Attack on Journos: Jubo League expels land minister's son

Jubo League has expelled land minister's son Shirhan Sharif Tomal from the organisation for violating its discipline and tarnishing its image.

“Jubo league President Omar Faruk Chowdhury and General Secretary Harunur Rashid issued the expulsion order on Wednesday afternoon,” Abu Mohammad Nasim Pavel, organising secretary of the Awami League's youth front, told The Daily Star.

Tomal, who held the post of Ishwardi upazila Jubo League president, was sent to Pabna jail on Wednesday by a local court on charges of attacking four journalists in the upazila over two weeks ago.

Armed with sticks, he along with around 30 of his supporters attacked the journalists in Shahpur Natunhat area on November 29, a day before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's arrival here to inaugurate the main construction work of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

Saikat Afroz Asad, Pabna correspondent of Somoy TV; Rizvi Joy, local correspondent of ATN News and its cameraperson Milon Hossain; and DBC News correspondent Partho Hasan came under attack when they were capturing videos of Tomal's men vandalising some vehicles of his rivals. The attackers also snatched laptops, mobile phones and cameras from the newsmen.

The attack left the four journalists injured. Two of them were admitted to a Pabna hospital.

Partho later that day filed a case with Ishwardi Police Station accusing Tomal, upazila Jubo League General Secretary Rajib Sarkar and 30 other unnamed people of carrying out the attack.

The son of Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sherif went into hiding after the incident. On Wednesday, he appeared before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court and sought bail. But the court rejected his bail prayer and sent him to jail.

Tomal faces several other criminal cases. On May 19, he along with 10 of his cadres was picked up by police on charges of attacking a freedom fighter's house in the upazila and looting valuables from there.

Later, he was released on bail.