On Thursday evening, a group of Muslim men spoiled the sanctity of a Durga Puja mandap in Chittagong city of Bangladesh by forcibly singing Islamic songs. The radicals took to the stage of the JM Sen Hall Puja Mandap and sang the Islamic song ‘Shudhu Musolmaner Lagi Aseniko Islam (Islam did not come to light only for Muslims).’
The Muslim men, who were involved in the dishonoring of the Puja Mandap, belonged to the Chittagong Cultural Academy. A video of the incident has now surfaced on social media. Atheist Bangladesh writer Taslima Nasreen, who is living in an asylum in India, remarked, ‘Jihadis are singing Islami jihadi songs in Durga puja pandal in Chittagong Bangladesh. What if Hindus sing hare ram hare krishna during Namaz inside mosques?’
The radicals were allowed to sing on stage by the joint secretary of Chattogram Puja Celebration Council Sajal Dutta, he was assured that the group will sing only a patriotic song. No permission was sought to sing Islamic songs. Chittagong Cultural Academy attempted to justify the desecration of the puja mandap by claiming that the song was about promoting ‘harmony.’
President Selim Jaman alleged, ‘Six of our members went there and performed a patriotic song and a song promoting harmony. One of them was ‘Aage Ki Sundor Din Kataitam,’ and another mentioned Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians’. Hindus took to the stage in protest demanding action against the 6 radicals. Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam went to the Puja pandal and assured all-out support. She claimed, ‘They will be arrested within the next 24 to 48 hours’. In the meantime, the Puja committee expelled Sajal Dutta from the position of joint secretary of Chattogram Puja Celebration Council.
General Secretary of the Bangladesh Puja Celebration Committee (Chattogram) Sukanta Mohajan Tutul stated, ‘We can’t take it lightly. This is a heinous act. We are trying to identify them through proper authorities’.
Meawhile, Jamaat-e-Islami has claimed that the 6 Muslim men, who violated the Durga Puja mandap, were not affiliated with it or its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.
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