A mob vandalised and set fire to the head offices of leading newspapers Prothom Alo and The Daily Star in Dhaka on Thursday night, following protests over the reported death of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Osman Hadi.

According to witnesses, a group of protesters who had gathered at Shahbagh marched towards Prothom Alo’s main office in Karwan Bazar around 11:00pm. They first broke open the shutters of the Prothoma Prokashoni building and entered the premises.

The attackers threw furniture from the first, second and third floors onto the street and set parts of the building on fire. They also vandalised the front of Prothom Alo’s head office and set fire to the road outside.

Around midnight, the group moved to Farmgate and attacked The Daily Star’s head office. They broke through the gate, vandalised the building and set fire to the ground and second floors.

During the attacks, the mob chanted slogans including “Inqilab Zindabad” and “Naraye Takbir”.

No casualties were reported at Prothom Alo. However, several journalists were trapped inside The Daily Star building due to heavy smoke caused by the fire.

Senior journalist Zayma Islam of The Daily Star said in a Facebook post that she was struggling to breathe because of the smoke.

Two units of Tejgaon Fire Service brought the blaze under control around 2:00am and rescued the trapped journalists using a crane.

Meanwhile, Inqilab Mancha and Osman Hadi’s verified Facebook page later issued appeals urging protesters to remain calm.