Unidentified criminals on Tuesday night vandalised the temporary Shaheed Minar on the premises of Dakkhin Muradia Mohila Dakhil Madrasa in Dumki upazila of the district.

Students and teachers of the institution built the makeshift banana tree structure, symbolising the memorial for the martyred Language Movement heroes, on Tuesday.

Criminals also painted the word mohapap (great sin) on one of the stairs of the ransacked memorial.

After hearing about the incident Dumki Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rayhan Ahmed visited the spot yesterday morning.

 After making the temporary memorial students left the campus on Tuesday evening, said Madrasa Principal Kazi Shah Jalal.

When the students reached the campus early yesterday they found one of the three banana trees floating in a nearby ditch while the other two were uprooted, the principal said, adding that after repairing the Shaheed Minar they offered their homage to the martyrs of the Language Movement.

Sumaiya Akhter, a Class X student of the institution, said they were very sad to see the Shaheed Minar ransacked.

Officer-in-Charge of Dumki Police Station Dibakar Chandra Das said a general diary (GD) was lodged with the police station in connection with the incident.

UNO Rayhan said they have asked the madrasa authority to construct a permanent Shaheed Minar on its premises.