New Delhi, October 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A graffiti mural of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore outside the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka was defaced with black ink on Saturday, prompting police to detain four people, including a woman, for questioning.
The incident occurred on a wall in the Segunbagicha area of the Bangladeshi capital ahead of the Sharadiya Durga Puja festival, raising concerns about the possibility of unrest during the religious celebrations.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner, Sheikh Zahidul Islam, confirmed the detentions to Dhaka Tribune on Saturday evening.
“Four people, including a woman, have been detained. They are now at the DB for questioning. Their names and identities cannot be disclosed at this stage in the interest of the investigation,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
The Detective Branch (DB) of police is questioning the detainees as part of the ongoing investigation.
Earlier on Saturday, Shahbagh police detained ANM Ayas, member secretary of the Rashtra Sanglap Forum, in connection with the incident. Two other people, including a woman, were also detained over the matter.
Videos circulating on social media purportedly showed a woman using a brush to smear black ink across Tagore’s mural. A Shahbagh police officer intervened and moved her away from the wall.
Following a commotion involving the woman and her associates, police detained the group and took them away in a van. The individuals were also heard chanting slogans during the incident.
In initial remarks to the media, the woman claimed that Tagore had opposed the establishment of the University of Dhaka and had asked, “What need do paupers have of education?” Describing the poet as “against Bangladesh”, she said she had defaced the mural in protest.
She later offered a different explanation, claiming that she had been suffering from a fever and had visited the Shilpakala Academy area under the pretext of attending a regular protest programme.
The incident has drawn attention amid concerns over the circumstances surrounding the vandalism ahead of Durga Puja. However, police have yet to establish whether the act was linked to any planned provocation.
The four detainees remain under questioning by the Detective Branch as investigators work to establish the circumstances and motive behind the defacement.
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