The ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Bangladesh's Sirajganj district was vandalised by a mob on Wednesday, prompting authorities to form a three-member investigation committee.
According to media report, the incident followed an altercation between a visitor and an employee at Kachharibari, also known as Rabindra Kachharibari or Rabindra Memorial Museum, on Tuesday.
The altercation erupted over motorcycle parking fee and the visitor was allegedly confined in an office room and physically assaulted by the employees.
The incident sparked local protests. But the agitation later escalated leading to a mob attacking and vandalising the auditorium of the Kachhari Bari and beat a director of the institution.
Some reports claimed that the mob raised slogans against Tagore and broke windows and furniture in the office.
According to BSS news agency, the Department of Archeology constituted a three-member probe committee to investigate the attack. The committee has been asked to submit its report within next five working days.
Visitors’ access to Kachharibari has been temporarily suspended.
Kachharibari is the ancestral home and revenue office of the Tagore family. Rabindranath Tagore created many of his literary works while living in this mansion.
The Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the incident and termed it an open assault on Bengal’s cultural soul.
“Tagore belongs to the world, but he is the pride of every Bengali. Yet across the border, his legacy is being trampled — and here in West Bengal, under Mamata Banerjee’s rule, we are witnessing something eerily similar,” BJP national IT dept in-charge Amit Maviya said in a post on X.