Fact Check: Journalist Tuhin’s Death: Was It Linked to an Extortion Video Recording?

Claim – Recording an extortion video led to journalist Tuhin’s death. He was stabbed and killed.
Fact – It was not an extortion video but a robbery video that led to journalist Tuhin being stabbed and killed.

On August 7, in the Chandana area of Chowrasta, Gazipur, journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin of the Daily Ajker Kagoj was stabbed to death by criminals. Immediately after the incident, a claim spread across social media that “journalist Tuhin was killed for filming an extortion video.” Several videos circulated claiming this. Some also connected the incident with recent BNP extortion activities. See posts here, here, here, here & here. 

Newschecker verified this claim and found it to be false.

Fact-check/Verification:

To verify the claim “journalist Tuhin killed for filming an extortion video,” various reports related to the incident were examined.
These reports confirm that the cause behind the journalist Tuhin’s murder was not filming an extortion video but rather filming an attack by robbers.
On August 7, in the Chandana area of Chowrasta, Gazipur, Daily Protidin journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin was killed. The news spread on social media soon after. See related posts here & here.

After receiving news of the incident, the Gazipur Metropolitan Police arrived at the scene, controlled the situation, and recovered Tuhin’s body. Deputy Police Commissioner Robiul Islam stated that upon arriving at the scene, police found the journalist dead. During the investigation, security footage showed a man arguing and hitting a woman. Then a group of men with weapons attacked the man on the woman’s side.
Robiul Islam added that during the incident, the criminals saw Tuhin filming the event on his mobile phone and asked him to delete the video. When he refused, he was attacked and stabbed to death.
See Rabiul Islam’s statement here-  Daily Ittefaq ও Daily Sun Bangla.

In other words, it was filming a robbery/attack video involving a woman that led to journalist Tuhin’s murder.
Further reports can be found at BDNews24 and Desh TV.
Tuhin’s Facebook profile was also checked, and no evidence of posting or live-streaming extortion videos.

The suspects have been identified and arrested, and one confessed in court. See UNB and Jamuna TV.
Thus, the cause of journalist Tuhin’s murder was not filming an extortion video.

Conclusion:

Journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin’s death on August 7 was not a result of filming an extortion video, nor was it politically motivated. He was killed by criminals after he filmed their robbery incident on his mobile phone.

Result: False

Our Sources:
Police statement – Daily Ittefaq and Daily Sun Bangla