Who owns Daily Star, Prothom Alo? Why were top newspapers’ offices set on fire by protesters?
The fire attack incidents took place in Karwan Bazar, where the offices of English-language newspaper The Daily Star and Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo were attacked. According to a journalist, The Daily Star’s newsroom staff were alerted to a gang phone call after Prothom Alo vandalized its office.
Bangladesh’s two leading newspapers, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, have temporarily suspended all operations following devastating fire attacks in Dhaka amid deadly unrest sparked by the killing of Inqilab Mancha Spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi in the early hours of Friday, December 19, 2025. The overnight unrest has traumatized journalists and unsettled large swaths of the country, marking some of the worst violence targeting media institutions in recent years.
The Daily Star Who owns Prothom Alo?
The fire attack incidents took place in Karwan Bazar, where the offices of English-language newspaper The Daily Star and Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo were attacked. According to a journalist, The Daily Star’s newsroom staff were alerted by phone call that a mob vandalizing the Prothom Alo office was heading towards the building. As staff attempted to evacuate, the crowd reached the ground floor and vandalized the building before setting it on fire. Thick smoke quickly filled the building, forcing journalists to abandon their attempts to get down. One group escaped to the roof on the 10th floor, leaving 28 people trapped there. Leading newspaper Daily Star is owned by Mediaworld Ltd. and is majority-owned by Transcom Group. It was jointly founded by Mahfuz Anam and Syed Mohammad Ali in 1991.
Prothom Alo, on the other hand, is owned by Mediastar Limited, a subsidiary of Transcom Group, one of the country’s largest and oldest conglomerates. The parent company formed Mediastar Limited in 1998 to establish Prothom Alo. Simeen Rahman serves as the CEO of both Transcom Group and Mediastar Limited, while Shahnaz Rahman currently serves as the Chairman of Transcom Group. Matiur Rahman has been the editor of Prothom Alo since its inception and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Prothom Alo Trust. Meanwhile, the late Latifur Rahman (1945–2020) was the founding chairman of Transcom Group and Mediastar Limited.
Prothom Alo is owned by Mediastar Limited, while its sister publication The Daily Star is owned by Mediaworld Limited. Both companies are part of the media interests of the Transcom Group.
Why did protesters set fire to the offices of leading newspapers?
Protesters targeted the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star in Dhaka following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesman for activist group Inqilab Mancha and a key figure in the 2024 uprising. He died in a hospital in Singapore on 18 December 2025. He was shot in the head by unidentified assailants on December 12 while campaigning for the upcoming national elections in Dhaka. The protesters alleged political bias and a pro-India stance against both newspapers. They claimed to be “pro-India” and aligned with the interests of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been in self-imposed exile in India since August 2024. The gangs accused these media outlets of supporting Hasina’s camp and presenting biased news.
