Madrasa teacher jailed in student rape case in Lalmonirhat

A madrasa teacher has been sent to jail on charges of raping a 12-year-old male student at a madrasa in Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat.

The accused, Shahjalal Haque, 23, of Sarkartari Kachardera village in Nageshwari upazila of Kurigram, was beaten by locals before being handed over to police on Friday night.

He was produced before a court today after the boy’s father filed a case against him with Aditmari Police Station under the Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Act, said Nazmus Shakib Sajib, officer-in-charge of the police station.

The court later sent him to jail, said the police official.

The child has been admitted to Aditmari Upazila Health Complex, he added.

According to the case statement, the victim, a residential student of the madrasa’s Hefz department, was sleeping in his room with other students on July 21. Around midnight, the teacher called the victim to his room for head massage. When the boy wanted to return to bed, the teacher covered his face with a handkerchief and raped him and later threatened him with harm if he disclosed the matter to anyone.

Police said the child returned home the next day and told his family. The family, along with locals, informed the madrasa authorities. On July 24, a meeting was held in the madrasa courtyard, where the teacher confessed.

"Police have already begun investigating the case and are working to complete the inquiry promptly," the OC said.

"The charge sheet would be submitted to the court as soon as the investigation is concluded," he added.