Published : 10 Oct 2026, 06:01 PM
Updated : 10 Oct 2026, 06:01 PM
Police have detained four people, including ANM Ayash, member secretary of the Rashtra Sanglap Forum, after they tried to erase a graffiti of Rabindranath Tagore on a wall outside Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka’s Segunbagicha.
The group faced police obstruction when they attempted to remove the graffiti on Saturday afternoon, said Sheikh Zahidul Islam, deputy commissioner of police for the Ramna Division.
“They came to erase the graffiti, and police stopped them,” he said.
At the scene, a young woman was seen applying black ink to the graffiti of Tagore when a police officer intervened and stopped her.
The woman said they had come to protest against “Indian aggression”. Describing Tagore as Indian, she said they wanted to erase his image and that she had personally applied the ink.
The group, led by Ayash, was seen chanting slogans after police intervened. Officers then detained the four and took them to the police station.
Shahbagh Police Station duty officer Sub-Inspector Abdul Khaleque said three men and one woman had been brought to the station and were in custody.
Senior officials would decide what action to take next, he said.
On Oct 5, Dhaka South City Corporation cleared the footpath in Segunbagicha of encroachments.
Graffiti depicting prominent figures who contributed to art, literature and culture was subsequently painted on the footpath wall. They included artist Zainul Abedin, filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Kazi Nazrul Islam.
On Friday, a Facebook page called July Revolutionary Alliance questioned the decision to depict these cultural figures.
Referring to Satyajit Ray and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar as cultural figures from West Bengal, the page raised questions about the graffiti, framing the issue as one of “cultural politics”.
Amid debate on social media, a group of people led by Ayash went to erase the graffiti on Saturday.
After three people were detained, the July Revolutionary Alliance page questioned whether applying ink could be a way to fight cultural dominance.
“Can one fight cultural dominance by smearing ink?” the page asked.
It added: “We will raise our voices against cultural dominance and protest.”
