Posters of the banned organization Hizb ut-Tahrir have recently been found plastered around the broken “Deepto Shopoth” sculpture, which was erected in memory of the police officers killed during the militant attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan in 2016.
Gulshan police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mazharul said it was an old incident, adding that someone had tried to create confusion by posting photos of it recently.
"The incident (vandalism) occurred on August 5. We also visited the Holey Artisan Bakery area, checked the surroundings and took photos. Nothing out of the ordinary was observed," he added.
A person named Badhon Munshi wrote on Facebook on Wednesday night that the monument in Gulshan, built in memory of the police officers killed at Holey Artisan, had been vandalized, and the banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir had put up its posters there.
As of Tuesday night, parts of the vandalized sculpture were still lying on the ground, and the posters of Hizb ut-Tahrir were visible, according to media reports.
On the night of July 1, 2016, a group of armed extremists took several people hostage at Holey Artisan Bakery, located in Gulshan 2.
It was the month of Ramadan, and the bakery was a popular spot among foreigners. The militants targeted this restaurant to make their presence known.
The group of five young militants stormed into the bakery, killing 20 people, including 17 foreign nationals, using firearms and sharp weapons.
Among the victims were nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, two Bangladeshis and one Bangladeshi-American.
Additionally, two police officers were killed while trying to stop the attack.
In 2018, the Deepto Shopoth sculpture was inaugurated in front of the old Gulshan police station in memory of the slain police officers by the then commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government amid a mass uprising on August 5, there have been attempts to destroy various sculptures across the country.
The most targeted have been sculptures of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with many memorials related to the Liberation War.
Since that day, Hizb ut-Tahrir has started marching openly. On August 10, after Friday prayers, members of the organization held a procession from Baitul Mukarram to the National Press Club, where they also held a brief rally.
The Awami League government banned Hizb ut-Tahrir on October 22, 2009, stating that the activities of the organization posed a threat to public safety.
Hizb ut-Tahrir first became active in Bangladesh when the BNP-Jamaat coalition was in power, advocating for the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate.
The organization is also banned in several other Muslim-majority countries due to allegations of spreading extremism globally.