Raajje TV building set on fire

Queen of the Night building housing the local TV station Raajje TV was set on fire early this morning.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) stated that the fire was reported around 4:45 a.m. Monday morning and that the Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) promptly attended the scene.

MNDF said that a man stuck on the building’s terrace was saved soon after the FRS arrived at the scene.

The fire was raging on first second floors of the seven storey building named Queen of the Night on Boduthakurufaanu Magu, Male'. The fire was successfully extinguished and the firemen carried out a search of the building, MNDF said.

Police said that the arsonists set fire to the building after assaulting the foreign security guard. A window was shattered to get inside, they said.

The security guard received knife wounds to the back and was transported to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) with the help of the police.

President of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission Mohamed Shaheeb and President of the Maldives Media Council Husham Mohamed have both condemned the arson attack on the local TV station.

Mohamed Shaheeb said that the attack was cowardly act against the freedom of expression, a fundamental of democracy, and called on the authorities to investigate the attack and take action against the perpetrators.

Husham Mohamed also called on the authorities to find the people who committed the act and bring them to justice.

Deputy CEO of Raajje TV Abdulla Yameen told Sun this morning that he was informed of the fire around 4:30 a.m. and that the TV station was vacant at the time of the incident. He also confirmed that the arsonists had broken into the building by breaking down a window, after assaulting the security guard on duty.

He said that the fire was first ignited in the station’s control room and that all the equipment inside the room have been rendered useless.