On November 22, 2015 Rajib Sen Prince, the Chittagong district correspondent for the privately owned broadcaster Mohona TV, was injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on the press vehicle he was in. Sen had been covering the burial of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, an opposition leader executed for war crimes, including the murder of scores of minority Hindus, during Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, according to news reports.
The government stepped up security before the execution on November 22, 2015 amid concerns of unrest, according to reports. Chowdhury’s death sentence had been criticized in Bangladesh and abroad, with some critics claiming the tribunal that sentenced him was politically motivated and fell short of international standards.
Mohona TV cameraman Assaduzaman Limon, who was in the vehicle with Sen at the time of the attack, told the Dhaka Tribune a group of about 10 men tried to stop the Mohona TV vehicle when they were returning from covering the funeral. When the driver refused, the group began hitting the car with batons and fired at it, the cameraman said.
Sen was rushed to a hospital for treatment and is recovering from his injuries, according to news accounts.
At least four journalists were in the vehicle at the time of the attack but only Sen was injured, according to reports. The TV station Sen works for is owned by a member of the Awami League, The Associated Press reported.
Police are investigating the attack, according to the Dhaka Tribune.