A journalist was shot dead in Bangladesh’s Netrokona district on Thursday night, October 15, leaving behind a wife and two young children. The victim, 44-year-old Lutfuzzaman Alif Fakir, was killed near a tea stall in Telonjia village in Durgapur upazila.
Shortly before leaving home, Lutfuzzaman told his wife, Anandita Sangma, to feed the children and put them to sleep because he would be late due to work on a news story. Neither of them knew those would be his final words to each other.
Anandita was having dinner with their four-year-old daughter, Pranti, and their one-and-a-half-year-old son, Aiyan Safyan, when she heard gunshots. At first, she thought someone was setting off firecrackers. Moments later, she learned that her husband had been shot.
According to eyewitnesses and police, Lutfuzzaman had stopped at a local tea stall around 8 p.m. before heading toward the Birishiri Uttarail market. After realizing he had left his mobile phone behind, he returned to collect it.
As he was leaving the shop, two men approached the tea stall and asked the shopkeeper for cigarettes. They then allegedly fired several shots at Lutfuzzaman at close range before fleeing when local residents rushed toward the scene.
The tea stall owner, Robin Rangsা, said he heard four gunshots. Lutfuzzaman was taken to the Durgapur Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead.
Lutfuzzaman worked as the Netrokona correspondent for the private IPTV channel Ruposhi Bangla. He also ran a Facebook page called “Detective Article,” where he published reports and videos about alleged irregularities and criminal activities.
His wife has called for the killers to be identified and brought to justice. She said that although her husband could never return, she wanted the authorities to ensure that those responsible were punished.
Netrokona Superintendent of Police Md. Tarikul Islam said investigators initially suspected a planned killing. Police recovered bullet casings and an unexploded round from the scene and began reviewing CCTV footage from nearby areas. Checkpoints were also established, and multiple police units were working to identify and arrest the suspects.
The killing has also drawn attention to an earlier attack on Lutfuzzaman. On November 10 last year, he was reportedly injured in a machete attack near the Teribazar ferry crossing on the Someshwari River in Durgapur. A colleague who tried to intervene was also threatened.
Authorities have yet to establish a motive for Thursday’s killing or publicly identify the attackers. The investigation remains ongoing.
Reporting by Borderless for The Borderless Journal. Filed under Uncategorized · 16 Oct 2026, 20:00.
