A total of 38 people have been arrested so far in connection with the attack, vandalism, looting and arson at the Prothom Alo building.
The agency investigating the case said that these persons were identified and arrested after reviewing video footage, still images and live videos spread on social media at the time of the attack, while efforts are on to identify others directly involved in the incident and those who participated in the attack.
On the night of 18 December 2025, an extremist group attacked the Prothom Alo building in Caravan Bazaar, Dhaka. They broke the shutter of the gate of the building, entered inside and caused widespread destruction through vandalism, looting and arson.
That same night, they also attacked the offices of The Daily Star and Chayanaut. According to police sources, a section of the attackers in Prothom Alo later joined the attack on The Daily Star building. The following Friday evening, the Udichi office was also attacked and set on fire.
who have been identified and arrested
Of those arrested, 26 were arrested in the Prothom Alo case, and 11 were initially arrested in connection with the attack on The Daily Star building. Later, a total of 12 persons already in jail – including 11 from The Daily Star case – were shown to have been arrested in the Prothom Alo case through court orders.
The arrested persons are: Mohammad Saidur Rehman, Mohammad Mainul Islam, Mohammad Qari Muaz bin Abdur Rahman, Naeem Islam, Mohammad Sagar Islam, Mohammad Jahangir, Mohammad Sohail Mia, Mohammad Hasan, Mohammad Abdul Barek Shaikh, Abul Kashem, Mohammad Pranto Sikdar, Mohammad Raju Ahmed, Niaz Mahmood Farhan, Mohammad Aminul Islam, Mohammad Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hashem, Mohammad Sohail Rana, Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, Nazmul Hasan, Riazul Islam Suman, Mohammad Yasin, Mohammad Russell, Mohammad Nazrul Islam Minhaj, Mohammad Rashidul Islam, Zakir Hussain Shanto, Mohammad Biplab, Mohammad Ahad Shaikh, Mohammad Rubel Hossain, Zulfikar Ali Sourav, Mohammad Almas Ali, Mohammad Zuber Hossain, Aynul Haq Kashmi, Abdur Rehman Palash, Mohammad Jannatul Naeem, Mohammad Faisal Ahmed, Mohammad Azmir Hussain. Akash and Mohammed Swapan Mandal.
Apart from him, Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri, who was in jail under the Special Powers Act since December 23 on the grounds of being a threat to public order, was shown arrested on April 3 in the Prothom Alo attack case. He is accused of gathering and instigating the crowd in Shahbag.
One of those arrested, Mohammed Mainul Islam, was seen in video footage celebrating with an ax in front of a burning building during the attack, vandalism and arson in Prothom Alo. He was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) from Uttara, Dhaka on 23 December. His village home is in Islabari village of Bagmara Upazila, Rajshahi, and he lives in Uttara, Dhaka.
Another video footage shows a man standing at the scene of the attack announcing to a private television camera that Prothom Alo and The Daily Star had been demolished. He said, “We could not do what we should have done on August 5. With the blessings of Hadi Bhai, we have done it today.” Later DB identified him and arrested him. His name is Qari Muaz bin Abdurrahman. Police say he is the leader of Shariatpur district unit of Jubo Majlis. His house is in West Kandi village of Shariatpur Sadar police station.
Niaz Mahmood Farhan, who shared photos from the scene of the attack on the Prothom Alo building on Facebook and called on others to join the attack, has also been arrested. His village home is in Borhanuddin upazila of Bhola.
Zakir Hussain Shanto has been arrested by CTTC. His home is in Chakpatra village of Mosakhali under Ghafargaon upazila of Mymensingh, and he lives in Hazaribagh, Dhaka. According to sources close to CTTC, Shanto was involved in vandalism at Prothom Alo and The Daily Star offices. He also made a live video of the incident and shared it on his Facebook account.
who were granted bail
Of those arrested, 10 have been granted bail. They are Nazmul Hasan, Riazul Islam Suman, Mohammad Yasin, Mohammad Russell, Mohammad Nazrul Islam Minhaj, Mohammad Rashidul Islam, Zakir Hussain Shanto, Mohammad Biplab, Mohammad Ahad Shaikh and Mohammad Rubel Hussain.
Among them, a man named Altaf Hussain claimed in a Facebook post on April 24 from a page named “Boishomohin Karamukti Andolan” that he had secured bail for six of them. However, he did not specify which six people. The post also mentioned that the cases of four more arrested persons, including Ataur Rehman Bikrampuri, are being handled.
According to police sources, after the 2024 mass insurgency, efforts were made under the banner of “Boishomohin Karamukti Andolan” to protest and form crowds in front of various jails demanding the release of persons arrested at different times on charges of involvement with extremist groups. Continuous propaganda against Prothom Aloe has also been seen on this Facebook page.
attempt to identify others
Sources in Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police (DB), the investigating agency of the case, say that the identity of many people present at the spot during the attack has still not been confirmed. Some of them took direct part in sabotage, looting and arson. Other people were also present with the attackers, raising slogans, agitating and were active during the arson.
Syed Harun Ya Rasheed, joint commissioner of DB’s Cyber Security and Support Centre, which is handling the case, told Prothom Alo yesterday (Wednesday) that the investigation is ongoing.
Various video footage and still images have been collected from the scene. These are being analyzed and efforts are being made to use information technology to identify the people and planners involved in the incident.