Police have detained two individuals involved in disrupting the Puja celebration on-stage in Chattogram. However, no detailed information about the arrested person has been disclosed yet.
"A press conference has been scheduled for later in the day, where the issue will be officially addressed. The briefing will be held at the Dampara Police Lines, according," said Chattogram Metropolitan Police ADC (PR) Kazi Md Tarek Aziz on Friday (11 October).
A group of six youths disrupted the puja stage at JM Sen Hall, the largest puja mandap in the port city, and sang two songs, which angered the Hindu community, who were peacefully celebrating Durga Puja.
On Thursday (10 October) around 7:30pm, a group named Chattogram Cultural Academy performed two songs on the stage of the JM Sen Hall Durga Puja pavilion.
A video of one of the songs later circulated on Facebook, sparking widespread criticism.
Witnesses reported that six members of the musical group took the stage and performed two songs, "Aage Ki Sundor Din Kataitam", written by Shah Abdul Karim, and "Shudhu Musolmaner Lagi Aseniko Islam, Bishwo Manusher Kalyane Srosthar Ei Bidhan", by Chowdhury Abdul Halim.
The latter song, which translates to "Islam did not come only for Muslims, but for the welfare of all mankind," was the one that caused controversy after its video spread on social media.
When asked, Hilol Sen Ujjal, the General Secretary of the Chattogram Puja Celebration Council, stated, "I have learned that the musical group performed with the permission of our Joint Secretary, Sajal Dutta. However, I was not present at the scene during the performance."
Selim Zaman, the president of Chattogram Cultural Academy, also claimed that their group was invited by Sajal Dutta, the Joint Secretary of the Puja Celebration Committee.
He said, "Sajal Babu invited us, requesting that we perform some patriotic songs at the pavilion. We performed two songs promoting harmony. However, a certain group is now spreading propaganda, alleging that we had ulterior motives. We did not force our way in; we simply accepted the invitation."
