A mob attacked and vandalised the ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Bangladesh's Sirajganj district on June 8 over a parking fee dispute, according to media reports. Leading authorities are in the process to constitute a probe panel to investigate the incident.

A case has been lodged against 50–60 individuals, including the 10 named accused, on Wednesday, reported the Dhaka-based Daily Star.

BJP MP Sambit Patra, at a press conference on Thursday, condemned the "preplanned attack" by radical groups and sharply criticised Mamata Banerjee for her silence on the assault targeting Bengal’s pride Rabindranath Tagore’s home.

What happened at Rabindra Memorial Museum

On Jun 8, a visitor went to Rabindra Kachharibari, located in Sirajganj district, with his family. There, he got into an altercation with an employee at the entrance over the motorcycle parking fee, bdnews24.com reported.

Later, the visitor was allegedly confined to an office room and was physically assaulted. Agitated over the incident, locals held a protest by forming a human chain on Tuesday. Later, a mob attacked and vandalised the auditorium of the Kachhari Bari and beat a director of the institution.

Following the incident, the Department of Archeology constituted a three-member probe committee to investigate the attack, BSS news agency reported.

Md Habibur Rahman, Custodian of the Kacharibari, told journalists that the authority has temporarily suspended access to the visitors to the Kacharibari due to “unavoidable circumstances”.

Sambit Patra takes swipe at Mamata Banerjee's 'vote-bank politics'

Urging the global community to unite in condemning the attack, Patra questioned Mamata Banerjee on her silence.

“This press conference should have been held by Mamata Banerjee long ago, but she won’t do it because she is guilt-conscious,” Patra said.

“Because she believes people from across the border living in India could be her voters," Patra further added.

He also claimed that Mamata Banerjee is driven by vote-bank politics, while the BJP is guided by cultural values.

BJP criticizes the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of Bangladesh

In his statement, Patra said the attack had been "preplanned" over five days by Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam.

The BJP has taken the matter "very seriously and sensitively," Patra continues.

He further said, "Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was not an ordinary personality. He penned the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh. An attack on his house is an attack on his ideas," he added.

Expressing disappointment at the response of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government -- citing its silence and lack of investigation, Patra said it had sent a poor message. “As the BJP’s spokesperson, I strongly condemn this behaviour,” he said.

(With inputs from PTI)