Former Barishal Press Club general secretary found dead
Veteran Barishal Journalist Pulak Chatterjee Found Dead at Newspaper Office
Bdbusinessdaily.com – Journalist Pulak Chatterjee, 57, was found dead inside a newspaper office in Barishal on the evening of 11 September, prompting a police investigation and a visit by the Criminal Investigation Department.
Chatterjee, who had previously served as bureau chief for both Samakal and Jugantor, was discovered at the Barishal bureau office on Parara Road at about 7pm. He was also a former general secretary of the Barishal Press Club and remained a member of its executive committee.
Police said the office entrance had been locked from the inside when colleagues arrived. Suman Chowdhury, who heads the Barishal office, went there after Chatterjee’s wife contacted him because she could not reach her husband by telephone.
Chatterjee had earlier requested and received a key to the office, where colleagues said he would sometimes spend time. After the locked entrance was found, police entered the premises in the presence of witnesses and recovered his body.
Handwritten notes recovered
Investigators recovered five handwritten notes from the office. The messages were addressed to Chatterjee’s wife and daughter, his younger brother, a senior Barishal Press Club figure, colleague Suman Chowdhury, and the administration.
Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Al Mamun Ul Islam confirmed that the notes had been collected from the scene. Police and people familiar with their contents said the note intended for the administration stated that no other person should be held responsible for his death. It referred to long-running physical suffering and unsuccessful efforts to recover from illness.
The same note requested that his body be handed to his family without unnecessary difficulty. A separate message for his wife and daughter included an apology and encouraged his daughter to continue her studies and music lessons.
The other notes contained personal messages for his brother, a Barishal Press Club official and Chowdhury, who had known Chatterjee for many years.
Investigation under way
Police sent the body to the morgue at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital for an autopsy. The findings of that examination and the continuing investigation are expected to help authorities establish the full circumstances of the death.
Barishal Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sushant Sarker said investigators had begun examining the case. He said officers broke open the office door while others were present and that the initial circumstances indicated a possible suicide.
“Police entered the office by breaking open the door in the presence of everyone. Prima facie, it appears to be a case of suicide. The matter will be investigated,” he said.
A team from the Criminal Investigation Department also inspected the location and examined the circumstances surrounding Chatterjee’s death.
A familiar figure in Barishal journalism
Chatterjee had built a long career in local journalism and was widely connected with Barishal’s press community through his newsroom work and his leadership role at the Press Club. His experience included serving as bureau chief for two prominent Bangladeshi newspapers, work that placed him among the journalists closely involved in reporting events from the region.
He lost his position at Samakal in May 2023 and had since experienced mental distress, colleagues said. They recalled that he would occasionally return to the Barishal office, a place with which he remained familiar after his professional role ended.
His death has drawn attention to the personal pressures that can remain unseen even among people well known in professional and community circles. The investigation will determine the legal and factual conclusions in the case, while the notes recovered from the office form part of the evidence being reviewed by authorities.
For Chatterjee’s family, colleagues and the Barishal press community, the immediate focus remains on the autopsy process, the police inquiry and the arrangements for his body to be returned to his relatives.
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