Published : 10 Oct 2026, 06:30 PM
Updated : 10 Oct 2026, 06:30 PM
Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam has hailed the late bdnews24.com editor-in-chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi as a “courageous and creative” figure in media, paying tribute to him for building an institution like bdnews24.
Anam was among the friends, family, colleagues and well-wishers who attended Khalidi’s Namaz-e-Janaza at the Old DOHS playground in Banani on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking briefly before the prayers, he said: “I am deeply saddened and distressed. [Khalidi] was a courageous and creative person in the world of media.”
Recalling his former colleague, Anam said: “I remember very clearly, 35 years ago, he was with us. This young man was very energetic and talented.”
“I want to pay tribute to him for building his own institution. Many of us have dedicated our lives to journalism, but he built an institution like bdnews24 and ran it as well.
“I have always believed that a journalist who builds an institution and runs it on ethical foundations makes a special contribution,” he added. “Toufique established journalism-centred values, freedom and ethics at his organisation.
“The framework bdnews24 has built, I personally believe, is Toufique’s extraordinary contribution to our media landscape.”
Khalidi, who was on a private visit to London, suddenly fell ill on the night of Oct 1.
After he was taken to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, doctors found he had suffered a brain haemorrhage.
He was pronounced dead at 2:23pm local time the following day.
A Janaza was held for Khalidi at the Brick Lane Mosque in east London on Oct 8, after the Zuhr prayer. Former colleagues and members of the local Bangladeshi community paid their respects.
His remains arrived at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport around 11am on Saturday aboard a Biman Bangladesh flight.
The coffin was taken to the bdnews24.com office, where it was kept from noon to 12:20pm for mourners to pay their last respects.
It was next carried to his home, where family members saw him for the last time, before reaching the Old DOHS playground in Banani for the afternoon Janaza.
