Veteran journalist Zakaria Kajal passes away

National Press Club member and veteran journalist Zakaria Kajal passed away on Friday afternoon. He was 67.

He breathed his last around 3:30pm while undergoing treatment at Anwer Khan Modern Medical College Hospital in the capital.

He had been suffering from various physical complications, including liver, kidney and heart ailments as well as diabetes, for a long time.

Family members said Kajal’s younger daughter was married a few months ago. Her wedding reception was scheduled for Saturday.

Preparations for the wedding were underway when he was admitted to hospital in late January. But all plans were called off after his sudden death.

Kajal left behind his wife, two daughters, numerous relatives, colleagues, and admirers. Both of his children lived abroad and his elder daughter had travelled from Sydney specifically to attend her sister’s reception.

His younger brother Mohammad Sohel said that the first Namaj-e-Janaza (funeral prayer) would be held after Isha prayers on Friday in the Bashundhara Residential Area.

Two more funeral prayers are scheduled for Saturday after Zuhr, one at the National Press Club and another outside the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), before burial at Banani graveyard.

Born on 16 December 1959, Kajal worked as Head of News at Dainik Azad, Inqilab, The Observer, bdnews24.com and most recently, Jamuna Television.

He was a former president of the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) and at one point also carried out duties as acting secretary general of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ).

Kajal's bereaved colleagues and friends expressed shock and grief at his untimely death.

Among them, National Press Club President Hasan Hafiz and General Secretary Ayub Bhuiyan have expressed deep shock and sorrow over his death.

In a statement, the leaders prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and expressed their deepest condolences to his bereaved family members.

ERF President Daulot Akter Mala and General Secretary Abul Kashem have expressed their condolences in a statement.

DRU President Abu Saleh Akon and General Secretary Mainul Hasan Sohel sent messages of sympathy to the bereaved family.

Meanwhile, country’s leading online news portal 'The Finance Today's Editor and Publisher Md. Motiur Rahman, Executive Editor Shaheen Abdul Bari and other team members were deeply shocked and expressed their condolences over the untimely demise of the veteran journalist Zakaria Kajal.