College teacher suspended

The authorities of Barabari Shaheed Abul Kashem College in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila on Monday suspended a teacher on charge of nine crimes including sexual harassment of girl students.

The accused, ABM Faruk Siddiki, hailing from Barabari Shibram village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, is an assistant professor of Bangla at the college.

 On January 11, the college authorities issued him a notice, citing nine crimes committed by him earlier, and asked him to show cause within seven days.

“Faruk Siddiki did not respond to the show cause notice, even he misbehaved with the senior fellows over the matter. The college authority has suspended him and notified all the authorities concerned about the decision,” said Snigdha Chakrabarty, acting principal of the college.

“The accused teacher, a locally influential man, vitiated the academic environment of the college. Many families in the area did not send their daughters to study at this college in fear of him,” she said.

 The nine allegations brought against Faruk includes stalking and sexually harassing college girls, misbehaving with colleagues and torturing his wife in public.

The show cause notice mentioned that Faruk kidnapped a girl student of the college in 2010 and sexually harassed her, keeping her in a hidden place for two months.

Afterwards, he was arrested and kept in jail for six months but later the case was ‘settled’.

“We will write to the higher authorities concerned, seeking legal action after discharging him from the college,” said the acting principal.

Faruk’s wife, who lodged a case against him with the court on Monday, said, “I was very much disturbed due to my husband’s character. As I protested strongly about his immoral acts with women, he tortured me at a public place a few days ago and drove me out of home.”

 Contacting over mobile, ABM Faruk Siddiki said, “Allegations against me concerning women are not new, I will deal with it.”

Then he cut the line and put the phone switched off.