocked the road about 12:30am.
\nHe said that a policeman had misbehaved with him after had he used wrong lane of the road to reach the place and it had let to an altercation with other policemen there.
\n\u2018Shahidul asked his force to beat up Sajid,\u2019 said the injured Jahidul Karim, who also went there.
\n\u2018As I requested the policemen not to beat Sajid, they started beating me and tore my dress,\u2019 said Jahidul.
\nThe police then started beating the two while Khaled was trying to take snaps of the police attack.
\nThe police then attacked Khaled, who also went to the place to cover the incident.
\nThe police also attacked the feature contributor Imam Hasan and took away the memory card of this mobile which which he had recorded the incident.
\nThe police seized their cameras and mobiles but returned them after it had triggered protests by journalists.
\nJahidul said, \u2018The policemen then dragged us like criminals to the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station.\u2019
\nThe Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police officer-in-charge, Jakir Hossain Mollah, told New Age that he had gone to the station house after coming to know of the incident and sent the injured to NITOR.
\nThe injured photojournalists were moved to the Truama Centre at Shaymoli in the evening.
\nThe assistant commissioner, Shahidul Islam, however, in the afternoon claimed that there were \u2018scuffles\u2019 between the journalists and the police during the demonstrations. \u2018I asked the journalists not to take photographs but they continued\u2026. I was in a temper.\u2019
\nNo case or general diary was lodged in connection with the incident.
\nSeveral socio-cultural, rights and professional groups, including the Bangladesh Photojournalists\u2019 Association, protested at the police attack and demanded punishment of the policemen responsible.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of New Age<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nine policemen were suspended and a senior assistant commissioner was closed to the DMP headquarters hours after they had attacked three photojournalists and a contributor to a Bangla daily newspaper at Agargaon in the capital on Saturday when they went there to cover demonstrations Dhaka Women Polytechnic Institute students\u00a0went on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[8150],"yoast_head":"\n