Guardians in N’ganj worried with growing allegations of rape by teachers

With the arrest of two teachers in the district in a span of only one week for repeatedly raping a number of students here, many guardians have become worried about the safety of their children.
 
On June 27 last, a teacher of a private school at Mijimiji Kandapara in Siddhirganj upazila was arrested on charges of repeatedly raping around 20 students and mothers of some of them over several years by blackmailing them.
 
Law enforcers had also picked up headmaster of Oxford International School Rafiqul Islam Julfiqar for abetting the crime of Ariful Islam, an assistant teacher.
 
Ariful who joined the school as its English and Mathematics teacher eight years ago, used to run a coaching centre at a flat near the school. 

He used to take indecent photos of female students and rape them through blackmailing them using those. He also used to take video clips of his nefarious acts and used those to violate the girls again and again.
 
This is not the end. Ariful reportedly raped the mothers of 6-7 victims through blackmailing them using the indecent photos and video clips.
 
Wishing anonymity, a guardian said his daughter, now a Class-IX student, was first raped by Ariful when she was in Class-V. “But she didn’t disclose the matter.”
 
Three months back, Ariful was arrested on charge of sexually harassing a female teacher of his school. However, headmaster Rafiqul Islam got him released from the police station, said another guardian.

On July 6, Rapid Action Battalion members arrested a teacher of a girls’ madrasa in Fatullah for ‘violating’ 12 minor students.
 
The arrestee is Maulana Md Al Amin, founder and principal of Baitul Huda Madrasa at Mahmudpur.
 
Huge indecent videos were recovered from his office computer and mobile phone.
 
Al Amin had been molesting and violating female students from Class-II to Class-V for the past one and a half years, said Rab sources.
 
The matter came to light when a victim disclosed her molestation to her mother after the arrest of Ariful.
 
Both Ariful and Al Amin confessed before the court to their crimes.
 
Of them, Arif also trapped mothers of several students. However, they did not disclose the matter thinking about the future of their children.
 
Upon interrogation by Rab, he said he joined Oxford High School as an assistant teacher in 2009. He first engaged in a relation with a girl in 2014 and later with several others.
 
Besides, a teacher of Morgan Girls’ School and College at Dewbhog in the city was suspended after he was accused of making indecent comments as well as gestures towards girls.
 
The suspension came after students of the college filed a complaint with Sadar Police Station as the institution authorities did not give importance to it.
 
Wishing anonymity, a woman of Khanpur area in the city said one of her two daughters studies in a madrasa and the other one in a school. “The two incidents (arrest of teachers) have made us worried about our children.”
 
She also said she shared the incidents with her two daughters and tried to make them understand to remain alert. “However, I’m still afraid.”
 
Echoing her, another guardian said she asked her daughter not to hide if she encounters anything at her school. We always remain in fear about the safety of our children,” she said.
 
Many guardians alleged that such incidents take place in many educational institutions but those are hushed up by teachers and managing committees.
 
Deputy Commissioner of the district Jasim Uddin said beasts in the guise of teachers have ruined the lives of so many children.
 
He said teachers are now busy making money after managing the chiefs of their governing bodies. “A teacher gets involved in wrongdoing as he knows the president of the governing body will protect him.”
 
The DC also blamed guardians’ mentality to send their children to coaching centres for such incidents. “They don’t send their children to libraries. How will they become good citizens? We have to bear in mind that there’s no alternative to book-reading.”