Rashed Khan Accuses Jamaat Leader’s Advisor Over Defacement of Rabindranath Graffiti

Rashed Khan, the Prime Minister's political assistant, has accused Barrister Shahriar Kabir—an advisor to the Jamaat-e-Islami chief—of providing funding in connection with the incident where graffiti of Rabindranath Tagore was defaced with lime and soot. He also raised questions regarding the identity of the accused, Ayas, and the individuals backing him. Furthermore, Rashed Khan criticized the political stance of Jamaat-e-Islami.
He leveled these allegations in a post on his Facebook account on Sunday (October 11). In the post, alongside commenting on the positions held by Rabindranath Tagore, Dhaka University, and Jamaat-e-Islami, he made various claims regarding Ayas's past activities.

Rashed Khan remarked that Jamaat-e-Islami—an organization that opposed Bangladesh's independence—is now protesting against the claim that Rabindranath Tagore had opposed the establishment of Dhaka University.
He asserted that while the Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) could not publicly stand by Ayas, Jamaat has openly sided with him. In this context, he questioned Ayas's true identity and the forces operating behind his activities.
In his Facebook post, Rashed Khan alleged that an individual named Ujjal from Mymensingh came to Dhaka, altered his name, hairstyle, and appearance, and adopted the identity of "July Warrior Ayas."

He further claimed that Ujjal, alias Ayas, had previously served time in prison in connection with a fraud case, noting that the legal proceedings for that case are still ongoing. However, no independently verified documents supporting these claims have been found.
Meanwhile, Rashed Khan also expressed suspicion regarding the deletion of data from Ayas's WhatsApp account. He alleged that on Sunday, while inside a prison van, Ayas accessed his WhatsApp and instructed that all data be deleted.
The Prime Minister's political assistant raised questions about the nature of the information contained in the WhatsApp account and the reasons behind the instruction to delete it.
The most serious allegation has been leveled against Barrister Shahriar Kabir, an advisor to the Jamaat chief. Rashed Khan alleges that the lawyer provided funds to Ayas to purchase the materials needed to smear lime and soot over the graffiti of Rabindranath Tagore.
He further alleges that Shahriar Kabir is providing financial backing and counsel to various controversial organizations and activities that have emerged under the banner of the July movement.
Rashed Khan believes that Ayas was instructed to delete WhatsApp data specifically to shield Shahriar Kabir from potential complications. However, it has not been confirmed whether any verifiable evidence supporting this allegation has been made public.
It is worth noting that on October 11, Ayas and three others were formally arrested in a sedition case regarding the defacement of the Rabindranath Tagore graffiti on the wall in front of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the capital's Segunbagicha area. The court subsequently granted remand for their interrogation over varying periods.

However, no statements regarding the allegations raised by Rashed Khan have been obtained from Ayas, Barrister Shahriar Kabir, or relevant representatives of Jamaat-e-Islami. Consequently, the allegations have not yet been independently verified.