Dhaka, Dec. 19 -- Inqilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi harboured an avid interest in poetry. He had founded the Inqilab Cultural Centre and often recited the works of Bangladesh's rebel poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam. A video of him reciting "Bidrohi" (The Rebel) had drawn widespread praise on social media.

It is why Afroza Khatun struggled to come to terms with the reaction triggered by news of Hadi's death.

Standing outside the vandalised Chhayanaut building in Dhaka's Dhanmondi on Friday, the parent said she could not accept that anger over Hadi's death had been turned against one of the country's most respected cultural institutions.

"My child studies here. This is a school. They set fire to my child's school."

Afroza said she sensed ...