Journalist shot dead at border in Cumilla

A journalist has been shot dead at the border with India in Cumilla’s Burichang Upazila.

Locals believe Mohiuddin Sarker Nayeem, 28, was killed by drug smugglers, but the authorities could not say who murdered him.

Mohiuddin, from Brahmanpara Upazila, was a staff reporter with local newspaper the Dainik Cumillar Dak. He was a former local correspondent of Ananda TV.

Police recovered his body from Burichang Upazila Health Complex around Wednesday midnight.

The Upazila health and family planning officer, Mir Hossain said Mohiuddin was brought dead with four to five bullet wounds around 11pm.

Burichang Police Station chief Md Alamgir Hossain said Border Guard Bangladesh personnel heard gunshots and then found Mohiuddin lying a few yards from the border at Hyderabadnagar under Rajapur union around 10pm. The assailants had fled the scene before the border guards arrived.

They sent him to the health complex with the help of locals. “We are investigating the incident,” said Alamgir. The body will be sent to Cumilla Medical College for autopsy.

Md Rabbi and two other locals brought Mohiuddin to the health complex. Rabbi said they took Mohiuddin to a nearby market on a motorcycle and then to the health complex by an autorickshaw.

He could not say who killed Mohiuddin.

Another resident of the area said the killers of Mohiuddin are professional drug smugglers. The local asked not to be named for his security.