A graffiti mural of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore was defaced outside the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka. Following this act of vandalism, police detained four people, including a woman, for questioning.
The graffiti, located on a wall in front of the Shilpakala Academy in the Segunbagicha area of the capital, was defaced with black ink on Saturday. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Zahidul Islam confirmed the detention of the four people to the Dhaka Tribune on Saturday evening. Earlier on Saturday, Shahbagh police detained ANM Ayas, member secretary of the Rashtra Sanglap Forum, in connection with the incident.
The Detective Branch (DB) of police is interrogating the detainees in connection with the incident. The incident took place ahead of the Sharadiya Durga Puja festival and has raised concerns over the possibility of unrest during the religious celebrations. Two other people, including a woman, were also detained over the same matter. Several videos circulating on social media showed a woman using a brush to smear black ink across Tagore’s mural. A police officer from Shahbagh Police Station intervened and moved her away from the spot. Following a commotion involving the woman and her associates, police detained them and took them away in a van. The group was also heard chanting slogans during the incident. The incident has drawn attention to the circumstances surrounding the defacement of the mural ahead of the religious festival. However, police have yet to establish whether the act was linked to any planned provocation.
“Four people, including a woman, have been detained. They are now at the DB for questioning. Their names and identities cannot be disclosed at this stage in the interest of the investigation,” Dhaka Tribune quoted him saying.
