Kachharibari of Tagore attacked after ‘quarrel over parking’

A group of people attacked the historic Rabindra Kachharibari in Sirajganj's Shahjadpur upazila yesterday. The attack stemmed from a quarrel between the staff and a local visitor over motorcycle parking on Sunday, police and locals said.

The attackers, mostly young men, broke open the entrance around 11:30am and vandalised the auditorium, doors, and windows, said Habibur Rahman, custodian of the Kachharibari.

The mansion, which houses a memorial museum named after the Nobel laureate, remained unharmed, he said.

"There were visitors at the site who panicked due to the sudden attack. We took shelter during the attack and informed police immediately," Habibur said.

"The staffers tried to resist as the attackers marched toward the museum. By this time, police had rushed to the spot and stopped the attackers," he said, adding that five to six people, including staffers, were injured in the attack.

Aslam Ali, officer-in-charge of Shahjadpur Police Station, said they learned that the attack was carried out following a quarrel over parking a motorcycle outside the Kachharibari on Sunday.

No major damage was reported, he said, adding that police were deployed there.

The museum was closed to visitors after the attack. Many travelling from other districts had to return home without visiting the museum.

One of them, Arpan Kumar, had brought his family from Thakurgaon yesterday noon. "We had to return home as the gate of the Kachharibari was closed," he said.

Enamul Haque, another visitor who had also arrived with his family, criticised the attack, saying, "Criminal activities at a historic site like Shahzadpur Rabindra Kachharibari are unacceptable."

Shahzadpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Kamruzzaman described the attack as a criminal offence. "We have asked the Kachharibari authority to file a case with the police. We have taken necessary steps to keep security in the archaeological site."

Locals said that a man from Rooppur village had a quarrel with Kachharibari security personnel over parking a motorcycle.

When he attacked them, the Kachharibari officials caught him and beat him up, the locals said. A group of people organised a human chain yesterday morning, protesting against the beating of the man, according to the residents of the area. The attack occurred afterwards.

Rabindranath's grandfather Prince Dwarkanath Tagore bought the estate in Shahzadpur from Zamindar Rani Bhabani of Natore in 1840, long before the poet's birth.

After getting the responsibility to maintain the estate, Rabindranath visited Shahjadpur several times and stayed at the mansion of the Kachharibari for years in phases.