A group of young men and women faced police intervention while attempting to erase a graffiti mural of the world-renowned poet Rabindranath Tagore, painted on a wall in front of the Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka.

Police detained four individuals, including A.N.M. Ayas, the Member Secretary of the ‘Rashtra Sanglap Forum,’ during the incident.

Sheikh Jahidul Islam, Deputy Commissioner of the Ramna Division, stated that the group was ‘restrained’ when they attempted to erase the graffiti on Saturday afternoon.

He said, “They had come to erase the graffiti; the police stopped them.”

At the scene, a woman was observed attempting to smear ink over the Tagore graffiti when a police officer intervened. The woman stated that they had come to ‘protest against Indian aggression.’

Led by Ayas, the group chanted slogans while facing police obstruction. Subsequently, the police detained four individuals—including Ayas—at the scene and took them to the police station.

Sub-Inspector (SI) Abdul Khalek, the duty officer at Shahbag Police Station, stated, “Three men and one woman have been detained and brought to the station; they are currently in custody.”

The police official added that “higher authorities” would make the decision regarding their case.

On October 5, the Dhaka South City Corporation cleared the footpaths in Segunbagicha of encroachments. Following this, graffiti depicting eminent figures who contributed to art, literature, and culture—such as Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Kazi Nazrul Islam—was painted on the walls along the footpaths.

On Friday, a Facebook page named “July Revolutionary Alliance” raised questions regarding the depiction of these cultural figures. They questioned the inclusion of graffiti featuring Satyajit Ray and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, labeling them as “cultural figures of West Bengal.”

On Saturday, a group of people led by Ayas of the “Rashtra Sanglap Forum” set out to erase the graffiti.