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Published : 18 May 2026, 01:07 PM
Students trying to paint July Uprising graffiti at Chattogram's Tiger Pass have had a run-in with police amid a ban on rallies and gatherings imposed after tension over the removal of the artworks.
On Monday around 12:45pm, a group of “students” gathered at Tiger Pass intersection in the port city to draw graffiti.
Police made announcements over loudspeakers asking them to disperse, but they held their ground.
The students then told police they would go in groups of three rather than gather in large numbers to paint the graffiti.
When they moved in with paint and brushes around 2pm, police blocked them.
A scuffle broke out, during which paint from a bucket splashed onto several police officers and students.
Police then detained three people and put them in a van. Fellow students protested, and by around 2:30pm all detainees had been released.
The students subsequently left the scene, though additional police remain deployed in the area.
The students said they had agreed to go in groups of three as police had asked, but were still blocked and detained without justification.
Chattogram Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (North) Amirul Islam told bdnews24.com that 50 to 60 people had gathered near the Tiger Pass in defiance of Section 30 of the Metropolitan Ordinance.
"We asked them to leave but they refused. When we moved to disperse them, they threw paint at police officers. The [National Citizen Party] said their programme for the day had been suspended.
“Those who threw paint were taken into custody and later released. The situation is now normal," he added.
The ban on all rallies and processions from GEC intersection to Dewanhat was imposed by Commissioner Hasan Md Shawkat Ali under Section 30 of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police Ordinance 1978, to maintain peace and public safety.
The trouble began when the city corporation painted over July Uprising graffiti on several elevated expressway pillars in Tiger Pass.
The NCP leaders and activists took to the streets on Sunday evening, accusing the city corporation of ordering the erasure.
Chhatra Dal and BNP activists held a counter-procession the same night in protest at remarks made against Mayor Shahadat Hossain at the NCP demonstration.
After 11pm, NCP activists positioned themselves at Tigerpass while Chhatra Dal and BNP activists gathered at Lalkhan Bazar intersection, with tensions running high between the two sides.
Around midnight, Mayor Shahadat went to Lalkhan Bazar intersection to address party activists and journalists.
Chattogram City Corporation had announced a graffiti painting programme for 10am on Monday along the walls from Tigerpass to Lalkhan Bazar intersection on the mayor's initiative -- but the programme did not go ahead in the morning.
Around 11am, the mayor spoke to journalists at the temporary city hall near Tiger Pass on the matter.
