Bangladeshi TV reporter allegedly assaulted by MP

A Bangladeshi Member of Parliament has come under fire for allegedly assaulting a female TV reporter, The Daily Star reports.

Kamal Ahmed Majumder was videotaped on Tuesday assaulting Aparna Singha of private satellite television channel Rtv, while his men assaulted videographer Syed Haider, and another reporter Shahin Parvez at a high school in Dhaka. The journalists were seeking his comment on the school authority’s decision to charge admission fees way beyond the amount fixed by the government.

Mr Kamal is the president of the school’s management committee. The videotape of the assault was aired by different television channels.

Transparency International, Bangladesh, condemned the incident. TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said in a media release, that by preventing journalists from covering corruption at the school and by attacking journalists, the Member of Parliament acted against democracy.

About 200 journalists formed a human chain in the capital yesterday demanding punishment for Mr Kamal and the others who assaulted the reporters.

Jatiya Press Club General Secretary Syed Abdal Ahmed condemned the incident and said the government must ensure the security of journalists to ensure freedom of the press.

Mr Kamal Majumder also held a media conference yesterday, where he denied assaulting the female reporter.

He said when the reporter and the videographer of Rtv were scuffling with teachers, he caught the female reporter’s hand to stop the scuffle. But the video was edited to misrepresent the incident, claimed the lawmaker.