Police have detained ANM Ayas, Member Secretary of Rashtra Sanglap Forum, for defacing a mural of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Thakur with lime outside the Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka’s Segunbagicha.
The incident occurred around 11:15 AM on Saturday (October 10, 2026), when Ayas applied whitewash over the newly painted portrait on the perimeter wall. Officers from Shahbagh Police Station responded swiftly to the site and took him into custody. Confirming the arrest, Shahbagh Police Station Inspector (Operations) Md. Khokon Miah stated that senior officers of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) are currently interrogating the detainee in police custody to ascertain the motive behind the act.
The vandalized artwork was part of a major public space beautification drive initiated on October 5 by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) following an eviction campaign against illegal sidewalk encroachments. The project featured murals honoring ten eminent cultural luminaries who contributed significantly to arts and literature, including Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Thakur, and Kazi Nazrul Islam.
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by Staff Reporter • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
