Crowd surrounded female journalist In Dhaka & asked, 'Do you want to make Bangladesh a part of India?'

Munni Saha is the former news head of Bengali channel ATN News.

Dhaka (Bangladesh): Since the change of power in Bangladesh, incidents of targeting journalists have been coming to the fore. A sample of this was seen on Saturday when a female journalist was surrounded by a mob and accused of plotting to make Bangladesh a part of India. In response to this, Saha was heard saying that this is my country too.

In Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, the mob surrounded the female journalist and held her hostage for some time. The police rescued her from the mob. This incident took place on November 30 in Kawaran Bazar area when senior journalist Munni Saha was leaving the office of a media company. The mob accused Munni Saha of being an Indian agent and a supporter of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The viral video of the incident shows that the journalist is surrounded by the mob and she is told, 'You are trying everything possible to make this country a part of India. The blood of the students is on your hands.' Saha, on the other hand, shakes her head in denial. She is asked, 'How can you, being a citizen of this country, harm this country?' To this Saha replies, 'What harm have I done? This is my country too.'

#Bangladesh journalist Munni Saha, a prominent TV news personality was mobbed by a group of people in the heart of #Dhaka at Karwan Bazar on Saturday evening while leaving office. The mob accused her of being an Indian stooge, a RAW agent and pro Hasina regime media person. The… pic.twitter.com/l9ZZrufN7I

— Indrajit Kundu | ইন্দ্রজিৎ (@iindrojit) November 30, 2024

According to local media reports, journalist Munni Saha's car was stopped by the mob and she was abused, following which the Dhaka Metropolitan Police had to intervene. Saha left the place in a police vehicle, while the mob continued to chant slogans against her. Saha was first taken to Tejgaon Police Station and from here to the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch office. This fueled speculation online that she had been arrested.

However, the police later clarified that senior journalist Munni Saha was not detained, and was released on Sunday morning. Saha said that when the mob surrounded her, she had a panic attack and fell ill. A police officer told Bangladeshi news outlet Daily Observer, 'The police did not detain Munni Saha. A crowd of people surrounded them at Kawaran Bazar. Tejgaon police took them to the Detective Branch office for security reasons.'

55-year-old journalist Munni Saha is the former news head of Bengali channel ATN News. After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina administration, she and several other journalists were charged with crimes against humanity. Munni Saha was also wanted in a case related to the death of a student during the anti-reservation protests that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.