A group of miscreants attacked the Uttara residence of playwright and Bangla Academy literary award winner Professor Dr Ratan Siddiqui and assaulted him just before Jumma prayers on Friday.
The incident took place when the Government Titumir College teacher asked them to clear the entrance to the house and let him park his car.
A group of miscreants attacked the residence of Professor Dr Ratan Siddiqui and assaulted him on Friday CollectedThe agitated people – mainly locals and some vegetable vendors – physically assaulted the professor and his driver, and also chanted slogans against the family, labeling them as atheists and Hindus, Purnabha Haque Siddiqui, daughter of Prof Ratan, told Bangla Tribune.
Police, however, termed it a trivial “argument” over the placing of a motorcycle in front of the gate of the house on Road 6/A under Sector 5.
Colleagues and netizens have condemned the assaults and demanded an investigation, while asking the government to ensure safety of the teachers – as they have been targeted across the country recently.
"Hundreds of people attacked the gate of our house during the prayers and tried to break down the gate," Purnabha said.
A group of people sets up a makeshift market in front of the gate on Fridays. “For these reasons, we cannot drive home. Even today (yesterday), the car was not allowed to enter as a motorcycle was parked in front of the gate. When my father asked the people nearby to remove the motorcycle, they shouted at him, tried to break down the gate and swooped on him, terming him an atheist. At that time, many people shouted ‘Hindu, Hindu’ while some others chanted ‘Naraye Takbir’. Some of them threw stones at our house.
“They forced my father to apologize and shake hands with them after the assault.”
She alleged that the Musullis do not allow them to feed dogs in front of the gate and have threatened to kill them all someday. “They create a mess which goes on till 2:30pm every Friday, and we can’t say anything. No one came to help us today (yesterday),” Purnabha said, adding that it was a pre-planned attack.
Morshed Alam, deputy commissioner of police’s Uttara Division, said: "Prof Ratan Siddiqui's house is next to the mosque. There was an argument with the worshipers about this.”
Prof Ratan Siddiqui has served as acting chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board and is a former vice president of the Udichi central unit and general secretary of the Bangladesh Pragati Writers' Association. He was awarded the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 2020 for his contributions to drama.
