‘It’s an insult to our culture’
Accusing an individual of "hurting religious sentiments" for posting lyrics from a Lalon song is an insult to our culture, said Naripokkho in a statement yesterday.
They vehemently protested the arrest of Sanjoy Rakhit, 40, who had posted lines from Lalongeeti on his social media account.
"It is the civic right of a person to practice their culture," said the statement.
This is not the first time a member of minority community has been arrested using the excuse of "religious sentiments being hurt", it added.
On Saturday, Sanjoy, a local goldsmith, posted two lines from Lalon's song "Sab Loke Koy Lalan Ki Jaat Ei Sansare". The post went viral and caused an uproar in the local Muslim community.
A crowd soon gathered near Sanjoy's house and locals informed the police, who went to the spot and brought him to the police station.
Police booked him under Section 54 of Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows police to arrest, without a warrant, someone they suspect to be linked to an offence.
Naripokkho said it is deplorable that written legal complaints are rarely taken into account, while Sanjoy was arrested based on "verbal complaints" of the locals.
Arresting members of the minority using the excuse that they have "hurt religious sentiments" is turning into a trend, said the press release, adding that this violates civic rights.
"Religious sentiments are subjective. Associating someone's opinions with the act of 'hurting religious sentiments' is ill-intentioned communalism," said Naripokkho.
It is an abuse of the law to arrest someone based on such complaints, they added.
Naripokkho demanded that Sanjoy's case be fully dismissed.
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