Two held over performing Islamic song at Ctg puja mandap

Police have detained two people in connection with the rendition of Islamic songs at a Durga Puja venue in Chattogram.

The arrests were made during early morning raids throughout the city on Friday after clips of the incident began circulating on social media, causing a stir among netizens, reports bdnews24.com.

Legal proceedings are being prepared on behalf of the puja committee over the incident and further details will be provided at a press briefing later on Friday morning, according to Deputy Commissioner (South) Liaquat Ali Khan of Chattogram Metropolitan Police.

The incident occurred during a cultural event hosted by the Chattogram Metropolitan Puja Udjapan Parishad at JM Sen Hall around 7:00 pm on Thursday, where members of an organisation named 'Chattogram Cultural Academy' went on stage and performed two songs.

Video of the performance spread on social media, sparking unrest among the Hindu community. This led to increased law enforcement presence and prompted protests by the local Hindu community outside the venue.

Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam later visited the venue and assured that legal action would be pursued against those involved.

Ashish Bhattacharya, the president of the Metropolitan Puja Udjapan Parishad, expressed regret over the incident and issued an apology on stage, announcing the expulsion of Sajal Dutta, the joint secretary of the Puja committee over the incident.

"Other committee members and I were not at the venue when the incident occurred. The performers approached Sajal Dutta about playing patriotic music, and he assisted them. We arrived later and asked them to stop the performance. We are looking into why this occurred," Bhattacharya said.

Meanwhile, public demonstrations against the Puja committee continued on the road in front of JM Sen Hall well into the night.