Dhaka, 15 August – Police took position at the central office of Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Bangladesh JSD) on Topkhana Road in Dhaka on Saturday, August 15, ahead of the party’s scheduled program to pay tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his death anniversary.
Bangladesh JSD had announced a program to place floral tributes at Bangabandhu’s portrait at 4pm. Party leaders said police had been stationed around the office since the morning.
Bangladesh JSD General Secretary and former lawmaker Nazmul Haque Pradhan told Bangla Tribune that the party has paid tribute to Bangabandhu at its office every year on August 15.
He said the party had planned to follow the same tradition this year, but police surrounded the office from around 8am and took position inside, preventing the program from being held.
Pradhan condemned the police action and alleged that the government was trying to create confusion over the situation.
However, Mazharul Islam, Assistant Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Zone, said police had learned that the party planned to hold a program there without permission.
He said the police presence should not be considered a formal deployment around the office. Rather, officers were maintaining vigilance to prevent any untoward incident in connection with the proposed program.
The incident comes amid a broader shift in the official observance of August 15 in Bangladesh, with the day no longer being observed as a state-sponsored national mourning day since 2024.
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