Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists yesterday allegedly ransacked the office of Rajshahi Government College Reporters' Unity and beat up three journalists for not hanging the portraits of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the office.

A group of BCL men led by the college unit BCL Organising Secretary Ratan Ali led the attack at 11:30am, and ransacked the furniture of the office located at room no 103 of Haji Muhammad Mohsin Building on the campus, said the journalists.

They then beat up the unity's General Secretary Mim Obaidullah, a reporter of local daily Sunshine; Office Secretary Babar Mahmud, a sub-editor of Padmatimes24.com; and Executive Member Mofazzal Hossain, a reporter of Barendraexpress.com. The journalists complained that the BCL men also forced them out of the office and put it under lock and key.

However, college Principal Prof Hobibur Rahman said he had opened the office an hour later at 12:30pm.

He said he had already solved the problem and forced the BCL men to seek apology to the journalists.

A group of BCL men led by BCL Joint Secretary of the college unit Rashik Dutta noticed this on Sunday and asked the unity leaders to hang the portraits, said the journalists. Then they said that they would hang the portraits soon.

But the next day (yesterday), BCL men went to the office and ransacked it for not carrying out their order, they added.

Mim Oabidullah, secretary of the reporter' unity, said, “We are not against the idea of hanging the portraits. Actually, we did not notice it before for our engagement in journalism alongside study.”

Nur Md Siam, BCL president of the college unit, denied the attack. He said some BCL men had just exchanged some heated words with the journalists for not hanging the portraits.