A Gazipur court has rejected the bail petition of the vice-principal of a Tongi madrasah, who was arrested over allegations of molesting and kissing a seven-year-old student inside the institution and sent to jail.
Metropolitan Magistrate Court-2 Judge Omar Haider passed the order this afternoon (25 October) after hearing arguments from both sides, according to the plaintiff's lawyer Advocate Mohiuddin, who opposed the bail petition.
He said the court initially sought to review the child victim's statement recorded under Section 22 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before beginning the bail hearing and adjourned it for an hour.
After reviewing the child's statement, the judge heard arguments from both sides and considered the circumstantial evidence before rejecting the defence's bail plea, according to Mohiuddin.
He said they had argued that releasing the accused, Md Muslem Ahmed, on bail could hamper the investigation and send a negative message to society.
After the hearing, defence lawyer Advocate Shariful Alam said they sought bail because the accused had no previous criminal cases, there was no evidence against him in the case, and the allegations were false.
Meanwhile, Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Md Israil Howlader has said that a section of people is deliberately spreading misinformation regarding the case and the subsequent counter-case against the child's father.
In a WhatsApp message shared with the media this morning, he assured that both cases were being investigated fairly and urged people to refrain from spreading rumours and misinformation.
The commissioner also clarified that reports claiming police were conducting a drive to arrest the child's father were incorrect.
Muslem, who was beaten by the child's father and several others on the madrasah premises before being handed over to police, was arrested in a case filed over allegations of sexually abusing a first-grade student on 19 October and threatening to beat her if she told anyone about it, according to police and local sources.
The girl's father filed the case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, accusing the teacher of sexually abusing his daughter.
The incident took another turn when Qariul Quran International Madrasah Principal Qari Md Almas Hossain Gazipuri alleged that a group of people had entered the institution, vandalised the premises and assaulted teachers and staff.
He later filed another case naming the child's father Shahjalal Rumi, who filed the case against Muslem, and several unidentified people as accused.
The GMP commissioner's comments came after media reports said police were seeking to arrest Rumi in the case filed by the principal, who accused him of vandalism, assaulting teachers, and looting Tk17 lakh from the madrasah.
Responding to the reports, Israil said, "The filing of a case does not necessarily mean that the accused must be arrested immediately under the law. What is essential is a fair and impartial investigation. The information published about attempts to arrest the accused in this case is not correct."
He added that both cases were being investigated thoroughly and impartially.
When another journalist asked why evidence supporting the molestation allegations had not been made public, the commissioner said, "There is certainly evidence, but it is not something that can be made available to everyone during the investigation."
According to the family, the alleged incident took place on the staircase on the ground floor of the madrasah on October 19. The girl reportedly did not want to attend the madrasah after the incident and later disclosed what happened to her parents when they asked her about it.
On October 21, the girl's relatives went to the madrasah and confronted the accused teacher, demanding an explanation. As the matter became known, local people gathered at the institution and physically assaulted the teacher, which went viral on Facebook.
On receiving information, police rushed to the spot and brought the teacher to the police station. A case was filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
The magistrate of the tribunal also recorded the statement of the girl in the case on October 22.