Dhaka, September 12, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Senior journalist Pulak Chatterjee, a 57-year-old Hindu journalist and former Barisal bureau chief of Bangladeshi daily Samakal, was found dead inside the newspaper’s bureau office in Barisal district on Friday evening, local media reported.
Chatterjee was found hanging inside the office. Barisal Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Al Mamun-ul Islam said the exact cause of death would be established after the autopsy.
According to Dhaka Tribune, Chatterjee had left Samakal around three years ago. He had also served as general secretary of the Barisal Press Club and worked for several years with Bangladeshi daily Jugantor. He is survived by his wife and daughter.
The Bangladesh Awami League on Saturday alleged that the circumstances surrounding Chatterjee’s death raised serious questions and called for scrutiny of the case. Referring to a photograph of the body that had reportedly surfaced, the party claimed the position of the body appeared inconsistent with a natural hanging and alleged that the scene may have been staged.
The party also linked Chatterjee’s death to broader concerns over the safety of minority communities and journalists in Bangladesh. It recalled the period of BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami rule from 2001 to 2006 and alleged that minorities had faced attacks, property-related disputes, violence and displacement during that period.
The Awami League claimed that Chatterjee had worked as a journalist during those years and had reported on events affecting minority communities. It alleged that his death could amount to an attempt to silence a witness to that period.
The party further accused the BNP and Jamaat of repeating what it described as patterns of minority suppression, pressure on journalists and restrictions on dissent in 2026.
However, the allegations regarding the circumstances of Chatterjee’s death have not been independently established. Police have said that the precise cause of death will be known after the autopsy, while the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
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