Song at Ctg puja mandap sparks outrage

A group of youths sang a song calling for Islamic revolution  on the stage of a puja mandap in Chattogram city yesterday evening, causing widespread outrage.
A video clip of the rendition at JM Sen Hall in the Rahmatganj area went viral on the social media. 
In another clip of the incident, the six men were seen singing in chorus a song about harmony among people of different religions.
Hillol Sen Uzzal, general secretary of the Puja Udjapan Parishad in Chattogram, told The Daily Star that the incident shocked the local Hindu community and created a tense situation in the area.
Farida Khanom, deputy commissioner of Chattogram, then visited the spot and said a case would be filed over the matter.
Those involved will be brought to book in a day or two, she added.
Uzzal said the incident happened around 7:00pm.
“When I heard about it, I went there and learned that the men introduced themselves as members of Chattogram Cultural Academy and asked Sajal Dutta, the assistant general secretary of Chattogram Puja Udjapan Parishad, for permission to sing some patriotic songs,” he said.
“In good faith, Sajal gave them permission. But they then sang an Islamic song,” he added.
Apurba Jahangir, deputy press secretary to the chief adviser, wrote on Facebook that he arrived at the spot after 8:00pm and saw organisers of the puja announce on stage that Sajal Dutta was expelled from the Puja Udjapan Parishad.
Qadaruddin Shishir, fact check editor at AFP in Bangladesh, wrote on Facebook that people who are saying the viral clip is fake or edited are wrong. 
He added that Sajal Dutta invited a local cultural organisation. “A source informed that the organisation is of pro-Jamaat cultural activists.”
A correspondent of this newspaper saw a group of locals chanting slogans denouncing the puja organisers at JM Sen Hall amid heavy presence of law enforcers.
Selim Jaman, president of Chattogran Cultural Academy, told reporters that the singers went there because they were invited by Sajal Dutta. The two songs they performed are about harmony. “Some people are spreading an edited video to circulate misinformation.”
Meanwhile, Sadek Abdullah, publicity secretary of Chhatra Shibir, issued a statement, saying that his organisation had nothing to do with the incident.
“We demand formation of an impartial probe body to find out the real reason behind the incident,” it said.