The Bangla Academy has apologised for shutting booths selling sanitary napkins at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela allegedly because of complaints from religious groups.

Blaming its enlisted vendor Dreamer Donkey for the blunder, the academy in a statement said "a matter related to commodification at the fair was presented as a sensitive issue differently".

Although the academy denied directly receiving any complaint, Dreamer Donkey CEO Raqeeb Hasan backed the firm's claim that there were "concerns about mob reaction". He, however, acknowledged their "mistake".

The controversy arose on Sunday when PRAN-RFL Group's sanitary pad brand Stay Safe shut its booths set up through Dreamer Donkey.

Meanwhile, a Dreamer Donkey letter requesting PRAN-RFL to shut the booths went viral on social media.

In the letter dated February 14, Dreamer Donkey CEO Raqeeb claimed some Islamist groups started demanding the sale and display of these products in public be stopped on February 11. The academy, police, Ansar and volunteers of Dreamer Donkey had to calm the situation when many people came up with the same demand the next day.

The letter further claimed some groups complained directly to the academy about the stalls after their reopening on February 13.

"Mobs are being created in different parts of the country over such issues. So, it is essential to close the two stalls to avoid any such unwanted issues," read the letter.

A handwritten note from Bangla Academy Director General Mohammad Azam on the letter reads: "I am aware of this situation; this step needs to be taken very swiftly."

Kamruzzaman Kamal, director of marketing at PRAN-RFL Group, said in a press release, "Honoring religious sentiments, we have decided to close the services of the Stay Safe brand at the book fair."

The academy came up with its apology in a statement on Sunday night after facing intense criticism on social media "for giving in to mob demand".

The academy said the stalls were shut because they were selling unauthorised products like sanitary pads, toothpaste and baby diapers.

"The event management firm said it was in trouble because it had already signed deals with [sponsor] companies… It said it would send a letter to the sponsor company and tell them that there would be problems if they continued to sell sanitary napkins.

"The Bangla Academy director general signed the letter with consent just to make their task easier.

"…No one told the academy to stop the sale of sanitary napkins. …We want to make it clear that there is no question of Bangla Academy having any reservations about the use of sanitary napkins.

"We've asked the event manager to distribute sanitary napkins as per [users'] need… In this situation, we express regrets and are making sure that sanitary napkins will be available for free beside the washrooms."

Contacted, academy DG Azam said, "I did not give yesterday's statement under any pressure from any group, and there were no complaints about displaying sanitary napkins from any religious groups."

About the Dreamer Donkey letter, Azam said, "What I meant is that the event management company informed me that they had received such complaints and I'm aware of that. This can be considered a slip of information or a technical mistake."

Dreamer Donkey's Raqeeb told The Daily Star the academy had informed the firm that the sale of sanitary napkins is not authorised at the fair, but there was a "miscommunication" regarding the entire issue.

"Meanwhile, after the attack on Sabyasachi Prokashoni's stall around February 10, some people started questioning why sanitary napkins were being sold openly. So, we also had concerns about the mob's reaction," he said. 

"This wasn't just one issue—there were multiple complications. We were worried that if this turned into a bigger issue, it could escalate further…. We simply wanted to avoid any trouble."