Fire set at July memorial in Kushtia

Allegations have emerged of arson at a July memorial in Kushtia late on Monday night. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.

The incident reportedly took place at the July memorial located in front of the Abrar Fahad Stadium in Kushtia town late on Monday night.

The video of the incident surfaced on social media on Tuesday afternoon. In the video, a person is heard shouting various slogans and making statements about the July movement.

In the video, he is heard saying, "I do not fear bullets or bombs, Sheikh Hasina will come — Bangladesh will smile," "There is no place for Razakars in my golden Bengal, Joy Bangla — Joy Bangabandhu," and "I do not fear Hanif bhai, I have not left the streets. I do not fear Kamarul bhai, I have not left the streets."

The person is also heard saying, "Conspirators and militants have driven my leader out of Bangladesh, forced her to leave Bangladesh. We do not accept this July, we never will. Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh, we will welcome Sheikh Hasina back in December, InshaAllah."

Sultan Maruf Talha, a leader of the anti-discrimination movement and member secretary of the National Citizen Party's Kushtia district unit, has questioned the administration's role in the incident.

He said criminals are emboldened to commit such acts due to the administration's negligence. He demanded that the culprits be identified and arrested quickly by reviewing CCTV footage.

He further said the banned Chhatra League is trying to intimidate through sabotage. But the July fighters do not care about any intimidation. Such incidents are happening due to the administration's negligence. The perpetrators must be arrested by reviewing CCTV footage immediately, and police patrolling around the memorial must be increased.

After the news spread, senior police officials, including Kushtia Additional Superintendent of Police Pranab Kumar Sarkar and Kushtia Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Kabir Hossain Matubbar, visited the scene on Tuesday afternoon.

Police officials have assured that those involved will be identified and brought under the law quickly.