A concert of Nagar Baul James organised in Faridpur was cancelled yesterday, Friday.
The concert was called off after outsiders began throwing bricks on the final day of the 185th anniversary celebrations and reunion of Faridpur Zilla School.
James, however, views the incident as mismanagement and failure on the part of the organisers. He told Prothom Alo, “This was entirely the organisers’ mismanagement and failure.”
Rubaiyat Thakur Robin, spokesperson for band Nagar Baul and James, told Prothom Alo, “We reached Faridpur at 7:30 pm to take part in the event. After the programme began, we learned that a chaotic situation ensued at the venue.”
“At that time, we were still at the guest house. At around 10:30 pm, when the situation worsened significantly, we were informed that the programme had been cancelled. We then returned to Dhaka,” he continued.
According to sources from the organising committee, the reunion and cultural programme was intended only for registered former and current students. Several thousand unregistered outsiders arrived after hearing that James would perform. When they were not allowed inside, they gathered on nearby Mujib Road.”
Later, the organising committee set up two projectors outside. However, dissatisfied with this, the outsiders around 9:30 pm attempted to climb over the wall to get inside. When they were prevented from doing so, they reportedly began throwing bricks one after another towards the audience and the stage inside the school premises.
When security personnel tried to stop them, they became even more careless. As a result of the brick-throwing, 25 to 30 people inside the school compound were injured. At one point, when four to five people managed to climb over the wall and entered the school premises, students of the Zilla School allegedly slapped and punched them.
Considering the situation, shortly before 10:00 pm, Benjir Ahmed Tabriz, a member of the security subcommittee and an alumnus of Faridpur Zilla School, announced the cancellation of the cultural programme.
Benjir Ahmed Tabriz said that 20 to 25 people, including reunion committee convener Mostafizur Rahman Shamim, were injured by bricks thrown from outside. Several of the injured were admitted to hospital.
Faridpur Kotwali Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Mohammad Shahidul Islam said that after news spread that James was coming to perform, 20,000 to 25,000 people gathered in front of the school.
It was impossible to accommodate such a large crowd inside the school premises. As outsiders were not allowed to enter, minor disorder broke out. The OC said that ultimately the entire performance was cancelled in order to keep the situation under control.