'Bring killers of journo couple to book by Mar 18 or face agitation'
Newsmen of Rangpur Division, Khulna hold rallies
Journalists of Rangpur Division and (right) Khulna Union of Journalists held separate programmes yesterday, demanding trial and punishment of killers of all the journalists including Sagor Sarowar and Meherun Runi.Photo: STAR
Journalists of Rangpur Division and Khulna held separate programmes in Dinajpur and Khulna city yesterday, demanding arrest and trial of the killers of the journalist couple. Journalists of Rangpur Division at a joint meeting yesterday demanded resignation of home minister Sahara Khatun as she failed to make any headway in 30 days into the case for killing of Sagar Sarowar and Mehrun Runi. Dinajpur Journalists Union organised the programme at Dinajpur Shilpakala Academy complex in the morning, reports our Dinajpur and Dhakurgaon correspondents. At least 500 working journalists of 56 upazilas under eight northern districts of Rangpur Division attended the meeting. Presided by AHM Abdul Bari, a senior journalists and founder convener of Dinajpur Journalist Union, the speakers at the meeting expressed their concern at failure of the government to being the killers of any journalist to book in different areas of the country. Journalists of the country and the family members of the murdered journalists had been seeking justice. Even their agitations went in vain, the speakers said. More journalists of the country may have to die if the killers are not brought to book, they said. They urged the government to set 'at least one example' of justice by completing the Sagar-Runi murder case. The journalists also threatened to launch a greater movement under a new platform comprising journalists of eight northern districts of Rangpur Division if the killers are not arrested by March 18. In Khulna city, Khulna Union of Journalists (KUJ) and Metropolitan Union of Journalist (MUJ) jointly organised a rally at Khulna Press Club yesterday, demanding punishment to killers of Runi and Sagor and fair trial of all journalist murder cases. Presided by KUJ President Makbul Hossain Mintu, the rally was addressed among others by presidents of both factions of BFUJ Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury and Ruhul Amin Gazi, general secretaries Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan and Shawkat Mahmud and senior journalists of Khulna, reports our staff correspondent. Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said that there is no alternative to unity of journalists for realising their rights. Journalists of both factions of BFUJ are now demanding arrest and trial of the killers of all journalists through fair investigation. Greater unity is needed to protect professional rights and dignity of journalists which we lost due to political reason since 1992, he said. Ruhul Amin Gazi in his speech demanded arrest of the killers of Sagar and Runi before the grand rally of journalists to be held on March 18 in Dhaka. Otherwise, a united BFUJ will throw a tougher programme to realise the demand, he said. Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan strongly condemned the gruesome murder of Sagar and Runi and failure of the law enforcers to arrest their killers even after one month of the incident. Our movement will continue till killers of the journalists are not arrested, he said. Shawkat Mahmud said 26 journalists were killed in the country since independence including 14 in last three years. He urged the government to bring the killers to book without fear or favour.
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