The Defence Journalist Association of Bangladesh (DJAB) and the Bangladesh Crime Reporters Association (CRAB) have strongly condemned the forced resignation of Alamgir Hossain, president of DJAB and head of news of The Daily Shomoyer Alo.
Separate press releases signed by Ismail Hossain Imu, the office secretary of DJAB, and Kamal Hossain Talukdar, the office secretary of CRAB, conveyed this condemnation and protest on Friday.
In a press release, DJAB and CRAB stated that on the evening of September 17, a group of conspirators brought in some outsiders to create a "mob situation" and forced Alamgir Hossain to resign from his job.
In fact, for the past few days, a few individuals in their office had been conspiring to remove two or three of their senior colleagues (the acting editor, publisher, and chief news editor) in any way possible to take control of the newspaper.
As part of that conspiracy, a group of 30 to 40 outsiders entered the office, claiming to represent an anti-discrimination student movement, and took control of the office through threats and aggressive behaviour.
At that moment, a few conspirators in the office collaborated with them to publicly raise fabricated false allegations, creating a hostage-like situation. At one point, he was compelled to resign.
DJAB General Secretary Ahamed Ullah and other executive committee members have strongly condemned and protested against the dismissal based on false accusations.
CRAB President Kamruzzaman Khan and general secretary Sirazul Islam along with EC members strongly condemned and protested the forced dismissal of CRAB member Alamgir Hossain.
The DJAB executive committee believes that Alamgir Hossain is a highly professional journalist who has consistently maintained professionalism in military and crime reporting.
Therefore, DJAB vehemently condemns this conspiracy against him. The executive committee urges the relevant authorities to take the necessary action regarding this matter.
Victim Journalist Alamgir Hossain stated that he is shocked and disheartened by the vile conspiracy orchestrated by conspirators who have exploited the current situation in the country to attach various false "tags" to him.
