A case was filed against seven people on Friday over the performance of Islamic songs at a puja venue in Chattogram.
The accused in the case included six members of the Chattogram Cultural Academy and Sajal Dutta, joint general secretary of the Puja Udjapan Parishad.
The six academy accused are Shahidul Karim, 42, Md Nurul Islam, 34, Abdullah Iqbal, 30, Roni, 28, Gholam Mostafa, 27, and Md Mamun, 36. Two of them have already been arrested.
Sukant Bikas Mahajan, finance secretary to the Chattogram City Puja Udjapan Parishad, filed the case at the Kotwali police station on Friday evening, said Muhammad Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station.
News agency UNB reported that the central committee of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad on Friday relieved its Chattogram chapter president Ashish Bhattacharya and general secretary Hillol Dey of their responsibilities for failing to perform their responsibilities adequately.
The central Puja Udjapan Parishad strongly condemned the incident.
The president of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad Shri Basudev Dhar and general secretary Shri Santosh Sharma said in a statement that people of the Hindu community had been deeply hurt by this unexpected incident.
The Parishad demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident and exemplary punishment for those involved.
Ealier, the police detained two madrassah teachers allegedly for performing Islamic songs during a Durga Puja event at JM Sen Hall in Chattogram in the early hours of Friday.
The detained were Shahidul Karim, 42, a teacher at Tanzimul Ummah Madrassah, and Nurul Islam, 34, a teacher at Darul Irfan Madrassah in Chattogram.
Police said that the arrested were being interrogated to determine whether they had any political affiliations.
The two teachers were invited to the event by Sajal Dutta, joint secretary to the Puja Udjapan Parishad.
Chattogram Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner for crime and operation Roish Uddin disclosed these details at a press briefing at the CMP commissioner鈥檚 office on Friday afternoon.
He said, 鈥楲egal action will be taken if it is found that there is any malicious intent.鈥�
Responding to journalists鈥� questions, Roish Uddin said that police tried to contact those who invited the madrassah teachers, particularly Sajal Dutta.
鈥榃e are making efforts to find him for further questioning,鈥� said Roish.
He said, 鈥楾he controversy arose during a cultural programme held at the puja mandap on the occasion of Durga Puja. Attendees were enjoying the performances when members of Chattogram Cultural Academy took the stage at the invitation of a Puja Committee member. They performed two songs, one of which caused controversy and later went viral on social media.鈥�
鈥楾he process of filing a case is underway in this regard. We are investigating the motive for their presence and whether any political elements are involved,鈥� the deputy police commissioner added.
Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad鈥檚 Chattogram city unit general secretary Hillol Sen said that the songs were performed under the banner of Chattogram Cultural Academy, with the involvement of joint secretary Sajal Dutta.
Although they were supposed to perform patriotic songs, they sang instead Islamic songs, which triggered anger among the Hindu community people, Hillol said, adding that it has been decided to remove Sajal Sen from his position as joint secretary to the Puja Udjapan Parishad with immediate effect.
Earlier, the incident came to light after a video of six members of the Chattogram Cultural Academy performing Islamic songs at JM Sen Hall at Andarkilla went viral on Facebook on Thursday evening. The songs performed included 鈥楪ramer Nawjowan Hindu Musalman鈥� and 鈥楽hudhu Muslimer Lagi鈥�.
The incident sparked outrage among the Hindu community people leading to an increased presence of members of law enforcement agencies, including the army, in the area.
Angry Hindu devotees also staged a protest on the road in front of the mandap.
Later, Chattogram deputy commissioner Farida Khanam addressed the gathering at the mandap, assuring them that those involved would be arrested and a case would be filed against them.
She said, 鈥楢s the district magistrate, I assure you that whoever is responsible for this incident, no matter how powerful, will be arrested within next 24 to 48 hours.鈥�
The performances received mixed reactions from the Hindu community, with some alleging that the organisation is linked to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
In a statement issued on Thursday night, Fakhrul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir鈥檚 Chittagong north unit, denied any involvement in the incident.
鈥楽ome individuals have performed songs at JM Sen Hall Puja Mandap, and false propaganda is being spread on social media, linking Chhatra Shibir to this incident,鈥� Fakhrul said.
鈥榃e want to categorically say that Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir has no connection to this activity,鈥� Fakhrul added.
The JM Sen Hall Durga Puja is a prominent event organised annually by the Chattogram Puja Udjapan Parishad.