Shillong, Aug 6: In an unfortunate incident that will hurt the sentiments of the people of Meghalaya, the statue of the legendary Khasi freedom fighter, U Tirot Sing Syiem, at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has been completely destroyed by an unruly mob.

A video surfaced online on Tuesday showing the completely gutted building of the IGCC in which the statue has been destroyed and only the pedestal with his nameplate remains. The building was reportedly gutted on Monday.

Shocking visuals. Aftermath of attack, loot and arson by Islamists at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) at Dhaka in Bangladesh which is a Cultural Centre of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations of GOI. Entire building gutted. Is this what the protest was all about? pic.twitter.com/VfK34h5V7A

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 6, 2024

Large scale violent protests erupted in Bangladesh on Monday, forcing Sheikh Hasina to resign as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh as well as flee the country within few minutes. She is currently in India and the Army has taken over the control of the country’s affairs to form an interim government.

Shortly after, protestors stormed her palatial residence and looted the property. Unsatisfied, the unruly mobs continued with vandalism in various parts of Dhaka.

The protests in the country had erupted in June this year over a contentious reservation policy for the decedents of the heroes of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. The protests turned violent in July at Dhaka university where few of the protestors died in confrontation with security forces and pro-government groups. The protests and violence quickly spread to other parts of the city and slowly to other parts of the country, leading to death of over 300 people.

The IGCC is a Cultural Centre of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations of Government of India.

The mob also set fire to the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum located at the Dhanmondi area in the Bangladesh capital.

U Tirot Sing Syiem died under house arrest at Dhaka on 17th July, 1835, while he was serving jail term as held captive by the British raj.

His commemorative statue was unveiled at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in Dhaka on February 16, 2024. The thematic murals of the legendary Khasi freedom fighter were also unveiled as part of the Tirot Sing memorial. The ICCR Library in Dhaka was also renamed as the U Tirot Sing Library.

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