Madrasa teachers try to bury crime by asking the 11-yr-old victim’s father to marry her off to the 60-yr-old rapist
Police yesterday arrested a madrasa teacher from Hajiganj Bazar in Chandpur on charges of raping an 11-year-old girl.
Chandpur Additional Police Super Amir Jafar said the accused, Abdul Jalil, had confessed to the crime.
Police also detained two other teachers of the madrasa — Kawsar Ahmed and Abul Khair — and brought them to police station for interrogation in connection with the incident.
Jalil, 60, an Arabic teacher of Hajiganj Kapaikap Alim Madrasa, hails from Pekda village under Barura upazila in Comilla and has a wife and six children.
A resident of Hajiganj has provided him with lodging.
Jalil used to tutor some madrasa students including the girl at the house in morning.
On August 3 last year, Jalil let all the children but the girl to go calling it a day.
He afterwards gagged and raped her.
After the incident the victim stopped going to Jalil.
In November, as the minor girl complained of some physical problems, she was taken to a doctor at Chandpur Sadar Hospital where the result of her pregnancy test came out positive.
Later, she told her parents that Jalil was the culprit.
The girl’s father on January 19 filed a general diary with Women and Children Repression Prevention Special Court-1. The GD reached Hajiganj Police Station on January 24.
Officer-in-Charge Mizanur Rahman, however, accepted it as a case on February 2.
Locals said madrasa principal Abdul Hai and governing body member Abdur Rab Khan had exerted pressure on the girl’s parents not to “commit excesses” over the matter. Three arbitrations were held to “settle” it.
A move for marriage of the victim to the rapist failed as the father never approved, they added.
The victim’s father alleged Abdur Rab Khan, Abdul Hai and Abul Khair had put pressure on him to marry off the girl with Jalil.
However, the principal denied the allegation.
The father also said Jalil threatened him to give consent to the marriage and not to lodge any case.
Abdur Rab Khan said the madrasa committee and the locals initiated the marriage between the girl and Jalil but the father defying their “decision” filed a case.
