Ayas, three others remanded over whitewashing of Rabindranath graffiti

A Dhaka court has remanded four people, including ANM Ayas and Marzia Khandaker Rimi, over the whitewashing of a graffiti portrait of Rabindranath Tagore on a wall in front of the Shilpakala Academy in Segunbagicha, Dhaka.

The accused were produced before the court on Sunday, and Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Joshita Islam granted the remand after a hearing.

According to the court order, Ayas, 29, and Md Sakibul Hasan, 19, were remanded in police custody for three days each, while Sujan Mia, 18, and Rimi, 27, were remanded for two days each.

Earlier, all four were shown arrested by Shahbagh police in cases involving criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between classes and outraging religious feelings.

On Saturday, several people, including Ayas, member-secretary of an organisation called the State Dialogue Forum, went to whitewash the Tagore portrait in front of the academy.

The portraits of 10 eminent figures who made significant contributions to the country's art, literature and culture—including Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam—had been painted on a wall along a footpath by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).