A faction of Bangla daily Bhorer Kagoj employees, including journalists and officials, staged protests in front of its office at Malibagh in the capital yesterday, demanding an explanation from its management for its sudden closure and the settlement of their dues.

With placards and slogans, the protesters expressed their dismay over the decision of closing down the newspaper.

At the demonstration, the journalists spoke out against the management's action and alleged financial irregularities.

Bhorer Kagoj chief reporter Khandaker Kawsar Hossain said, "After the editor was arrested, Arun Kumar Sarkar, the resident director of Saber Hossain Chowdhury's business establishment, assumed the role of executive editor. He and the owners assured us that we would receive everything we are entitled to, but now they have stopped communicating with us."

Describing the closure as unacceptable, he added, "The organisation has been shut down due to the corruption of the head of the financial department and administration."

The protesters called for the immediate reopening of the newspaper or clearing their dues as per the 8th Wage Board.

A notice regarding the closure of the daily, launched on February 15, 1992, was put up on its Malibagh office main gate on January 20.