Faridpur quack gets 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting teenage girl

A court in Faridpur has sentenced a 51-year-old self-styled traditional healer to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Boalmari upazila.

Faridpur Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge and District and Sessions Judge Shamima Parvin handed down the verdict at around 12:30pm on Monday (August 24).

The court also fined Md Hanif Sheikh Tk 20,000, with an additional six months in jail if he fails to pay. As Hanif was absent from court when the verdict was delivered, the court issued an arrest warrant against him.

Hanif, a resident of Moyendia village under Parameshwardi union, was known locally as a traditional healer and provided purported treatment through spiritual healing at his home.

According to the case documents, the teenage girl was taken to Hanif on March 21, 2025, for spiritual treatment. The following day, he took her into a room on the pretext of providing treatment and sexually assaulted her, the case statement said.

The girl later told her family about the incident. Her father filed a case against Hanif as the sole accused at Boalmari Police Station on March 24 under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

Sub-Inspector Madhusudan Pande of the Dohornagar Police Investigation Centre investigated the case and submitted a charge sheet against Hanif on May 30, 2025.

Public Prosecutor Golam Rabbani Bhuiyan said the verdict was significant in sending a strong message against sexual abuse committed under the guise of traditional treatment.