GD filed after organisers threatened over Mangal Shobhajatra

A general diary (GD) was filed last night after the organisers of Mangal Shobhajatra received a letter threatening to carry out an attack on the event during the upcoming Pahela Baishakh.

Event organiser Abtahi Rahman Utshab, 25, filed the GD with Shahbagh Police Station late Tuesday (11 April), Bayzidur Rahman, assistant commissioner of Ramna zone, told The Business Standard.

He said police high-ups have been informed about the threat and an investigation is underway.

According to the police, organisers found a threat note saying there would be an attack at any time on the Mangal Shobhajatra on the day of Pahela Baishakh.

Mangal Shobhajatra is a mass procession that takes place at dawn on the first day of the Bangla new year. 

The finance and security committee of Mangal Shobhajatra organisers reportedly found the threat written on a white paper along with a Tk50 note left on a plastic chair when they were inspecting the decoration of the west wall of the Faculty of Fine Arts ahead of the event on 14 April.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education in a notice directed educational institutions across the country to give due importance to Pohela Boishakh celebrations and include Msngsl Shobhajatra in them.

The directorate said educational institutions must celebrate the Bangla New Year in a festive atmosphere under their own management on Friday (14 April). Student participation has also been made mandatory in Mangal Shobhajatra.