A journalist was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Durgapur upazila of Netrokona on Thursday night.

The deceased, Lutforzzaman Alif Fakir, was the Netrokona correspondent of private television channel Ruposhi Bangla.

He also ran a Facebook page named ‘Detective Article’, where he regularly wrote about irregularities and alleged drug trafficking.

The incident took place at Uttarail Bazaar on the Shyamganj-Birishiri road at around 8:15pm, according to police and eyewitnesses.

Alif was sitting at a shop when two men arrived on a motorcycle and opened fire on him. They fled the scene as local people rushed to the spot after hearing the gunshots.

He was declared dead after being taken to the upazila health complex.

Khandaker Shaker Ahmed Khan, officer-in-charge of Durgapur Police Station, said the journalist sustained five bullet wounds to different parts of his body, including the head, neck and chest.

Netrokona Superintendent of Police Md Tariqul Islam said police were conducting operations to arrest those involved in the killing. He initially suspected it to be a planned murder, according to local media reports.

Alif had previously been attacked by assailants on November 10 last year near Teribazar Ghat on the Someshwari River in Durgapur.

He was injured in that attack, and a colleague who tried to intervene was threatened at gunpoint.

The motive behind Thursday’s killing remains unclear, and police are investigating the incident.