A concert by popular Bangladeshi singer James, best known in India for hits such as Bheegi Bheegi and Alvida, was called off on Friday night after a mob pelted stones and bricks at the venue in Faridpur, leaving at least 25–30 people injured, officials said.

The performance was scheduled as part of the 185th anniversary celebrations of Faridpur Zilla School, around 120 km from Dhaka.

According to Prothom Alo, the programme was to begin around 9 pm but spiralled into chaos after a large crowd gathered outside the school premises upon learning that James would perform.

Organisers said the event was meant exclusively for registered former and current students. However, thousands of outsiders assembled on Mujib Road near the venue.

When denied entry, some in the crowd attempted to scale the boundary wall and began hurling bricks and stones at the audience and the stage.

“Despite installing projectors outside so people could watch, the situation worsened. Stones were thrown indiscriminately, injuring 25 to 30 people,” Benjir Ahmed Tabriz, a member of the organising committee and an alumnus of the school told Prothom Alo.

He added that the concert had to be called off shortly before 10 pm to prevent further escalation.

Among the injured was organising committee convenor Mostafizur Rahman Shamim. Several victims were hospitalised following the violence.

Faridpur Kotwali police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Shahidul Islam said nearly 20,000 to 25,000 people had gathered outside the venue.

“It was impossible to accommodate such a large crowd inside the school. When outsiders were stopped, a disturbance broke out. To maintain law and order, the programme was cancelled,” he said.

The incident has sparked sharp reactions from cultural figures. Author Taslima Nasreen, in a post on X, said the attack reflected a growing pattern of hostility towards art and culture in Bangladesh.

“Today, jihadists did not allow the renowned singer James to perform,” she wrote, also referring to recent attacks on institutions such as Chhayanaut and Udichi.

She added that renowned classical musicians, including Siraj Ali Khan and Ustad Rashid Khan’s son Arman Khan, had recently declined to perform in Bangladesh over safety concerns.

James, the frontman of rock band Nagar Baul, is among Bangladesh’s most celebrated musicians and has a strong following across borders.

The disruption of his concert, observers say, underscores rising insecurity for artists and cultural institutions in the country.

In recent months, cultural spaces, journalists and performers have increasingly come under attack, with critics accusing the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of failing to rein in radical elements ahead of elections scheduled for February.