The Daily Star has filed a case accusing 350 to 400 unidentified people of carrying out a coordinated attack involving vandalism, looting and arson at its office on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue in the early hours of Friday.
Mizanur Rahman, head of operations of The Daily Star, lodged the case with the Tejgaon Police Station on 19 December.
According to the case statement, a large group gathered outside the newspaper’s premises around 12:25am on Friday, armed with locally made weapons, sticks and inflammable substances. The mob allegedly chanted provocative slogans targeting the daily before launching the assault.
The case further mentions that prior to the incident, a number of online activists had circulated inciting messages on social media, urging supporters to attack the newspaper’s office.
At 12:35am, the attackers reportedly forced open steel shutters and smashed glass doors to entre. Once inside, they assaulted staff members, ransacked offices, looted valuables and set fire to furniture and important documents.
More than 200 computers, laptops, cameras, printers and other electronic equipment were either damaged or destroyed, causing losses estimated at around Tk5 crore.
In addition, approximately Tk35 lakh in cash kept in several lockers was looted, the case statement said.
The attackers allegedly set fire to the ground, second and third floors, severely damaging assets and vital records, including accounting documents and tax-related files linked to the National Board of Revenue. Other floors of the building were also extensively vandalised and looted.
The case accuses the assailants of deliberately disabling the fire suppression system, central air-conditioning, elevators and electrical wiring, and attempting to ignite the electrical substation. Several CCTV cameras and network recorders were destroyed, significantly hampering efforts to collect evidence.
The total loss from the attack has been estimated at around Tk40 crore, with the figure likely to be revised after a full assessment.
The blaze posed a serious threat to adjacent buildings, while fire service personnel were reportedly obstructed from entering the site. Law enforcement agencies later brought the situation under control, and the attackers fled the scene around 4:30am.
The incident put the lives of journalists and other staff at grave risk. Around 30 staff members were rescued through joint efforts of law enforcement agencies and the fire service.
Due to the scale of the destruction, The Daily Star was forced to suspend its print edition on 19 December, while its online operations remained offline for nearly 17 hours.
Meanwhile, Prothom Alo, whose Karwan Bazar office also came under attack on Thursday night, has filed a separate case accusing 350 to 450 people. Major (retd) Sazzadul Kabir, head of security at Prothom Alo, lodged the case.
In the case, it was alleged that property worth around Tk2.5 crore was looted, while the combined damage from vandalism and arson amounted to approximately Tk32 crore.
According to the case, a group of 20 to 30 unidentified individuals initially gathered in front of the Prothom Alo office around 11:15pm on 18 December, armed with sticks, local weapons and flammable materials, and attempted to launch an attack.
Despite police intervention, the group remained outside the premises, chanting provocative slogans before vandalising the parts of the building. They allegedly made phone calls to mobilise additional attackers.
The case also states that inciting messages were circulated on social media ahead of the attack, encouraging violence against the newspaper. Subsequently, an estimated 350 to 450 people from different parts of Dhaka joined the illegal assembly and coordinated the assault.
The attackers reportedly broke shutters and glass gates, entered the building, vandalised offices, set fire to furniture and documents, and assaulted employees. Furniture, equipment and papers were thrown onto the street and set ablaze.
The case alleges that about 150 computers and laptops, other electronic devices, cash from lockers and books from Prothoma Prokashon were looted during the attack.
