Mural of Bangabandhu’s March 7 speech destroyed in Mujibnagar

Locals say none of the Ansar personnel on duty inside the Mujibnagar Memorial intervened

A group of students and public have vandalised the mural commemorating Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic March 7 speech, located next to the Mujibnagar Memorial Complex in Meherpur.

In the wee hours of Friday, perpetrators entered the memorial site, tore down the mural, and abandoned it in the middle of Kedarganj Bazar’s main road, some two kilometers away.

In a separate act of vandalism, the portrait of Bangabandhu on the wall of the Mujibnagar Muktijoddha Complex was also desecrated.

Ali Akbar, a local resident near the Mujibnagar Memorial, described the early Friday night attack, stating that a group of 20 to 25 youths, armed with hammers, swords, and large axes, stormed the site.

According to Akbar, they first destroyed the 12-foot-tall mural of Sheikh Mujib’s March 7 speech at the entrance to the memorial complex. The group then moved throughout the Mujibnagar area, damaging several other murals of Bangabandhu, both large and small, as well as various terracotta depictions of him.

He said many of the attackers were dressed in pajama-panjabis, and none of the Ansar personnel on duty inside the Mujibnagar Memorial intervened.

"We, too, could not protest out of fear," he said.

“The group carried out their destructive rampage for about an hour before leaving the site without encountering resistance. They then disposed of the broken pieces, abandoning them at the intersection of four roads in Kedarganj Bazar.”

Earlier on the night of Aug 5, 2024, a similar attack was carried out in Mujibnagar, during which all the memorials were vandalised.

Mizanur Rahman, the chief of Mujibnagar Police Station, said that local residents alerted authorities the following morning, prompting police to visit the site.

Upon arrival, policemen found the mural and sculptures destroyed. Rahman confirmed that an investigation is underway to identify those responsible for the latest attack. However, he noted that, as of now, no formal case has been filed in connection with the incident.