At the request of a leader from the Puja Celebration Committee, an Islamic musical group performed at the JM Sen Hall mandap in Chattogram city, said police.
"Two men, Md Nurul Islam and Shahidul Karim, had been detained for their role in creating religious tensions and disrupting peace by performing songs that allegedly hurt religious sentiments at the event organised by the Chattogram City Puja Celebration Committee at JM Sen Hall," said Chattogram Deputy Police Commissioner (Crime and Operations) Rois Uddin at a conference was held on Friday (11 October) at 11:30am at the Dampara Police Lines to provide information about the detention of two individuals involved in the incident.
He explained that, during the Durga Puja festivities, a cultural programme was organised in the evening at the JM Sen Hall mandap. After sunset on Thursday, members of the Hindu community began arriving at the mandap to enjoy the event. Joint General Secretary of the Puja Committee, Sajal Dutta, had earlier requested artists from the Chattogram Cultural Academy to perform at the event. In response to this request, a group of performers, including Shahidul Karim, Md Nurul Islam, Abdullah Iqbal, Roni, Golam Mostafa, and Md Mamun, arrived at the Puja celebration and performed an Islamic gajal (devotional song) along with a Baul song.
Among the songs performed, one contained language that was perceived to have offended the religious sentiments of the Hindu community present at the event. As videos of the two songs spread across social media, the reaction among the attendees became hostile, resulting in heightened tensions at the scene.
The police official further stated that, on Thursday night, raids were conducted at several locations in the city, leading to the detaining of Shahidul Karim and Md Nurul Islam.
Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the other individuals involved. The police are conducting extensive interrogations and are investigating whether there was an intent to incite communal discord.
The police are also searching for Sajal Dutta, the leader of the Puja Celebration Committee who had invited the Islamic group to perform. According to the police, he has not yet been located.
Preliminary police interrogations have revealed that Shahidul Karim is a teacher at Tanzimul Ummah Madrasa, while Md Nurul Islam is a teacher at Darul Irfan Academy. A case is being prepared in connection with the incident.
