Diganta Television
Diganta Television was a Bangladeshi Bengali-language privately owned satellite and cable news television channel founded in 2007. The channel is owned by Diganta Media Corporation Ltd, which also owns the daily newspaper Daily Naya Diganta. Diganta Television officially began broadcasting on 28 August 2008, and was shut down along with Islamic TV, both of which were assumed to be supporting the Jamaat-e-Islami political party, and as a result faced boycotts during the 2013 Shahbag protests.
History
Closure
During the 2013 Shapla Square protests, as the channels were reporting on police action following the rally of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission forced Diganta Television off the air, along with Islamic TV, on 6 May 2013, at about 4:30am. The chief reporter of the channel, M. Kamruzzaman, said that around 25 plain-clothed policemen and an official from the broadcast commission had entered their studios without warning at dawn. According to Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, it was taken off the air as its reporting on the raid on Hefazat contained "irresponsible exaggerations and misinformation to inflame public opinion, a violation of the conditions of its license." Critics have alleged this an instance of the Sheikh Hasina government of using the Islamist issue to silence dissidents.Although the channels were shut down, their licenses have not been revoked. Former Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasanul Haq Inu stated that no fixed decision was made regarding the licenses of Diganta Television and Islamic TV, calling both of them "riot instigators" while stating the reason behind the ban, which was incitement against the government.