Political figures and content creators, among others, unitedly condemned the attack on content creator Salman Muqtadir’s studio last night.
A group of men vandalised and looted Salman’s BrownFish Studio in Dhaka’s ECB Chattar area on Saturday night, prompting the social media star to go on Facebook live to document the incident.
Salman alleged that a group of men “linked to the ruling BNP” carried out the attack following an apparent dispute over an extortion demand involving the landowner of the property where the studio is located.
The attack on BrownFish Studio, located inside the New Gini Properties housing project, took place at around 10:30pm on September 26.
According to a caretaker of the studio, around 150 people wearing face masks and carrying firearms forcibly entered the premises and began vandalising and looting equipment.
Most of the studio’s equipment, CCTV cameras and furniture were either damaged, left in disarray or looted.
Following the incident, several political figures, content creators and other public figures took to social media to express support for Salman and condemn the attack.
Here’s what they said.
Taking to Facebook, Bangladeshi physician, researcher, entrepreneur, social media personality and politician, Tasnim Jara said the brazenness of the attack could only be possible when people believe they can’t be touched.
“Salman Muqtadir has a bigger microphone than almost anyone in this country. Whoever did this knew the whole nation would see it, including the very top of the government. They smashed his studio anyway and left the wreckage behind for everyone to see,” she wrote.
“That is a different kind of brazenness. People only act like this when they believe no one will touch them.
And if they can do this to Salman, think about what is happening to the shopkeepers and the small business owners, whose stories never make the news.”
Actress Sadia Ayman took to social media to condemn the attack and show support for Salman.
“What happened to Salman Muqtadir’s studio is utterly heartbreaking and unacceptable! This is not something a guy like him deserves!,” she wrote.
“The country is filled with so many uneducated, extortionists that they have never seen anything good in their lives and even if they do, they can't digest it!,” she added, concluding with: “What a disgrace! What a shame!”
In a social media reel, content creator Aawdrita said she, too, was at a loss for words.
“I genuinely don’t even know what to say. A space that someone built with their own passion, money and dreams vandalised like this? Is INTOLERABLE.
“My heart goes out to Salman Mohammad Muqtadir; can’t imagine how painful it must be to see something you built for years being destroyed like this.”
Aawdrita also expressed her anger at the failure of the system.
“And honestly I’m angry. Angry that we’ve normalised this. Angry that political extortion can turn into destroying someone’s dream and passion. This is not politics to me. I hope we become so numb to this that we just scroll past it. Because that’s just what we can do!”
Content creator Rakin Absar, in a Facebook post, warned that the attack on Salman would hurt business confidence.
“What we learned from Salman’s case is to never put your money in this country. Not until it feels safe to do so, and at this point, I’m not sure it ever will.:
He further wrote: “But as each day passes, I keep asking myself two things: Did we do something wrong? Are we somehow responsible for the condition the country is in today?”
Absar, however, expressed some optimism.
“Maybe everything we’re witnessing is an indication that positive change is coming. After all, the night is always darkest before dawn.”
He, however, concluded: “Maybe both can be true at the same time. I genuinely don’t know anymore. And at this point, I don’t think I even care.”
In a social media post, content creator Faraby credited Salman for his strength.
“Salman Muqtadir is actually a very strong person. How easily he said that this was not much of an issue for him and that he would build it again.”
Relating it with her own experience, she wrote, “But the thing is, not everyone has the same mentality, nor does everyone have the same circumstances. So I’ll just say one small thing: listen, this Bangladesh is not for everyone.”
She said the Bangladesh “you dream of does not exist in this country.”
Salman is among Bangladesh’s early generation of YouTube personalities and has worked across digital content, acting, music and commercial production.
His YouTube channel, SalmoN TheBrownFish, has around 1.7 million subscribers, according to publicly available channel analytics.
BrownFish Studio marked an expansion of his longstanding work in video and commercial production.
Salman has previously identified video production and digital marketing among his main professional interests and has worked in digital media and production for years.