Bangladesh launches probe after effigy resembling ex-leader Hasina burnt

Face of Fascism, an effigy to be paraded as part of the Bengali New Year’s celebration march, lies in ashes after being set on fire at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Dhaka University on April 12, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP

An effigy said to resemble ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and titled “Face of Fascism” was torched ahead of a celebratory march in Dhaka, authorities said on Saturday (April 12, 2025).

The cane-and-paper effigy was part of preparations being made at Dhaka University for Pohela Boishakh, a day symbolically considered as the start of the year by the Bengali community, on Monday.

The effigy portrayed a woman with a toothy grin, four horns on her head and a large nose, with many on social media believing it resembled Hasina.

Mohammed Azharul Islam Sheikh, dean of the university’s fine arts faculty, said it was set on fire by “unidentified persons” early on Saturday. A complaint was raised with police and an investigation will be undertaken, he said.

However, Bangladesh cultural affairs adviser Mostofa Sarwar Faruqui accused “friends of Hasina” of setting fire to it.

“Those who have shown such reckless audacity… will be brought to justice,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Another structure on the site, a dove representing peace, was also damaged in the fire. Fire service and civil defence spokesperson Shahjahan Sikder told reporters that the cause of the fire was unknown.

The annual march has been organised by Dhaka University’s fine arts department since 1989 and was declared an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2016.

Hasina is wanted on charges of crimes against humanity for the killing of hundreds of protesters during the unrest that toppled her government last August.

She has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh after she fled to old ally India as crowds stormed her palace.