Attorney general: Statue removal by Chief Justice's order

The attorney general has said that the statue of Lady Justice has been removed by instruction of the Chief Justice. Mahbubey Alam told Bangla Tribune early Friday morning that Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha had ordered the statue removed and placed elsewhere on Thursday afternoon. "The Chief Justice summoned me in the afternoon. Dr Kamal Hossain, Khandker Mahbub Hossain and other current and former Supreme Court Bar leaders were present there," he said. "He told us he did not want any untoward incident over the statue in front of the Supreme Court. It should be removed and placed in some other location so that there are no questions raised about it. "We also advised him that it would be prudent to remove the statue from in front of the court." The Chief Justice then instructed concerned officials to take necessary steps, Mahbubey said. The statue was removed from its spot in front of the Supreme Court after four hours of work, starting right after 12am Friday. Sculptor Mrinal Haque was present during the removal. Protesters took position outside the court's main entrance during this work and shouted slogans against the move.