Signed by Senior Assistant Commissioner (detective branch) Gazi Jasimuddin and issued on behalf of the CMP commissioner, the release asked all guardians to 'discourage their sons and daughters' from going into an overdrive during the celebrations of Pahela Baishakh.

"We noticed from past instances that people of all ages, even some over-enthusiastic elders, and castes get so much involved in the Bangla Nobo Barsha celebrations that they forget their civic responsibilities and the religious bindings, which are tantamount to violation of the law of the land and obstruction to normal civic life. And these are sometimes punishable crimes," the release contended.

CMP Commissioner Amjad Hossain, when reached by phone, disagreed with the term 'restrictions' and said, "We are not against celebrations of the Bangla New Year."

"What we want to say is that we want peaceful, thoroughly beautiful and befitting celebrations that will be acceptable to all and that can be enjoyed by the whole family," he said yesterday afternoon.

The commissioner added that a section of the revellers last year presented 'nudity and obscenity' in the name of dance and 'that experience forced us to issue the release'.

He, however, said the release was not correctly worded, which may leave scope for 'misinterpretations'.