Victory Day Programmes: Threatening letter stops rehearsals at school

A school in Dinajpur's Ghoraghat suspended all rehearsals for cultural programmes for next month's Victory Day celebrations after receiving a letter demanding a halt to such activities as Islam does not support it.

Shafiqul Islam, headmaster of Joyrampur High School, told this correspondent about the development and that he filed a general diary with Ghoraghat Police Station in this regard on November 12.

The letter was sent by Bangladesh Islamic Sochetan Dal on November 4.

The Daily Star obtained copies of the threatening letter and the GD yesterday. The letter also said the group is ready to "sacrifice their lives for Allah".

In the GD, the headmaster also named three villagers -- Abdur Razzak, Abdul Wadud and Ruhul Amin -- who had gone to the school on November 6 and also demanded a halt to the rehearsals.

Azim Uddin, officer-in-charge of Ghoraghat Police Station, said a GD was lodged over the issue on November 12 and police interrogated all three persons mentioned in the GD.

The OC said there was a land dispute between the three and the headmaster .

The headmaster, on the other hand, alleged that the issue had become more complicated due to the inaction of the police.

Razzak, one of those mentioned in the GD, said he had no knowledge of the letter.