December 23, 2025
DHAKA – A case has been filed on Monday against 350-400 unnamed individuals in connection with the coordinated violent attack involving vandalism, arson, and looting at The Daily Star office in Dhaka last Thursday night.
The case was filed under the Penal Code, the Special Powers Act, the Cyber Security Ordinance, and the Anti-Terrorism Act, said Kya Shi Nyu Marma, officer-in-charge of Tejgaon Police Station.
Charges include inciting riot, obstructing government officials, illegal trespassing, looting, vandalism, arson with intent to kill, intimidation, and destruction of evidence — all aimed at halting newspaper publication and disrupting office operations.
The case also accuses some of providing online instructions for criminal activities and carrying out subversive acts. On Thursday night, mobs launched coordinated attacks on the head offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo in Dhaka and vandalised the offices, looted valuables, set the buildings ablaze, and trapped journalists and staff of the English daily inside the burning building for hours.
Mizanur Rahman, head of operations at The Daily Star filed the case against 350-400 people. The case statement said that the attackers, carrying local weapons, sticks, and flammable materials, gathered outside The Daily Star building around 12:25am on Friday, chanting provocative slogans against the newspaper. Prior to this, certain online activists had posted inciting messages on social media and encouraged the mob to carry out the attack.
At approximately 12:35am, a group forcibly broke steel gates and glass doors to enter the premises. Inside, they physically assaulted staff, vandalised office property, looted valuables, and set fire to furniture and documents. More than 200 computers, laptops, cameras, printers, and other electronic equipment, valued at about Tk five crore, were damaged or destroyed. Additionally, around Tk 35 lakh in cash stored in several lockers was looted.
The assailants set fire to the ground, second, and third floors of the building, severely damaging assets and documents, including important accounting records and tax files related to the National Board of Revenue. Other floors also suffered extensive vandalism and looting. The attackers deliberately destroyed the building’s fire suppression system, central air conditioning, elevators, and electrical wiring, and attempted to ignite the electrical substation. They also destroyed multiple CCTV cameras and network recorders, hampering evidence collection.
The total estimated loss is around Tk 40 crore, with potential for further revision following assessment.
The blaze threatened nearby buildings and the attackers obstructed fire service personnel from accessing the site. Law enforcement eventually arrived, and the attackers fled around 4:30am.
The incident placed the lives of journalists and employees at serious risk. Around 30 staff members were rescued through coordinated efforts by law enforcement and fire services.
Due to the attack, The Daily Star was forced to suspend its print edition on December 19, and its online operations were halted for 17 hours.