Flags Hoisted at Faridpur Awami League Office on First Day of Agnijhara March

On the first day of the Agnijhara March, national and party flags were hoisted at the Faridpur Municipal Awami League office, and a brief programme was held to pay tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The event took place around 7:00am on Saturday (March 1) at the Awami League office located at Thana Mor in the Chawkbazar area of Faridpur city. The building was previously used as the district Awami League office.

According to eyewitnesses, eight to ten leaders and activists of the Jubo League were present. They first hoisted the national flag and the party flag, followed by slogan chanting. Later, they garlanded Bangabandhu’s portrait and delivered short speeches.

Slogans included “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu” and calls for the return of Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh.

The programme was led by Shariful Hasan Plabon, a member of the Faridpur District Jubo League Convening Committee. He said the event was organised to honour Bangabandhu and recall the spirit of the independence movement.

He referred to Bangabandhu’s historic March 7, 1971 speech at the Race Course Maidan, saying it inspired the nation to prepare for the final struggle for independence and gave Bengalis a distinct identity.

Faridpur Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Shahidul Islam said police had not received prior information about the flag-hoisting. He added that no flags were found at the office later and described the building as abandoned.

The office on Thana Road served as the district Awami League office for many years. In 2022, a new district office was opened on Hasibul Hasan Lavlu Road in Alipur. Following political unrest in August 2014, that office was demolished, and a July Memorial has since been built at the site under a government initiative.

Flag Stands Removed Later the same day, at around 5:30pm, leaders and activists of the Chhatra Dal cut down and removed three steel flag-hoisting stands from the second floor of the Faridpur Municipal Awami League office.

District Chhatra Dal President Syed Adnan Hossain told reporters that Awami League activists had hoisted flags at the office for two consecutive days, causing tension near the nearby police station.

He said the flag stands were removed by students in the afternoon but claimed he did not personally lead the action.