Manik Chandra Saha (1956 – died 15 January 2004) was a Bangladeshi journalist. He was awarded Ekushey Padak, second highest civilian award of Bangladesh, in 2009 by the Government of Bangladesh.

Early life

Saha was born in 1956 in Narail District,

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Career

Saha became a journalist in 1984. He joined the BBC Bangla service as a stringer in 1994. In 2000, he was the Khulna Division correspondent of Ekushey Television. Saha was the Khulna correspondent of the Daily New Age and a stringer of BBC Bangla. He was a staff correspondent of the Daily Sangbad. He is a former president of Khulna Press Club. He was a member of the Khulna District Bar Association. He was the Vice-Chairman of the Khulna South Herald School. He was the president of Khulna unit of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

Death and legacy

Saha had fears about his safety and had sought safety from Bazlur Rahman, editor of Sangbad. Saha attended a program of the Khulna City unit of

Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people. The adjective appears in the following proper names: *Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan *Awami Front, wa ...

after which he headed to the Khulna Press Club. Saha was killed in an explosion after a bomb was thrown at him in front of Khulna Press Club in

Khulna Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...

. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia expressed her condolences. Former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition, Sheikh Hasina, condemned his assassination. His colleague,

Humayun Kabir Balu Humayun Kabir Balu (4 October 194727 June 2004) was a Bangladeshi journalist. He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2009 by the Government of Bangladesh. Career Balu was the editor of ''Dainik Janmbhumi''. He was the president of Khulna Press Club in ...

, who was protesting his death was assassinated three days later by the

Purbo Banglar Communist Party The Purbo Banglar Communist Party (East Bengal Communist Party) or PBCP is an outlawed Communist Party in Bangladesh. The PBCP formed in 1968 following a split in the Bangladesh Communist Party. It is mainly active in the areas of Khulna and Jess ...

. He was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 2009. On 1 December 2016, nine individuals were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Saha. Of the 14 accused in the murder case, two were acquitted and three were killed in shootouts with law enforcement agencies. The family expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict as they had hoped for the death penalty and were unhappy about the financiers of the attack not being identified in court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saha, Manik Chandra 2004 deaths Bengali Hindus Bangladeshi Hindus Bangladeshi journalists Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Journalists killed in Bangladesh Assassinated Bangladeshi journalists Deaths by explosive device 1956 births People from Narail District