Actress Jyotika Jyoti, who also served as the Director of the Research Department at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, left the office on Tuesday (September 17) following protests from her colleagues. Tension escalated when Jyoti arrived at the office that morning, eventually leading to her departure from the premises.

A video clip of the incident quickly spread across social media. In the one-minute-fifteen-second video, loud voices of agitated staff members can be heard outside, while inside, Jyoti is seen calmly packing her belongings into a bag before leaving the room.

Later that day, around 2:45 pm, Jyoti went live from her verified Facebook page to address the situation. "I've noticed changes in many places due to the current political climate, but I haven't been to the office in a while," she explained. "Our Secretary advised me not to go, but since my position is still intact, I felt it was my duty to show up after a long time."

"I didn't realise the gravity of the situation when I first arrived," she continued. "I noticed a group of people outside who seemed agitated. One of our other directors informed me of the situation. Our Director General was in a meeting, and I was waiting to speak with him to make a decision. When he came out, he told me, 'Why are you here in such a situation? Let me handle this. Please leave for now, and we'll decide what to do next.'"

Following his instructions, Jyoti returned to her office to gather her personal items. "I went to the lobby intending to speak to the people gathered there, but none of them wanted to engage in conversations with me. It felt strange, as these were familiar faces, but today they seemed distant," Jyoti shared in the video. "In the end, I just left."

Notably, Jyoti had been part of the controversial WhatsApp group "Alo Ashbei", which included many fellow artists. She was appointed Director of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in March of last year. However, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on March 5, Jyoti found herself in a difficult position. Her absence from Shilpakala's recent activities had been noticeable over the last few days.

Read more

Artistes unite to protest violence against Bangladesh Television