Madrasa teacher beats up child in shocking viral video

It was his birthday.

That's why his parents came to see him at the residential madrasa on Tuesday afternoon. As they were leaving, the eight-year-old Yasin tried to follow them.

Just for this, what should have been a happy day turned into a nightmare.

In a video that later went viral drawing flak from netizens, his teacher Maulana Yahya was seen dragging him by the neck into a room. Later, he starts violently beating the student with a cane, asking why he went outside the madrasa.

The little boy cried his heart out but was not spared.

The incident happened at Markazul Islami Academy Hafezia Madrasa in Hathazari Sadar upazila of Chattogram.

The upazila administration, after being informed of the matter, rescued the boy and detained the teacher yesterday morning.

Following the incident, the madrasa authorities sacked the teacher from the institution.

However, the parents decided not to lodge a complaint or take legal action against the teacher.

"After the video of the beating went viral on social media, we immediately went to the madrasa with police and rescued the boy around 12:45am today [Wednesday]. We also detained the teacher," said Ruhul Amin, upazila nirbahi officer of Hathazari, yesterday.

"Yasin's parents also came to the madrasa last night [Tuesday]. But after meeting the madrasa authorities, they decided not to lodge any complaint and requested not to take any legal action against the teacher."

"It was his [Yasin's] birthday yesterday [Tuesday] and we gave him some toys," the UNO said.

"We will hold a meeting with all the teachers of the madrasa so that they follow the ministry's instructions [on corporal punishment]. If anyone violates the order, action will be taken."

A 2011 circular by the education ministry banned corporal punishment in educational settings, and the draft Education Act, currently in its final stage, also seeks to impose a ban on corporal punishment and mental torture by teachers. 

Police are preparing to file a case against the madrasa teacher for his unruly act, said the duty officer of Hathazari Police Station.

The teacher is in police custody, he added.