Suicide or homicide: Bangladesh journalist found hanging in office

Sanjoy Kumar Barua

Pulak Chatterjee told his wife he would be home for lunch. He had taken clothes to be ironed and was preparing to travel to India within days for medical treatment.

Hours later, the veteran Bangladeshi journalist was found hanging inside his office.

Police initially suspected suicide. His family strongly disagrees, saying Chatterjee showed no sign that he intended to take his own life and alleging that he may have been murdered.

Chatterjee, a former bureau chief of Samakal and former general secretary of the Barishal Press Club, was found dead Friday at the newspaper’s Barishal office.

Police said handwritten notes recovered from the office, along with the circumstances at the scene, initially pointed to suicide. His body was sent for autopsy.

Dr Anik Niloy Dey, of the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at Sher-E-Bangla Medical College in Barishal, was a member of the team that conducted the autopsy. He said it was too early to determine whether Chatterjee had died by suicide or homicide.

“It is not possible to comment on whether it was suicide or homicide before the final report comes,” Dey said.

The forensic team had not observed any obvious changes in Chatterjee’s body that could point conclusively to the manner of death, he said.

“We did not notice any changes in Pulok’s body. In most suicide cases, there may be some changes in the body. We do not know yet whether there was any chemical in his body,” Dey said.

He said toxicology and other examinations would be required before a final conclusion could be reached.

“We will get the final report after around six to seven months,” he added.

Al Mamun-ul Islam, officer-in-charge of Barisal Kotwali Model Police Station, said the death initially appeared to be a suicide.

“The exact cause of death will be known after the autopsy report,” he added.

Nilotpala Mukherjee, wife of Pulok said her husband’s behavior before leaving home appeared completely normal.

“He told me to take lunch at home when he returned from the office that day, as he did on other days. I did not notice anything abnormal. He also took his clothes to be ironed,” she said.

She said her husband had been planning to travel to India within days for a medical check-up and treatment.

“Everything was okay for him to travel to India for a medical check-up. He was planning to go to India within a few days for his treatment,” she said.

The family has also rejected reports that Chatterjee had been suffering severe frustration because he was unemployed after losing his position at Samakal.

“Bangladesh media are reporting that he was under serious frustration because he was jobless, but this is not true,” Nilotpala Mukherjee alias Priyanka said.

“We are a very happy family. He loved his daughter very much.”

“There was no reason for suicide. We never believed this,” she added.

Priyanka acknowledged that handwritten letters recovered by investigators were written by her husband. But she questioned the circumstances in which they were written.

“Yes, the letters were written by him, but it seems to me that he wrote them very quickly, under pressure,” she said.

“We don’t believe he could commit suicide. Rather, it seems to us that it was a planned murder.”

His brother, Dipok Chatterjee, also rejected the possibility that he had died by suicide.

“My brother can’t commit suicide,” he said.

A fellow journalist in Barishal described Chatterjee as a highly capable reporter and said he did not believe he had taken his own life.

“Pulok was a very brilliant journalist. I never believed he could commit suicide,” the journalist said.

The colleague said Chatterjee had told him that he was under severe pressure and had received threats from local activists associated with the National Citizens Party and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government.

“We suspect it was a targeted killing because he had come under pressure and received threats from local NCP and BNP activists after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government,” the journalist said.

“We are seeking a proper investigation.”

Another journalist who visited the scene questioned the timing of the police response.

“After seeing Pulok’s hanging body, we contacted the local police several times, but they did not come immediately. Police arrived after around two hours,” the journalist said.

Chatterjee’s death comes amid growing concern over pressure on journalists and media organisations in Bangladesh following the fall of Hasina’s government.

Journalists in several districts have faced threats, attacks, criminal cases and other forms of pressure. Chittagong has recorded the highest number of affected journalists, while cases have also been reported in Narayanganj, Kushtia, Brahmanbaria, Bogura and Cox’s Bazar.

Nearly 50 media organisations have reportedly been affected, including Bangladesh Pratidin, Kaler Kantho, Samakal, Amader Somoy, Dainik Bangla, Daily Sun, Ittefaq and Ekattor TV.

In October 2024, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit summoned 85 senior journalists and sought information about their bank accounts, lockers and financial transactions. Journalists and press-freedom groups criticised the move as pressure on independent reporting.

Journalists have also faced threats and attacks from extremist groups, according to press-freedom organisations.

Another veteran Hindu journalist, Bibhuranjan Sarkar, was found dead in the Meghna River in Munshiganj in August 2025 after he went missing.

Chatterjee’s family has called for a full investigation into the circumstances of his death.

Police have said the cause of death will be known after the autopsy report, while forensic and other investigative findings will help determine whether it was suicide or homicide.