Five people were arrested in Bangladesh for the crime of playing a song mentioning former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s name in an event organised by them. Reportedly, the name of an IT Park which was named after Hasina was mentioned in a song to which some children danced at a cultural program.
The program was held at Jashore Gymnasium during the opening ceremony of the ‘Fifth International Open Karate Competition’ in Jashore. Jayati Society, a women’s organization in Jessore, supported the event. Children associated with a cultural organisation danced to the ‘offensive’ song, and now officials of all three organisations along with a journalist have been arrested and booked in a case.
The five people have been identified as Bangladesh Karate Organization Jessore President Humayun Kabir, General Secretary Rafiqul Islam, Jayati Society Executive Director Archana Biswas, General Secretary of cultural organisation Shekhar Jashore Raushan Ara, and photojournalist of daily Spandan Imran Hasan.
The opening ceremony was held on Saturday where some children of the cultural organisation Shekhar Jashore danced to a song known as the theme song of Jashore. The song mentions various traditions and establishments related to Jashore, including the Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park. After hearing the name, the DC who was present there asked them to stop the song.
DC Azharul Islam was furious after hearing the name in the song and asked how Sheikh Hasina’s name appeared in the song. The organisers apologised to the DC for the oversight, but he didn’t relent. He said that everyone associated with the event will be taken into police custody and the matter will be investigated.
Accordingly, the five men associated with the event were arrested on the DC’s order and they were taken to the police station. However, they were released later in the day on bail bond. The organisers said that after a lor of pleading, the DC allowed the competition to go ahead.
Notably, the song ‘Khejurer Gur Phule Mela, Nakshikanthar Jessore Zila’ was composed around 5-6 years ago. The Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park was renamed to Jashore Software Technology Park after the fall of Sheikh Hasina govt on 5th August.
Talking to media, the DC said that the song was selected and rehearsal of the dance was done, asking how anyone could miss the name of the former PM in it. He said that a probe is needed to find out if the song was used to embarrass the interim govt of Bangladesh. He also said that the political affiliation of the persons involved will be checked.
A General Diary entry has been made at the police station, and the matter will be investigated.
