A journalist was physically assaulted by a Jamaat MP's associates on Saturday while gathering news on the use of low-quality construction materials in a municipal road project in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia district.

The victim was identified as Mahbub-ul Ahsan Ullas, the Kumarkhali upazila correspondent for Bangla TV. He is currently undergoing treatment at Kumarkhali Upazila Health Complex.

Following the incident, Ullas filed a case with Kumarkhali Police Station on Saturday evening naming 11 individuals and 20 to 25 unidentified persons.

Among the key accused named in the case are Md. Anwar Hossain,40, cousin of Jamaat-e-Islami MP Md. Afzal Hossain (Kushtia-4); Md. Shobhon Hossain,23, son of the MP; and Ruhul, who identified himself as the MP's bodyguard.

According to locals and eyewitnesses, Ullas went to the Kundupara area around 12:45 p.m. to report on alleged irregularities in the road construction. An armed group led by Anwar, Shobhon and Ruhul confronted and severely beat him. Fellow journalists and police personnel rescued him and rushed him to the hospital.

Farjana Akhtar, Kumarkhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Municipal Administrator, said she had previously issued a notice to the contractor to stop work over substandard materials and had personally halted the work shortly before the assault occurred.

Local journalist leaders, including former Kushtia Press Club President Al-Mamun Sagar and former General Secretary Abu Moni Jubayed Ripon, strongly condemned the attack and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits.