Lady Justice statue reinstalled in front of Supreme Court's annex building

The Lady Justice statue, removed from the main building premises of the Supreme Court, has been reinstalled in front of the annex building of the court.

Sculptor Mrinal Haque, who engraved the statue, supervised the reinstallation process.

He told bdnews24.com that the reinstallation work began around 10pm on Saturday and completed around 12:45am Sunday with the help of around 30 workers.

He said the statue was relocated in line with the Supreme Court's instruction.

Photo: tanvir ahammed

He also said he did not like the new location of the statue. "Thousands of people could see it from where it was originally located," he said.   

Various political, students' and cultural organisations were demanding reinstallation of the statue on the same spot after it was removed in the wee hours of Friday to appease a radical Islamist outfit, Hifazat-e Islam.    

Four protesters were arrested during a demonstration in Dhaka University area on Friday afternoon. At least 20 protesters were injured when police fired teargas shells, rubber bullets and water cannons after the demonstrators brought out a procession from the university to the court.

Religious hardliners say the statue at the Supreme Court, an adaptation of Greek goddess Themis in a sari, goes against Islamic tenets.

Photo: tanvir ahammed

According to them, the statue erected in December 2016, holding the familiar sword and scales of justice in her hands, amounts to idolatry.

Hifazat-e Islam, Olama League and several other Islamist organisations have been demanding the removal of the statue.

Hifazat chief Shah Ahmed Shafi led Qawmi Madrasa representatives to a meeting a Ganabhaban where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina conceded to their demand over the statue on Apr 11.

She said she, too, dislikes the statue in front of the SC building. She argued that the location was not favourable because it could be seen from the National Eidgah, and the fusion of a Greek goddess with a Bengali woman was 'aesthetically unpleasant'.