Jubo Dal leader accused of stopping journalists' vehicle in Nabinagar to demand money as lease toll, move to cancel lease

A local Jubo Dal leader in Nabinagar, Brahmanbaria, has been accused of stopping a vehicle carrying journalists and demanding money in the name of a municipal lease. The incident on Friday afternoon drew a strong reaction in the area, and the administration said it was taking steps to cancel the lease.

The incident took place at around 12:30pm on Friday (23 October) at Aliabad intersection on the Nabinagar-Brahmanbaria road. The accused Jubo Dal leader is Asaduzzaman Biplob, a former organising secretary of Nabinagar municipal Jubo Dal.

Several television journalists were travelling by microbus to Dharabhanga village in Nabinagar upazila to collect news at noon. At Aliabad intersection, a young man stopped the microbus and demanded lease money.

The journalists cited emergency service and refused to pay. The young man then kept the journalists' microbus stopped and called Jubo Dal leader Biplob to the spot.

Biplob allegedly arrived, misbehaved with the journalists and tried to collect money in the name of lease toll. At one stage, he allegedly moved to assault the journalists.

At that time, Biplob allegedly introduced himself as the nephew of Abdul Mannan, the member of parliament for Brahmanbaria-5 (Nabinagar), and tried to frighten the journalists, according to the allegation.

That claim of relationship later became clearer as a point of dispute, because the member of parliament himself denied any such kinship.

Leaseholder Jabedul Islam said Biplob had been reprimanded for misbehaving with the journalists. He said the UNO and the MP had said the lease would be cancelled.

Nabinagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Nabinagar Municipality Administrator Rakibul Islam said there is no scope to take lease money from a journalist's vehicle. He expressed sorrow for the unwanted incident caused by the leaseholder's men and said steps were being taken to cancel the lease.

Member of Parliament Abdul Mannan expressed sorrow over the incident and said he has no nephew. He said he had asked the municipal authorities to cancel the lease.

With both the administration and the MP taking this position, the question now is how quickly the announced move to cancel the lease is implemented, and what measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of stopping journalists' vehicles to demand money.

The incident of obstructing journalists on their way to collect news has also raised questions about safety in professional work. The matter is being discussed locally, and attention is now on the administration's next steps.