JFA expresses shock over Bangla scribe’s murder

Guwahati: Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) expresses shock over
Bangladesh scribe Md Iliyas Hossain’s brutal murder recently in
Narayanganj locality. Hossain (50), who used to report for Dhaka
based Bengali newspaper DailyBijoy, was targeted by assailants for
his media coverage on smuggling, illegal gas connections and drug
trafficking.

Hailed from Jiodhara village, Hossain was hacked to death by
miscreants in the evening of 12 October 2020. He left behind his
parents, wife and two children with a host of relatives. His wife
Julekha Begum informed that Hossain lately started working for another
Bengali daily SwadeshAmar. She alleged that some local vested
interested individuals were engaged in his murder.

Hossain is the second journalist to be killed in Bangladesh this
year. Earlier Julhas Uddin (35), who worked for Bijoy TV, was stabbed
to death on 3 September. Various national and international media
rights bodies including Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum,
UNESCO, International Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) called for an independent investigation into Hossain’s
murder to punish the culprits.

Meanwhile, JFA president Rupam Barua and secretary Nava Thakuria
expressed anguishes over the killing of a Telangana scribe’s son by
abductors recently. The minor boy of Telugu news channel’s reporter
Ranjith Reddy was kidnapped for ransoms from Mahbubabad locality and
later Dikshit’s burnt body was recovered by the police in
Thallapoosalapally forest area. The police have almost resolved the
case identifying the killer and expecting his arrest soon.