It was alleged that a group of young people performed Islamic music on the stage of Sharidiya Durgotsava in Chittagong. Allegedly, this was done by the members of 'Chittagong Cultural Academy', a cultural organization associated with Islami Chhatra Shibir. However, Islami Chhatra Shibir denied the matter. The incident took place on the stage of Sharidiya Durgotsava of JM Sen Hall in the city organized by the Chittagong Metropolitan Puja Celebration Parishad on Thursday evening, October 10. Eyewitnesses said that a cultural program was going on on the stage of Sharidiya Durgotsava of JM Sen Hall in Andarkilla on Thursday evening. Several cultural groups perform music on the festival stage. It was seen live on a news portal of Chittagong, 5-6 artists of Chittagong Cultural Academy performed two songs. One of them is Islamic, the other is a folk song. No musical instruments or drums were played during the performance of these two songs.
Pujo Udyapan Parishad sources said that in the evening there was a dance program on the stage. When some young people showed interest in performing patriotic songs, Sajal Dutt, joint secretary of the celebration council, allowed them to come on stage. Later, they performed two songs. Uneasiness spread throughout the pandal during the performance of these two songs.
Overnight, the video of the song went viral on social media including Facebook (the authenticity of which has not been verified online at this time). Chittagong Cultural Academy president Salim Zaman claimed that they did not go there voluntarily to sing, but went to sing on the invitation of Sajal Dutt.
Amir Azam Obaidullah, Naib of Mahanagar Jamaat, said, “The Jamaat has nothing to do with the group of this song. No one from the Jamaat was even present at the venue while singing.' However, a leader of the student camp said on condition of anonymity that Chittagong Cultural Academy is a hidden cultural organization of Jamaat.
Sukant Mahajan, Finance Secretary of Chittagong Mahanagara Pujo Celebration Parishad said, 'Those young people came and told Sajal Dutt, Joint Secretary of the Parishad, that they want to perform two patriotic songs on stage. With permission, they got on stage and started Islamic songs.
On the other hand, BNP and Jamaat supporters have made several anonymous posts on Facebook claiming that the edited video of the song has been circulated due to this touching incident.
However, after verifying the video spread on Facebook, the fact checking organization Rumor Scanner said on their Facebook page that the video of Chittagong Pujo Mandap song is original and not edited.
A case has been registered in the police station regarding the performance of Islamic music on the stage of Sharidiya Durgotsava in Chittagong. Two people have been arrested for their involvement in the incident. Police operation continues. Those who were arrested late Thursday night and Friday morning are Shahidul Karim and Nurul Islam. However, the police did not reveal the details of the arrested.
On the other hand, Sajal Dutt, joint secretary of the Puja Udjakar Parishad, has also been expelled from the organization. President of the Parishad Ashish Kumar Bhattacharya informed this information and said that the Deputy Commissioner came to Mandap in the night and assured the quick arrest of the miscreants.
