Content creator Salman Muqtadir has said the debate over the attack on his BrownFish Studio has shifted away from what he believes should be the central issue: the crime itself and public safety.
A large group stormed the property housing his studio in Dhaka at night, vandalising the premises and looting equipment and other valuables.
But Salman said the discussion that followed has increasingly centred on his remarks, his reference to the BNP and competing political narratives surrounding the incident.
In a lengthy video posted on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, Salman said the attack should never have become a debate about him, the BNP or any other political party. The question, he said, was whether citizens could expect safety and an effective response when confronted with crime.
“This has never been about me, Salman Muqtadir, creator, a citizen or whatever. This has never been about BNP or any political party,” he said.
“It was supposed to be about the current state of Bangladesh — where, despite being privileged, I did not get safety.”
Salman said the question he wanted answered was whether citizens could expect responsiveness, sincerity, empathy and protection from the state when they became victims of crime.
His remarks came three days after BrownFish Studio, located inside the New Gini Properties housing project at ECB Chattar, was vandalised and looted during a large-scale attack on the property late Saturday.
Police have said the violence stemmed from a long-running land dispute and that Salman’s studio itself was not the principal target. Salman has also acknowledged that his business appears to have been caught in a wider attack on the property.
But in Tuesday’s video, Salman argued that determining the motive behind the original attack did not answer the larger question raised by it: how a violent group could carry out such an assault in the capital and what protection was available to citizens caught in its path.
Salman said the enormous attention devoted to his comments over the past few days had itself exposed what he saw as a misplaced priority.
“Because one priority is being missed — where is the crime and the nation’s safety?” he said.
He said his platform and public profile allowed him to speak after becoming a victim, but most Bangladeshis did not have the same opportunity.
“I have a voice, I have a platform, I have courage; everyone doesn’t have that,” Salman said.
He cited rape, murder, land grabbing, extortion, mugging and other crimes, arguing that victims without his public reach deserved greater attention from television channels, politicians and other institutions.
Salman also said he was unconcerned about whether different political actors were trying to use the controversy surrounding him to their advantage.
“I don’t give a damn about it,” he said. “My first priority is to acknowledge the current security and safety situation in Bangladesh and who is responsible for it.”
The comments mark a shift in emphasis from Salman’s first reaction immediately after the attack.
In a video posted in the early hours of Sunday, Salman alleged that BNP-linked extortionists were behind the violence, though he also said the attackers might not have known that the studio belonged to him and that BrownFish appeared to have been caught in an attack directed at the wider property.
Daily Waadaa reported at the time that Salman’s allegation about the political affiliation of the attackers could not independently be verified.
Police later said the incident arose from a dispute involving New Gini Properties and other claimants to the land. Cantonment Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Gias Uddin said the opposing side had gone to the property in a “show of dominance” after a gate allegedly restricted access to other landowners.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed also said a preliminary investigation indicated that the attack was linked to a dispute over possession of the land. He subsequently described Salman’s allegation involving the BNP and extortion as “sweeping.”
That response prompted another video from Salman, in which he questioned why his reference to the BNP had become the focus rather than the violence itself.
On Tuesday, Salman directly addressed the multiple explanations, accusations and counter-accusations that have since emerged.
He said he had counted between 20 and 30 different “narratives” circulating around the incident.
Salman said he even asked ChatGPT to help organise the arguments so he could decide which ones warranted a response. He said he initially intended to focus only on claims he felt confident answering, but concluded that he had something to say about all of them.
He then issued a challenge to his political critics.
“Come to a common narrative,” Salman said. “I can respond to that too, with whatever you want.”
Alternatively, he said, he was prepared to respond individually to the different allegations if doing so would allow the discussion to return to the crime and public safety.
Salman offered to appear on national television or before journalists chosen by his critics and said he was willing to face questions about his own conduct.
“If I commit a crime, there should be a response to my crime too,” he said. “Others should learn from me how to be a better citizen.”
His comments repeatedly returned to the distinction between arguments over his personality or politics and the physical attack itself.
Salman said he had been called a “pathological liar”, a “slum boy”, a “TikToker” and someone without credibility or contribution to Bangladesh’s creative industry.
“I accept all of it,” he said.
But he questioned what those attacks had to do with the incident at ECB Chattar.
The attack took place at around 10:30pm on Saturday at New Gini Properties in the ECB Chattar area.
Witnesses told The Daily Star that between 200 and 250 people entered the compound, with gunshots heard during an attack that continued for around an hour. BrownFish Studio, located near the entrance, suffered extensive damage. CCTV cameras, furniture, musical instruments and other equipment were smashed, while workers alleged that phones, cash and other valuables were taken.
Police have made several arrests in connection with the attack and identified Shahriar as an alleged principal planner.
New Gini Properties also filed a case with Cantonment Police Station naming 13 people and another 150 to 200 unidentified individuals. The case statement alleged losses of around 75 lakh taka to the housing company and around 95 lakh taka in equipment belonging to BrownFish Studio.
Salman said Tuesday that he was not seeking reimbursement for what he had lost.
If police recovered his PlayStation, cameras and other equipment, he said, they did not even need to return them to him.
Instead, he suggested the recovered property could be given to the community and used to demonstrate that the authorities and ruling party had acted for a victim.
“All these lakhs of taka, the dreams I accumulated over 15 years, have now been looted,” Salman said. “I want to contribute all of it again.”
He said he was prepared to rebuild from zero.
Despite his criticism of the response to the attack, Salman singled out his interactions with police, RAB and DGFI as one positive experience.
He said he had noticed a change in the way members of the agencies dealt with him compared with his previous experiences.
“They spoke to me with respect, said sorry and showed empathy,” he said.
Salman said he was particularly surprised by what he described as courteous treatment from DGFI, an agency he said had previously been “after” him.
But he questioned whether courteous behaviour mattered if officials were unable to translate it into action.
“What will I do with good behaviour if they cannot execute?” he said, asking how officials could work if they faced pressure from both higher and lower levels.
Toward the end of the video, Salman said the response to the attack had also become intensely personal.
He said he had yet to cry over the destruction of a studio that represented a dream dating back to his school years and had not yet found closure.
He said even his ability to remain composed had been turned into grounds for suspicion.
“Why am I confident? Why can I speak properly? Why can I relate to people?” he said.
Salman also referred to an interview by the information adviser, saying that although he disagreed with him, he respected the manner in which he spoke.
For Salman, that returned the discussion to what he said victims expected from those governing them.
“The people of Bangladesh want decent behaviour. They want a little acknowledgement,” he said.
“We are all hopeless. We know nothing will happen. There is no point arguing. There was one last thing to hope for — will we get kindness, empathy? Will we get that connection?”
He said he did not believe he had received it.
Salman ended by saying he wanted no personal benefit from the controversy and was willing to sacrifice his losses if the episode produced something better for the country.
“If something good happens, I want nothing,” he said.
“But if something good happens in the country, I am more than happy to sacrifice anything.”
“Let’s do something good for the country.”
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