Historic Town Club in Bogura razed to ground

In Bogura, various political offices as well as the historic Town Club were razed to the ground with excavators after being attacked, vandalized and set on fire. Many old documents, photographs, furniture, and various trophies of the club were burned in the fire. Earlier, on August 5, the club had been attacked and set on fire.

On Thursday night (January 6), the Town Club, located near the Awami League office on Satmatha Temple Road in Bogura, was attacked.

Several eyewitnesses to the vandalism and arson incident mentioned that around 8 PM on Thursday, seven to eight young men broke into the office of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) on Satmatha Temple Road. Then, they entered the Awami League office, took out some wooden benches and chairs, and set them on fire. Gradually, their number increased to around 70 to 80 people. They entered Satmatha from Nawab Bari and Station Road in the city. At that time, they attacked and set fire to the Town Club, Chhatra Union, and JASAD offices.

They also mentioned that during the vandalism, some people were heard saying that an excavator from Shajahanpur upazila of Bogura was coming. The excavator would be used to demolish all the offices. After that, around 9 PM, an excavator was brought to the site.

Town Club
The historic Town Club in Bogura was founded in 1896 by several prominent families in the region. The club had 27 members who were freedom fighters, most of whom have passed away. The club has teams registered with the District Sports Organization. The club has earned many prestigious trophies such as the Kuchbihar Maharaja Trophy, Gour Gobinda Maharaja Trophy, and the Saidpur Railway Trophy. Members of past prominent clubs like East Bengal and Mohammedan were also part of the Town Club. Currently, the club has over 200 members and is registered with the Department of Social Welfare. The club's building was constructed on land leased from the district council.

Shamim Kamal Shamim, the current general secretary of the Town Club, confirmed this information and said that the reason behind the vandalism and arson at the club is not clear. The Awami League office is located next to the club, and many people from there used to visit the Town Club. This could be one of the reasons, or maybe the club was mistakenly demolished.

However, eyewitnesses to the incident mentioned that despite some people trying to inform the attackers about the Town Club, the attackers did not listen to them.

In a video of the attack, one of the vandals is heard saying that the land of Bogura is the base of Bangla Bhai (Siddiqul Islam, leader of the banned organization JMB, also known as Bangla Bhai). At that time, the Town Club and political offices were being attacked.

When asked about this, Shamim Kamal Shamim, the general secretary of the Town Club, mentioned that he had heard the attackers saying that the land of Bogura is Bangla Bhai's base. However, the Town Club might have been attacked by mistake.

One of the leaders of the vandalism in Bogura was Nur Mohammad Jubair. He had sold vegetables last November under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

During the vandalism, he told journalists that on July 17 and August 3 of the previous year, they had attacked and vandalized the Awami League office. This time, they were acting under the direction of Pinaki Bhattacharya.

At that time, someone asked him why other offices, in addition to the Awami League office, were being demolished. Jubair replied that the victims (except for the Awami League) could rebuild their offices.

Beginning of the Vandalism
Around 6:30 PM on Thursday, a group of people entered the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court of Bogura, where they smashed the plaque with the name of Sheikh Hasina on the ground floor using a hammer.

Later, around 8 PM, the attack on the Awami League office began. Subsequently, the offices of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Chhatra Union, JASAD, the Town Club, and the National Party were demolished using an excavator.

During this time, law enforcement officers did not appear to obstruct the attackers. In fact, no police officers were seen around the incidents.

Shamim Kamal Shamim, the general secretary of the Town Club, stated, "Who should I file a complaint against for the attack on the club? We would not do anything that jeopardizes our existence. We have families, and it is not right to do something that risks our lives."