Natore Correspondent

Police in Natore's Singra upazila put up a sign reading "Temporary Police Camp” residence of former Natore-3 MP and ex-state minister for Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, Zunaid Ahmed Palak and within hours removed it, raising questions and discussions among locals.

Singra Police Station Officer-in-Charge Asmaul Haque said on Thursday that the measure was taken as a strategic move to protect the building from potential vandalism by an agitated mob. However, the signboard was later removed.

A photograph of the sign circulated on social media on Thursday, sparking local debates. The image showed two young men tying a rope to a signboard on the second-floor balcony grill of Palak’s three-storey house in Goradown Para, Singra municipal town, under the cover of night. The sign read: “Temporary Police Camp, Singra Police Station, Natore.”

Local sources said that on Tuesday (4 March) at around 7 PM, in the presence of several Singra police officers, two young men went up to the second floor of Palak’s house and put up the banner before leaving. As word spread, curious onlookers gathered at the scene. However, at some point that night, the sign was taken down.

OC Asmaul said that after the vandalism of Dhanmondi 32 house, they received intelligence that a politically motivated attempt could be made to demolish Palak’s house. “To protect the building, we put up a signboard to deter any such action.”

When asked why the sign was later removed, the OC said, “We simply wanted to signal that the police are on alert.”

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 last year due to a student-led uprising, a mob attacked Palak’s three-storey house in Singra’s Godown Para that very afternoon, vandalising, looting, and setting it on fire. Since then, the house has remained abandoned.