On May 30, 2026, Channel S Gazipur correspondent Zakaria Shikder was abducted, assaulted, and subjected to a targeted blackmail scheme in the Gacha area. The ordeal began when Shikder was investigating a brothel operating out of a local building and was forcibly dragged inside by an armed group. The attackers confined him on the second floor for two hours, confiscated his phone, camera, and cash, and deleted his investigative documentation. To orchestrate an extortion plot, they forced the journalist into compromising photos and videos with local women, threatening to leak them if he reported the crime. Following his release, Shikder filed an immediate administrative complaint, prompting a decisive response from Gacha police. Law enforcement successfully executed a raid, arresting five individuals, including the building’s owner who formally confessed to the assault and hostaging.
