Gautam Das

Gautam Das ( – November 17, 2005) was a Bangladeshi print journalist and bureau chief for Dainik Samakal in Faridpur, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh when he was murdered in his office. He was known for his reporting on crime and corruption throughout the area.

Personal Das was 33 at the time of his death. Guatam Das is now buried at Chandidashi village of Bhanga Upazila in Faridpur, Bangladesh. He was the Faridpur bureau chief of the Dainik Samakal. He was a journalist for print media. A short time before his murder, Das had published a series of reports for the Dhaka-based daily Samakal, which detailed illegal activity corruption by Bangladesh Nationalist Party officials. In addition, The Associated Press reported Das having written about local government officials accused of taking bribes in exchange for construction contract awards. Of these nine convicts, eight are junior politicians belonging to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Context Attacks on Bangladesh's ethnic and religious minorities has been on the rise for many years according to Desh Rights.

Regarding the case, a colleague of Das called the police after repeatedly failing to contact him by phone and his work door remained locked throughout the day. Police had eventually busted Das' office door down to find his body inside. However, with Bangladesh being so high in violence against these individuals, only one case—Gautam Das—has had its perpetrators tried and convicted.

While Das' case received the outcome Bangladesh was searching for, not every suspect was prosecuted. During the course of the trial, an accused died. Alongside the accused, all were released on bail right away, and witnesses backed out of the trial as they began to get scared of testifying. Also, in 2006 the case was transferred from the local district court to Dhaka Speedy Tribunal Court 1 for an expedited after being pressured by local journalists—the speedy trial lasted for seven years.

During Das' funeral, the town was filled with hundreds of people who came to fill the streets and hold rallies demanding exemplary punishment for the killers. Of the rallies, several organizations in Bangladesh participated, such as Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Dhaka Union of Journalists, Jatiya Press Club, and Bangladesh Chamber of Industries.