Report in The Daily Star, May 28, 2017
Dhaka: The statue of Lady Justice, which was taken down early Friday, was reinstalled last night in front of the Supreme Court’s annex building.
The reinstallation work started around 7:00pm.
Sculptor Mrinal Haque told The Daily Star that he considered the new home of the sculpture not a home at all since people would hardly notice it now.
He said the previous location was the best place for the sculpture but he was happy that it, at least, has finally found a home.
“The Supreme Court authorities notified me about relocating the sculpture there this [yesterday] morning,” he said.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, however, told The Daily Star that he did not know anything about the relocation and the chief justice was also not informed about it.
Law Minister Anisul Huq also made similar statements when this newspaper contacted him late last night.
While visiting the area around 11:20pm, The Daily Star correspondent saw seven to eight people working at the site.
The statue was brought in front of the annex building, behind the extension building of the SC, in a pick-up truck.
A small crane was used and Mirnal Haque was seen giving directions.
A team from Shahbagh Police Station, with Officer-in-Charge Abul Hassan leading, was guarding the premises. When newsman tried to take photographs of the activities, policemen asked them to leave.
Earlier, the statue was removed from in front of the SC building around 4:00am on Friday amid demands by some radical Islamist groups, including Hefajat-e Islam and Awami Olama League.
The statue’s removal sparked protests across the country, while people turned to social media to express their anger and frustration over it. Several socio-political and cultural organisations termed the incident an ominous sign for the country.
The removal of the statue came as a victory for the Islamist groups, which brought out processions thanking the prime minister at different places on Friday. The Islamist organisations now demand removal of all statues in the country.
http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/lady-justice-reinstalled-1412017
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