The Tigerpass circle of the port city turned into a battlefield on Monday as police engaged in a scuffle with a group of youths attempting to paint graffiti in defiance of a public assembly ban.
The incident, which occurred at approximately 1:45pm beneath the pillars of the Shaheed Wasim Akram Expressway, resulted in several injuries, including a four-month-pregnant woman.
The confrontation began when about 15 to 20 individuals, identifying themselves as “students” and “July warriors,” gathered with paint buckets, brushes, and spray cans.
Despite warnings from on-duty police officers regarding a ban on gatherings, the youths attempted to proceed with their programme to paint new graffiti on the expressway pillars.
Scuffles, injuries amid assembly ban
As the students pushed forward, a physical altercation ensued. During the struggle over paint buckets, several police officers and protesters were splashed with paint.
Witnesses reported that Tania Akter, a 20-year-old student who is four months pregnant, was injured during the police action and was subsequently taken to a private hospital for a check-up.
Three individuals were briefly detained during the unrest to bring the situation under control but were later released following protests from the group, some of whom staged a sit-in on the road.
The flare-up follows a decision by the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) on Monday morning to ban all meetings, processions, and gatherings from GEC intersection to Dewanhat.
The order, signed by CMP Commissioner Hasan Mohammad Shawkat Ali, was issued after tensions rose on Sunday evening between National Citizen Party (NCP) activists and BNP supporters over allegations that the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) was erasing murals commemorating the July uprising.
Arif Moinuddin, the member secretary of the Chattogram city unit of the NCP, condemned the police action as “heinous,” alleging that the police took the side of Mayor Shahadat Hossain to attack “July warriors.”
He clarified that Monday’s activity was not an official NCP programme but an initiative by students. CMP Additional Commissioner (Administration) Wahidul Haque Chowdhury stated that a committee would be formed to investigate the incident.
Mayor denies allegations of erasing history
Responding to the allegations, Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) mayor Shahadat Hossain dismissed the claims of erasing revolution-related graffiti as “utterly false” and politically motivated.
Addressing a press briefing at the CCC office in Tigerpass on Monday, the mayor asserted that he had never issued any orders to remove July movement graffiti, nor would he do so in the future.
Shahadat explained that the CCC’s cleaning department regularly removes posters and banners and repaints walls as part of routine city beautification. He noted that the pillars in question were covered in posters and did not feature visible graffiti.
“There is no question of going against the spirit of July-August. I myself have been on the streets for 17 years. The first martyr of the anti-discrimination movement in Chattogram, Wasim Akram, was my own follower,” the mayor said.
He challenged those wishing to paint murals to engage students from the Art College to create “artistic and high-quality” graffiti, offering personal or CCC funding for such initiatives to ensure the city’s image is preserved.
Shahadat further suggested that the NCP’s recent actions were an attempt to “fish in muddy waters” ahead of the local government elections.
While noting that his legal term as mayor continues until 2029 following a court order, he called for a free and fair election to be held soon.
