‘Do they feel any empathy?’: Salman Muqtadir lashes out at BNP govt response to studio attack

Content creator Salman Muqtadir has sharply criticised the government’s handling of the attack on his BrownFish Studio, accusing ministers and authorities of showing little empathy towards victims and turning scrutiny towards him instead of those responsible for the violence.

Speaking on Khaled Muhiuddin’s Thikana show on Monday night, Salman said the authorities could have defused much of the controversy simply by acknowledging what had happened to him.

“I haven’t seen a single minister handle the situation wisely,” he said.

“It’s a two-minute job. Just show a little empathy.”

Salman said an official could simply have told a victim: “I am so sorry... Give me some time. I take 100% responsibility for the loss you have suffered.”

“Instead, you go there and engage in victim-blaming. You start an entire media trial. You use every kind of organisation against the victim,” he alleged.

His remarks came more than a week after BrownFish Studio, located inside the New Gini Properties project near ECB Chattar, was extensively vandalised during an armed attack on September 26.

Police have said the attack originated from a dispute over possession and control of land. The studio was among several structures targeted. 

Salman, however, has repeatedly questioned the authorities’ response after the attack and initially alleged BNP-linked individuals were involved.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed rejected what he described as a “sweeping” allegation of BNP involvement and said preliminary findings pointed towards a land dispute. 

‘How dare Salman continue?’

During Monday’s interview, Salman argued that his ability to publicly challenge powerful people had made the episode larger than the destruction of his studio.

He alleged that politically connected people were accustomed to silencing ordinary citizens through intimidation, false cases and pressure.

“They were thinking: all this time, we’ve been doing these things and keeping people quiet,” Salman said.

“Why does Salman Muqtadir keep going? How dare he?”

He said his case should be viewed against the experience of Bangladeshis who suffer violence or injustice without access to television channels, prominent journalists or government ministers.

“Do they feel any empathy?” he asked of the government.

“They work sitting in air-conditioned rooms. They work in the capital. They have no idea how much oppression people suffer every day on the outskirts.”

Salman said losing the studio had affected him more deeply than he initially showed.

“I wake up in the morning thinking I should go to the office, and then I remember: I don’t have an office anymore,” he said.

He recalled taking his wife and children to the studio while working late so that the family could still spend time together.

He asked viewers to imagine their children being inside while hundreds of people approached the premises carrying weapons and shots were being fired.

“Do you understand what your child would feel at that moment?” he asked.

‘Take everything, I will build it again’

Salman said his financial position allowed him to recover from the destruction, but argued that most victims in Bangladesh did not have that privilege.

“Take away my land, my house, my office — take everything,” he said. “Whether it takes 15 years or 10 years, I will build it again through my own hard work.”

Salman said he had not joined any political party and had rejected approaches to do so.

“I don’t need attention,” he said. “I want to remain truthful to myself.”

He also suggested that any further action against him should be viewed in the context of his decision to continue speaking publicly.

“If something happens to me after this...” he said, before arguing that he wanted to leave a message encouraging Bangladeshis without political backing to speak out.

The dispute has since led to several arrests. Retired Major General Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury, who was arrested by the Detective Branch on September 30 in the case over the attack, was granted conditional bail by a Dhaka court on Monday.

The case names 13 people alongside another 150 to 200 unidentified accused. 

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has also sought information from banks about Salman’s accounts and transactions following the controversy. 

Appeal to PM Tarique

Salman also turned his criticism towards the ruling BNP’s political culture, while acknowledging that people within the party had themselves spoken against wrongdoing.

“There are still good people inside BNP,” he said.

But he questioned who now represented the party and criticised the role of Chhatra Dal, saying student politics should be led by people genuinely engaged with education, skills and developing the country.

Salman then directly appealed to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

“Please try to understand. The whole country is looking at you,” he said.

He urged the prime minister to move “uneducated, ignorant sycophants” away from positions of influence and instead surround himself with qualified advisers and experts.

If necessary, Salman said, Bangladesh should bring in “the best of the best” experts from countries including Sri Lanka, China, the US and the UK to help develop institutions and skills.

He said Bangladesh’s political problem was not politics itself but the way it was being practised.

“I don’t hate politics,” Salman said. “But these politicians... have ruined politics.”

“Politics isn’t this. What they are doing isn’t politics.”

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