Bangladesh
Bangabandhu The sculpture under construction of Bangabandhu was vandalized in the dark of night in Kushtia
Dhaka, Dec 5, 2020: Miscreants smashed a sculpture under construction of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the intersection of five roads in Kushtia city in the dark of night. The face and hand parts of the sculpture, which was under construction, were vandalized at some point during the day on Friday (December 4).
The incident took place in Kushtia amid protests by various Islamist organizations across the country over the construction of Bangabandhu's sculpture. The demolition of the sculpture under construction of Bangabandhu has started a strong reaction in Kushtia. Leaders and activists of the district workers' league staged a protest at the sculpture premises on Saturday (December 5).
In this regard, Kushtia Superintendent of Police SM Tanvir Arafat said, "CCTV camera footage was collected from the spot and it was seen that two persons were vandalizing the sculpture around 2 pm. Attempts are being made to identify them. They will be brought under the law soon. '
Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, Member of Parliament for Kushtia-3 (Sadar) constituency and joint general secretary of the Awami League, said, "Such acts will not be tolerated in any way." Anyone who has caused or helped this incident must be found out and severely punished, "he said, adding that no one would be spared. Police have already been instructed to take action.
According to Kushtia Municipality sources, a sculpture of the national flower shuffler was erected at the intersection of five roads in 2003 as part of the beautification of the city. Since then it has been known to the people as ‘Shapla Chattar’. On the occasion of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu, it was decided to demolish the present shuffler sculpture and construct three sculptures of Bangabandhu at the intersection of five streets of the city in November this year with its own funds.
There will be a mural of four national leaders at the bottom. Mahbub Jamal Shamim, a sculptor from Jessore, got the work order for the construction of the sculpture through a tender. It has cost about 30 lakh rupees. Work has started on November 16. In the meantime, the work of making a sculpture of Bangabandhu's speech on March 7 under construction facing Majampur is nearing completion. But on Friday night, who or what broke different parts of the sculpture, including the face and hands.
After this incident, additional surveillance has been started on all the sculptures in the district. Deputy Commissioner Aslam Hossain said, "After this incident, all the sculptures in the district including the Collectorate premises have been taken under CCTV cameras." Necessary instructions have also been given to the concerned UNOs to increase surveillance.
