150 sued for obstructing Rumeen Farhana from laying wreath at Shaheed Minar

The Bangladesh Mahila Parishad strongly condemned the incident of obstructing newly elected MP Rumeen Farhana from paying tribute at the Shaheed Minar on the occasion of National Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day.

The organisation said that preventing a female MP from paying tribute violates democratic values and freedom of thought.

A case has been also filed against 150 individuals linking to this incident and for assaulting her supporters. Most of the accused are leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated organizations.

The organisation demanded action against those responsible and called for vigilance against misogynistic and unruly behavior.

On Sunday (February 22), one of Rumeen Farhana’s aides, Ahad, lodged the case at Sarail Police Station. The main accused has been named as Anwar Hossain, former general secretary of Sarail Upazila BNP.

According to Officer-in-Charge Monjur Qader Bhuiya, five individuals were named in the FIR, along with 140–150 unidentified persons. The case has been officially registered, and further action will follow the investigation.

The incident occurred on Friday (February 20) around midnight at the Central Shaheed Minar in Sarail of Brahmanbaria, when Rumeen Farhana faced obstruction while laying a wreath at the central Shaheed Minar. Some BNP activists reportedly shouted “fake, fake” slogans, engaged in scuffles, and tore the wreath. Following the incident, Farhana and her supporters left the area.

In protest, her supporters blocked the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Shahbazpur, Sarail, disrupting traffic for nearly an hour.

Rumeen Farhana won the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency (covering Sarail, Ashuganj, and part of Bijoynagar) as an independent candidate after being denied BNP’s nomination. She was subsequently expelled from the party for contesting against its official candidate.