Madrasa principal held over rape

A madrasa principal was arrested in Narayanganj yesterday for allegedly raping and sexually harassing four female students.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) detained Mostafizur Rahman, 35, at the madrasa after receiving complaints from two victims. Mostafizur is the founder and principal of Darul Huda Women Madrasa and Orphanage at Fatullah of Narayanganj.

Maj Talukdar Nazmus Saqib, deputy director of Rab-11, said the complaints were filed around a week ago. During investigation, they came to know about two more victims, and all of the four are aged between 10 and 16, he added.

In primary interrogation, the principal confessed to the allegations, and there are some “records” of his misdeeds in his mobile phone, the official said.

Mostafizur is originally from Netrakona. He used to live at the ground floor of the four-storey madrasa building, but he moved his family to another area a month ago. He founded the madrasa six years ago, according to Rab.

Meanwhile, locals staged a protest in front of the madrasa after the arrest and demanded exemplary punishment for the accused.

One of the demonstrators, Mohiuddin, said, “The principal committed similar offence earlier and promised to never repeat it. We are worried about our children. We want justice so that no one can dare do this kind of crime.”