A good number of students of a madrasa in Chandpur have allegedly left the institution because of the corporal punishment inflicted on them by a cleric.
Abul Kalam Azad, chief of Madinatul Ulul Hafejia Madrasa at Taltala Bazar of Maishadi union in the sadar upazila, has allegedly subjected students to merciless beatings and physical torture, causing the depressed students to leave.
Nadim, a former student of the madrasa, said he left and got into a different school as he could not bear the beatings from Azad, also known as “boro hujur.”
On Friday, Aminul Islam Sagor, 12, the son of Nazrul Islam Miji of the village, was brutalised by Azad. He was a student of the hifz group. Witnessing Sagor’s treatment, his younger brother Saiful Islam Shakil left the madrasa.
“I went to the madrasa at 9am. Azad ordered me to clean his room and veranda with a broom, and went out. I did accordingly. When he returned, he asked me why his shoes were displaced and who took Tk6,000 from the room,” recalled Sagor.
“Without giving me the chance to say something, Azad began beating me with two canes and hit me at least 30 times. At one point, I lay down on the floor but he dragged me to the second floor where he punched, kicked and whacked at me. I was bleeding and a fellow student escorted me home,” he added.
Sagor’s mother Runu Begum said she had screamed out on seeing her son’s blood-stained panjabi.
“I told Sagor to take off his panjabi and saw numerous cane marks,” she said.
When Runu took Sagor to the madrasa, Azad said: “Go back home and everything will be fine. I was out of my mind when I beat him. Take your son to a doctor and you may take the money to buy medicine, if necessary.”
Nurul Islam Patowary, a local resident, said he saw the cane marks on Sagor’s body as well.
“It was brutal and barbaric, and the act was condemnable. I often hear of Azad treating students in this way. Such incidents were also alleged in the past,” he said.
Sagor’s father, an imam at Zakiganj, Sylhet, told the Dhaka Tribune that treating students in this way manner was completely unexpected from a cleric.
“I could not accept it when I learned what had happened. I stay far away from my family. I work hard here to earn money and want to make both my sons hafiz. Now after what has happened to Sagor, I do not want them to continue at the madrasa and I also demand justice for this incident,” he said.
Meanwhile, Azad offered his apology and said he was sorry for what had happened to Sagor on Friday.
“Yes, I crossed the limit a bit when I beat him. Tk6,000 was stolen from my room and nobody went there except Sagor, which is why I suspected his involvement in the theft,” he said.
The madrasa was founded 27 years ago and Azad has been supervising the institution since then. His hometown is in Kachua upazila.
Amir Zafar, superintendent of Chandpur police, told the Dhaka Tribune he had learned about the incident and would take action if a complaint was lodged.