Published: 12:05 AM, 11 October 2026
Toufique Imrose Khalidi Laid to Eternal Rest
The Namaz-E-Janaza for veteran journalist Toufique Imrose Khalidi was held at Banani Old DOHS Playground around 3:30pm on Saturday. -AA
Funeral prayers were held for Toufique Imrose Khalidi yesterday, the late Editor-in-Chief of bdnews24.com who passed away a couple of days ago.
The Janaza for Toufique Imrose Khalidi was held at Banani Old DOHS Playground around 3:30pm on Saturday.
Khalidi was laid to eternal rest at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard at 5pm.
From 2pm onwards, friends, relatives, colleagues and well-wishers gathered at the venue to pay their last respects to Khalidi.
Brigadier General Mohammad Raisul Islam, Assistant Military Secretary to President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, paid tribute to Toufique Imrose Khalidi on behalf of the head of state.
Among those who paid their respects were The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam, Agamir Somoy Editor Mostafa Mamun and Executive Editor Ehsanul Haque Babu, former Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists president Omar Faruk, columnists Chiraranjan Sarkar and Saleq Khokon, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's Nazmul Haque Pradhan, BBC journalist Qadir Kallol and some other dignitaries.
Others included actor Tariq Anam Khan, actress Neema Rahman, journalists Shahriar Karim, Shawkat Mahmud, Ashraf Kaiser, Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, Baizid Khurshid Riaz and Julhaz Nur, human rights activist Dipayan Khisa, Professor Sadeka Halim and Justice Abu Taher Saifur Rahman.
Khalidi, a pioneer of digital journalism in Bangladesh, suddenly fell ill on the night of October 1 while on a personal visit to London.
He was taken to St Bartholomew's Hospital, where doctors diagnosed a brain hemorrhage. He was declared dead at 2:23pm local time the following day.
Funeral prayers were held at Brick Lane Mosque in East London after Zuhr prayers on October 8. Former colleagues and members of the local Bangladeshi community gathered there to pay their last respects.
Khalidi's remains arrived at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on Saturday morning.
His nephew Taraaf Tazeez Khalidi and his nephew-in-law Akif Ahmed received the coffin around 11:30am. Khalidi's colleagues were also present at the airport.
The coffin was then taken to the premises of bdnews24.com's office, a place Khalidi held close to his heart. His remains stayed there from noon until 12:20pm as colleagues paid their final respects.
His coffin was subsequently taken to his home, where family members and relatives saw him for the last time.
Toufique Imrose Khalidi played a pioneering role in bringing Bangladesh's news industry into the digital age, leading a transformation that began more than two decades ago.
The journey began in the first half of 2005. At the time, bdnews24.com operated as a news agency supplying reports to media organizations. While other news agencies in Bangladesh distributed their reports through teleprinters, bdnews24.com began using the internet.
The Asian Age pays deep homage to Toufique Imrose Khalidi and prays for his departed soul to rest in peace in the world hereafter. The Asian Age believes Khalidi deserves a posthumous state level award for his substantial contribution in the growth of journalism in Bangladesh for several decades.
>>Bernard Priyam, AA
