Bangladeshi freelancer music video model and actor Ashraful Hossen Alom, popularly known as Hero Alom was allegedly tortured mentally by the Dhaka police last week.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) on August 3, the singer alleged that he was mentally tortured by the police who threatened him to stop performing classical songs, particularly songs of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and Bangladesh’s national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Alom said he was called ‘ugly’ by the police officials during the interrogation that lasted for eight hours.
“The police asked me why I sing Rabindra and Nazrul songs. They wanted me to sign an apology bond,” the 37-year-old told AFP.
Dhaka’s chief detective Harun ur Rashid told reporters that Alom had apologized for singing the cherished songs and for wearing police uniforms without permission in his videos.
“We received many complaints against him. He totally changed the (traditional) style (of singing)… He assured us that he won’t repeat this,” Harun said.
Alom has nearly two million Facebook followers and almost 1.5 million on YouTube with his unique crooning style and raunchy videos.
Rejecting Alom’s claims, Farook Hossain, deputy police commissioner of Dhaka described it as a PR stunt by the singer to gain more popularity.
Following the events, the internet broke in support of Alom.
“I am not a fan of your songs or your acting. But if there is an attempt to muzzle your voice, I stand up against it,” journalist Aditya Arafat posted.
“Don’t be broken. You are a hero. No matter what others say, you are a real hero,” Sanjida Khatun Rakhi wrote on Alom’s Facebook page.
Alom has acted in several Bangladeshi films and also contested elections on an independent ticket.
