Steps were taken from his newspaper and police guard was posted at his residence. But that could not stop the killers.

Yesterday, they got him close to his workplace.

Khulna dwellers were stunned by journalist Manik Saha's murder just within four and a half months of the killing of Awami League leader Manzurul Imam.

Manik was a brave reporter, uncompromising in many aspects. He earned enmity with the corrupt and unlawful for his reports. But his friends far outnumbered his enemies.

Manik was threatened many a time for reporting on how shrimp growers forcibly take over poor farmers' land.

Manik however could never figure out who these anonymous callers were. However, he always suspected the outlaw group, Purba Banglar Communist Party (Janajuddha), had targeted him, Khulna journalists said. His family was also under constant stress because of the situation. If he was late to return home at night, his wife and two daughters -- Natasa, 14, and Parsia, 7, would become worried.

Because of the threats, he used to move around the city carefully and would usually not go out alone.

But as fate had it, Manik went out alone in the morning yesterday. And the worst became true -- Manik was killed.