An allegation has surfaced that a journalist was beaten by a BNP leader for refusing to pay extortion money. On August 11, 2026, around 3:00 PM, Rasel was resting with two colleagues at the Railway Muktomoncho area in the town. At that time, Rashidul, Shamim Mia, and 10 to 12 others arrived there on four to five motorcycles. They surrounded Rasel, grabbed his shirt collar, and demanded 75,000 BDT in extortion. When he refused to pay the money, he was punched and beaten. At one point, when Rasel fell to the ground, the attackers tried to strangle him to death. Later, locals came forward, rescued the injured Rasel, and took him to Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital. Rasel Haque is the Lalmonirhat district correspondent for the Daily Dabanol newspaper.
