Attack and vandalism at Salman Muqtadir’s studio
Image: Salman Muqtadir’s studio was attacked and vandalized. Photo: Taken from video
Content creator Salman Muqtadir’s studio Brownfish at ECB Square in the capital has reportedly been attacked, vandalized and looted. Salman Muqtadir alleged that the attack was carried out as retaliation after he refused to pay extortion money.
The incident took place at the studio located at the office of Newgreen Properties around midnight on Sunday, September 27. Several pieces of equipment and furniture were vandalized during the attack including the studio’s CCTV cameras. Some items were also looted. However, Salman Muqtadir said none of the studio employees were injured.
Following the incident, Salman Muqtadir posted a video on his verified Facebook page at 1:33 a.m. In the video, he said although he had personally suffered significant losses in the attack, he would be able to overcome them. However, he expressed concern that others might become mentally devastated by such incidents.
Salman Muqtadir said, “Luckily, I can cope with this. I have always worked on my own. I will do the same thing again. This cannot break me. This is easy for me because I am much stronger and more confident. But I am worried about how many people can move forward with the same level of courage as me.”
He further said, “If any of you had a news channel like this, a studio or a workplace and something like this happened, losing everything would naturally be heartbreaking. What hurts me is that people in Bangladesh are not safe anywhere.”
In his video, Salman Muqtadir also addressed the Home Minister. He said, “I have a Home Minister and he definitely watches these videos. If something is said to him, I do not know how much he acknowledges it. But I have no grudge or anger toward him. I have no complaint or demand. As a BNP Home Minister or as the Home Minister of the country, he knows very well what he is supposed to do. We can certainly see how far he is doing it.”
Later, in a statement to the media, Salman Muqtadir claimed that the damage to his studio was related to a demand for extortion money. He said, “There may have been some incident related to extortion with the landowner here. They demanded extortion money or something happened. I do not know what happened after it was not paid. People like us got caught in the middle because of their revenge.”
Responding to questions from journalists about the extent of the damage, Salman Muqtadir said, “My employees are very shaken. My next goal is to figure out how I can help them regain their balance and give them a little more courage. I will think about the money later.”
