Four placed on remand over defacing Tagore mural

A Dhaka court yesterday placed Rashtra Sanglap Forum President ANM Ayas on a three-day remand in a case filed over criminal conspiracy, inciting enmity between classes and religious hatred.

Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam passed the order after police produced him before the court with a 10-day remand prayer, said Additional Public Prosecutor Muhammad Shamsud Doha Sumon.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The court also placed Sakibul Hasan on a three-day remand and Sujon Mia and Marzia Khandaker Rimi on a two-day remand each in the case.

Earlier in the day, police filed the case against Ayas and his three associates with Shahbagh Police Station.

On Saturday, the four were detained over their alleged involvement in an attempt to deface a mural of Rabindranath Tagore on a wall opposite the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Segunbagicha, Dhaka.

According to the police forwarding report submitted to the court, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), as part of its ongoing drive to evict hawkers from pavements, cleared the footpath alongside the Public Works Department’s boundary wall opposite the academy’s gate. Subsequently, mural depicting Bangladesh’s art, culture, and literature were painted on the wall.

“On October 9, Ayas announced that he would erase the mural on the boundary wall by whitewashing it,” the report said.

“The next day, Ayas and the other accused went to the spot. Accused Rimi smeared black ink over the mural depicting Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath. She also attempted to incite religious hatred in connection with the upcoming Durga Puja, thereby creating discord and undermining communal harmony.”

On October 5, the DSCC cleared the footpath in Segunbagicha of encroachments. Subsequently, portraits of 10 prominent figures who made significant contributions to the country’s art, literature, and culture were painted on the adjacent wall.

The figures include Rabindranath, National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, artist Zainul Abedin, and filmmaker Satyajit Ray.