Thirteen Years On, Taqi Remembered

Thirteen years after the killing of Tanvir Muhammad Taqi, civic groups in Narayanganj have announced a three-day programme to commemorate his death and renew calls for justice. The anniversary falls on 6 March, marking more than a decade since the teenager’s body was recovered from the Shitalakkhya River.

The announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon through a press release signed by Halim Azad, Member Secretary of the anti-violence platform Shontrash Nirmul Taqi Mancha. The organisers say the events are intended not only to honour Taqi’s memory but also to protest what they describe as prolonged judicial inaction.

According to the schedule, floral tributes and a milad prayer gathering will be held at 9:30 am on 6 March at Taqi’s grave at Siraj Shah’s shrine in the Bandar area of Narayanganj. On 8 March at 7:00 pm, Narayanganj Cultural Alliance will organise a candle-lighting ceremony at the city’s Central Shaheed Minar. The observances will culminate on 14 March at 2:30 pm with a special rally in front of the National Parliament building in Dhaka.

The final event, titled the “Taqi Assembly”, will feature speeches, music, theatre performances and live art, all centred on demanding accountability and an end to impunity in the case. Organisers say the cultural dimension reflects the enduring civic engagement that has characterised the movement since 2013.

Commemorative Programme Schedule

Tanvir Muhammad Taqi went missing on 6 March 2013 after leaving his home on Shaista Khan Road in Narayanganj. Two days later, on 8 March, police recovered his body from Kumudini Canal in the Shitalakkhya River. The murder sparked widespread public outrage and became emblematic of concerns about political influence and delayed justice.

On 5 March 2014, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) announced at a press conference that eleven individuals had allegedly killed Taqi in a torture cell, reportedly on the instructions of members of the influential Osman family of Narayanganj. Authorities stated at the time that a charge sheet would soon be submitted to court. However, more than a decade later, no formal indictment has been filed.

Since the killing, Narayanganj Cultural Alliance has observed monthly candle-lighting programmes on the eighth day of each month, demanding the arrest of the accused and the commencement of trial proceedings.

As the thirteenth anniversary approaches, campaigners insist that remembrance must be accompanied by renewed pressure for justice, asserting that accountability remains long overdue.