(Media Watch/IFEX) – A critically injured journalist is reportedly missing from the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). He was admitted on 28 April 2002, early in the morning, after being severely beaten by thugs in the south-western district town of Kushtia on 27 April. Mizanur Rahaman Bhiza, staff correspondent of the local Kushtia daily, was […]
(Media Watch/IFEX) – A critically injured journalist is reportedly missing from the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). He was admitted on 28 April 2002, early in the morning, after being severely beaten by thugs in the south-western district town of Kushtia on 27 April.
Mizanur Rahaman Bhiza, staff correspondent of the local Kushtia daily, was admitted to the DMCH’s neurosurgery department on 28 April by his brother. Doctors discharged him at around 11:00 a.m. (local time) that same day.
According to hospital sources, Bhiza was released in critical condition and was admitted to a private clinic. They said the hooligans who attacked the journalist had advised Bhiza’s family members to move the journalist to an unknown clinic “for their own good.” Contacted by “The Daily Star”, the journalist’s family said the thugs were alerted when he was admitted to the DMCH and feared that the press might report on the attack.
Meanwhile, journalists in Dhaka frantically tried to locate Bhiza. A Media Watch volunteer visited a clinic and tried in vain to contact the victim’s relatives. When finally contacted in Kushtia, his family said they did not know of his whereabouts.
According to eyewitnesses, Bhiza was severely beaten by a group of thugs over a previous dispute. SM Kaderi and his brothers Talim and Sobu allegedly attacked Bhiza in his business establishment in the Thanapara area on 27 April.
The gang then handed the journalist over to local police, saying he was an “extortionist,” and filed a case against him. Bhiza was granted interim bail by the police. The journalist’s older brother also filed a case against the gang members who attacked Bhiza. Police made no efforts to nab them, however. Local journalists demanded the arrest of the criminals who assaulted Bhiza.
