Free Press

Fugitive Pinto, Chaos in DBC Newsroom

Many media outlets in Dhaka have been in turmoil since August 5th. Among them, Dhaka-Bangla Channel or DBC, owned by Iqbal Sobhan, is currently in the most chaotic state. There seems to be no immediate prospect of restoring order to the television station._x000D_ _x000D_ Following the fall of the Awami League government, CRI’s active member Jahedul Ahsan Pinto took control of the station through BNP-affiliated extortionist journalist Kader Gani Chowdhury and Jamaat-affiliated journalist Ruhul Amin Gazi. However, for the past few days, Pinto has not been coming to the office. Several journalists at the office have confirmed that Pinto is in hiding._x000D_ _x000D_ Taking advantage of the situation, Acting Editor Noim Tariq is now running the office on his own terms. His autocratic style led to protests from several employees yesterday, Saturday. During the protest, a couple of people showed up in support of Noim Tariq, which led to an uproar in the newsroom, as confirmed by several newsroom journalists. An editor and a reporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, mentioned that during the commotion, a few individuals got into a physical altercation._x000D_ _x000D_ This incident has left ordinary journalists at the station quite embarrassed. Attempts were made to contact Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, the owner of the television station, regarding the situation, but he did not respond.
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