SDF member secretary Ayas detained

Police detained A N M Ayas, member secretary of the State Dialogue Forum (SDF), in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, on Saturday for allegedly attempting to deface a graffiti of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Shahbagh police took him into custody from in front of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy around noon on October 10, according to media reports.

Police said the detention was a preventive measure amid concerns over a possible disturbance.

The graffiti was painted on a wall alongside a footpath cleared by Dhaka South City Corporation on October 5.

Portraits of 10 prominent figures from Bangladesh’s art, literature and culture, including Tagore, Zainul Abedin, Satyajit Ray and Kazi Nazrul Islam, were subsequently painted on the wall.