Dhaka: Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters in front of High Court Mazar Chattar, protesting the removal of sculpture from the Supreme Court premises on Friday.

The law enforcers also held some of the demonstrators in the spot.

Witnesses said leaders and activists of leftist student organisations alliance and several cultural bodies brought out protest procession at about 12:00noon on Friday and marched towards the Supreme Court.

However, police sprayed hot water and hurled tear shells at the protestors as the procession neared the apex court area.

The protestors also threw stones at police as the procession dispersed. Police held the Chhatra Union’s General Secretary Liton Nandi and some other protestors from the spot.

However, news agency UNB reported around eight people were injured as police lobbed tear gas canister and water cannon. The injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Earlier, the statue of Greek goddesses Themis was removed from the Supreme Court premises in Dhaka.

Some workers started removing the statue at about on Thursday night and concluded the removal early on Friday. However, the sculptor Mrinal Huq was present during the removal work to ensure the statue was not damaged.

On February 2017, Hardline Islamists including Hefajat-e-Islam staged protests calling for the statue of Greek goddess installed at the Supreme Court to be destroyed or removed.

The sculpture of Themis, the blindfolded deity of justice and order, has ruffled feathers in the country since it was unveiled on December, 2016 on the premises of Bangladesh Supreme Court.

On April 2017, Earlier on April 8, a writ was filed with the High Court seeking removal of the statue from the Supreme Court premises.

According to the writ petition, the installation of a statue in front of the Supreme Court is contradictory to articles 12 and 23 of the Constitution. It also hurts the religious sentiment of the people as 95 percent people of the total population are Muslims.

On 21 April, Islami Andolan Bangladesh demanded that the remove of statue before Ramadan.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently backed the Islamists by expressing her dislike for the statue.

Sheikh Hasina broke her silence last month after inviting top Islamist leaders to her residence where she described the statue as ‘ridiculous’.

‘I don’t like it myself. It’s being called a Greek statue, but how did a Greek statue get here?’ she said.