On Wednesday, August 15, the cultural secretary of the Central Women's League and actress Rokeya Prachi was attacked while paying tribute to the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32.
According to local media reports, under the leadership of Rokeya Prachi, 70-80 cultural activists gathered at Dhanmondi 32 to light candles at the portrait of Bangabandhu as previously announced.
During their event, around 30-40 young men armed with sticks arrived at the scene.
They threatened everyone, removed them, and vandalized the portrait of Bangabandhu. When Rokeya Prachi tried to address the damage, she was struck with a stick.
When she fell, her fellow artists helped her up and took her away.
Regarding the attack, Rokeya Prachi said, “At around 7:15 PM, we were suddenly attacked. We were conducting our program peacefully when we were surrounded and beaten severely.”
She claimed that the attackers specifically targeted her and appeared well-educated, speaking in very refined language. She inferred from their speech that they were not common criminals.
Earlier, on the evening of August 14, they had conducted a candle lighting and observed a minute of silence.
After the tribute, Rokeya Prachi stated, “Today we have all gathered here because Bangladesh is burning. We have come together because 1971 is burning for us. We have come together because our portrait of Bangabandhu has burned. Dhanmondi 32 has burned. We are here because Bangladesh is burning. We did not come here to talk about politics. Bangladesh belongs to all of us.”
She added, “We came here to mourn peacefully. We respect Bangabandhu. He gave us this Bangladesh and the constitution. When Dhanmondi 32 burned, we felt as though we burned. Standing here at Dhanmondi 32, we ask for forgiveness from this great leader of the world; we are ashamed, and the Bengali nation is ashamed today.”
Rokeya Prachi won the Best Supporting Actress award at the National Film Awards of Bangladesh in 1999.
She was the second wife of Dr. Asif Nazrul, adviser on law and justice to Bangladesh's interim government. Her father, Abdur Razzaq, was the president of the Mirpur and Pallabi Labor League during Bangabandhu’s time.
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