Staff Reporter :
Two symbolic motifs that were prepared for the Bengali New Year celebration at the fine arts faculty at Dhaka University have been burnt. One of the motifs displayed the face of fascism, while the other represented a peace dove.
The incident occurred on Saturday morning at DU’s fine arts faculty. However, it is yet to be known who started the fire.
The fascist’s face motif was completely burnt, while the peace dove was partially damaged.
Former students of the faculty allege that the construction work was nearly complete, and this was undoubtedly an act of sabotage. They claim that someone still involved with the fine arts faculty, who is connected to the previous government, was behind the incident.
A case may be filed over the incident, they said. Fine Arts Faculty Dean Professor Azharul Islam Chanchal said that more details regarding the incident will be available after a meeting with the proctor and other officials.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Police Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Md Nazrul Islam said that the incident might have occurred shortly before 5am. It seems to be a deliberate act.
He said that a detention team is on the way and more details will come up once the investigation begins.
Nazrul suspects that the dove’s motif was accidentally burnt while someone tried to burn Hasina’s motif.
For this year’s Bengali New Year’s celebration procession, a giant 20-foot-tall ‘fascist figure’ was crafted using bamboo and cane. The structure featured the face of former autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina, with horn-like shapes on either side of the head. According to organisers, this was the main motif or centrepiece of this year’s procession.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage of Institute of Fine Arts, Dhaka University, shows a man clad in black T-shirt scaling the gate of the institute at 4:44am and leaving the place within two minutes after torching the motifs. Police found this out by analysing the CCTV footage.
Dhaka University Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed said the man was clad in black T-shirt, brown pants and black sandal. He had ponytailed hair. The identity of the man is yet to be revealed.
The DU proctor informed police of the development after seeing the footage.
