Why ask absurd questions as a journalist? — Shahbagh OC responds to query on whether the March 7 speech is banned

❐ Staff Reporter

Shahbagh Police have arrested two people, including a former student of Dhaka University, from Chankharpul intersection in Dhaka in connection with the incident of playing the historic March 7 speech of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

However, multiple sources said that at least four people have been arrested in the incident. The names and identities of the others were not immediately known.

Shahbagh Police Station OC Moniruzzaman got angry when asked whether the March 7 speech was banned or not, and said, “As journalists, why are you asking contradictory questions?”

The incident took place at Chankharpul intersection adjacent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital at around 3:30 pm on Saturday, March 7.

Police allege that the detainees were publicly broadcasting Bangabandhu’s March 7th speech by playing it on sound boxes.

Asif Ahmed, who was arrested in Chankharpul, was a student of the Physics Department of Dhaka University in the 2018-19 academic year. The names and identities of the others have not yet been disclosed by the police.

Police arrested him at around 3:30 pm on Saturday. A short while later, the police seized the soundbox and arrested the operator.

A shopkeeper at Chankharpul intersection said, “I was setting up shop at 3 o’clock. Then I saw two people playing Aisa Bhasan. Later, the police took them away.”

Shahbagh Police Station OC Moniruzzaman said that since Awami League-related activities are banned and rallies or campaigns centered on the March 7 speech are prohibited, they are seeing this as a violation of the law.

However, critics say that the March 7th speech is part of UNESCO’s recognized world heritage and part of national history—it is unreasonable to ban its playing.

Meanwhile, demands for the release of the detainees have been raised on social media. Many have called it an interference with freedom of speech and the preservation of historical memory. Police said that legal action will be taken after the detainees are questioned.

This incident has further intensified the ongoing debate in the country surrounding March 7th.