Teacher behindbars for stalking

A mobile court here yesterday sentenced a schoolteacher to imprisonment for one year for stalking a girl student of his institution.

The convict, Saidur Rahman, 45, an assistant teacher of Bindubasini Government Girls' High School in the town, is son of Abdul Mannan of Kalihati upazila.

Tangail Executive Magistrate Sharier Rahman passed the order after the allegation brought against Saidur was found to be true.

Saidur, who had been stalking his female students for long, gave an illicit proposal to a Class IX student of the institution on Sunday.

Being annoyed, several students of the class lodged a verbal complaint in this regard to the school headmaster, who instead of taking any action against Saidur, took undertaking from the complainants, threatening to rusticate them from his school, students alleged.  

Hearing the matter, a group of angry students and their guardians confined Saidur to the school premises yesterday morning and gave him a good beating, locals said.

Later, Tangail Additional Deputy Commissioner (Education and ICT) Ashraful Momin Khan, Additional Superintendent of Police Shariful Islam along with other policemen rushed to the school and took the accused teacher under their custody, Officer-in-Charge of Sadar Model Police Station Saidur Rahman said.

Meanwhile, a number of guardians demanded immediate removal of the headmaster for not taking any steps against teacher Saidur despite getting complaints on several occasions. They also demanded appointment of a female headmaster at the institution.

Headmaster Mamun Talukder, however, refuted the allegation of taking any undertaking from his students.