Published: 12:00 AM, 11 October 2026
Ayash detained for attempting to defile Rabindranath Tagore's portrait
A.N.M. Ayash, Member Secretary of the State Dialogue Forum, was detained while attempting to whitewash a graffiti portrait of Rabindranath Tagore on the wall in front of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in SegunBagicha, Dhaka.
On Saturday (10 October 2026), Shahbagh Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Abdul Khaleque confirmed the incident to reporters. Police force detained Ayash around noon yesterday.
Abdul Khaleque said, "A person named Ayash was detained from in front of the Shilpakala Academy and brought to the police station. He had attempted to erase the graffiti portrait of Rabindranath Tagore."
Earlier, on October 5, the Dhaka South City Corporation cleared the sidewalks in SegunBagicha, the capital, of illegal encroachments. Subsequently, portraits of 10 distinguished figures who made significant contributions to the country's art, literature, and culture were painted on the walls along the sidewalks. They included ShilpacharyaZainulAbedin, Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Tagore and KaziNazrul Islam.
Progressive citizens and cultural organizers have urged authorities concerned to subject ANM Akash to exemplary punishment so that nobody else ever dares to show disrespect to Rabindranath Tagore and famous poets and painters.
