‘Distortion of national anthem’: Madrasa in Cumilla closed by upazila administration

Cumilla's Muradnagar upazila administration has shut down all activities of a madrasa at Siddheshwari area on allegation of its authority "distorting the national anthem".

A video of the song performed by the madrasa students at morning assembly went viral on social media, reports our Cumilla correspondent.

Avishek Das, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Muradnagar, confirmed the incident to The Daily Star.

He said, "After watching the video, we called up the president and secretary of Siddheshwari Dakkhinpara Jam-e Masjid where the madrasa was opened last month. We decided to stop operation of activities at the madrasa, as they did not take permission regarding operation," he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Cumilla was informed of the incident.

The UNO added, "The teacher who allegedly conducted the assembly was not found at the madrasa. However, we spoke to him over phone and he pledged to withdraw the video from his social media account. He was regretful and apologised."

Inspector (investigation) of Muradnagar upazila, Nahid Ahmad, said, "I have visited the Siddheshwari Dakkhinpara madrasa and asked the masjid committee to stop the operations until further decision from the administration."

Alim Bhuiyan, cashier of Siddheshwari Dakkhinpara Jam-e Masjid Committee, said, "The madrasa was opened in September, and has been closed today after the UNO intervened on allegation of distorting the national anthem. The UNO, however, asked to keep the mosque open."

The teacher, Mohammad Najibullah Afshari, who allegedly conducted the assembly could not be reached for comment despite our correspondent repeatedly calling him.