The High Court yesterday ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident of forcing a college teacher to wear a garland of shoes over alleged defamation of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by a Hindu student in Narail last month.
The chief judicial magistrate of Narail was ordered to complete the investigation within six weeks and submit a probe report.
The High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice SM Moniruzzaman passed the order after hearing a writ petition in this regard.
Lawyers ZI Khan Panna and Aneek R Haque argued for the petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General Samarendra Nath Biswas stood for the state.
On June 18, locals in Narail demonstrated against a student of Mirzapur United Degree College over his Facebook post supporting suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s remarks on the Prophet in a TV debate in May that triggered widespread criticism in India and the Muslim world.
A rumour circulated that the acting principal of the college, Swapan Kumar Biswas, had sided with the student.
At the time, hundreds of people demonstarted on the campus and forced the teacher and the student to wear garlands of shoes and physically assaulted them when the police escorted them outside the college campus.
A video of the incident soon went viral on social media with netizens condemning the assault and the inaction of the police.
Meanwhile, police have detained several persons in connection with the assault.
The district administration formed a panel to investigate the issue on June 23.
On the other hand, Narail Sadar Upazila Awami League Achim Kumar Chakraborty and General Secretary Omar Farooq suspended Akter Hossain Tinku, president of AL’s Bichali Union unit and a teacher of the Political Science Department at Mirzapur United Degree College, on June 30 over his involvement in the incident.
A show cause notice issued against Tinku said that he had failed to discharge his duties properly as “in your presence, the acting principal of the college was brought out wearing a garland of shoes, which is reprehensible, tantamount to humiliating the teaching community. You cannot avoid this responsibility”.
Before Swapan Kumar, Tinku was the acting principal of the college. However, due to a violation of seniority, he was removed about a year and a half ago and replaced by Swapan Kumar.