Allegations of demeaning religion against Munshiganj school teacher Hridoy Chandra Mondal have been found to be true, say police.
Sub-Inspector Md Mizan, the investigating officer, told Dhaka Tribune on Thursday that initial investigations had found the allegations to be true.
“We have heard the nearly 14-minute-long audio clip collected from the school’s principal. Statements of 20 to 25 tenth graders, who were in the class that day, have been recorded. They too said so. The investigation, however, is yet to be completed,” he said.
Hridoy’s wife Babita Mandal, however, claimed her husband had been framed.
"He did not make any derogatory comments over Islam. He was framed in a planned way by a vested quarter,” she said.
On March 20, Hridoy Mondal, assistant teacher of Binodpur Ram Kumar High School in Munshiganj, was having a conversation with students about the difference between science and religion.
Later in the afternoon, a group of students filed a written complaint with the principal, alleging that Hridoy had made derogatory comments on Islam.
On March 22, some students demonstrated in protest and police detained Hridoy Mondal. That night, the school's office assistant, Md Asad Miah, filed the case over a "demeaning of religion".
In the meantime, a mobile phone recording of the classroom conversation was circulated among locals.
Mondal has been teaching in the school for 21 years, and all these years, not a single allegation of hurting religious sensitivities was levelled against him, according to the school’s Principal Alauddin Ahmed.
“I have been with this school for the last seven years and never heard any such thing about him. He, however, was strict about maintaining discipline. He used to often penalize students for coming late and not wearing uniforms. Yes, I received some complaints over these issues, but nothing else,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
A mathematics graduate from the now Jagannath University, Hridoy Mondal was an honest and very strict person when it was about teaching, said Ahmed. According to him, students used to speak ill of Hridoy behind his back over his strict mentality.
“There have been some problems between Hridoy and his colleagues ... nothing serious though, usual matters. But even his colleagues did not say anything about Hridoy demeaning religion. I have no idea how this thing came up,” he said before adding that he had not heard the audio clip of Hridoy’s conversation with students and that he did not provide it to the police.
The principal said he discussed the matter with the school’s governing body after the allegations were made.
“But by then, one of the office assistants started a case and it’s a sensitive issue in a country where 90% people are Muslim,” Ahmed said before declining to comment further.
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Police detained and later formally arrested Hridoy Mondal on March 22, producing him in court the next day, when he was sent to jail. A second bail plea was denied by a cognizance court on March 28. On April 4, the defence moved the court of the senior district and sessions judge, which is scheduled to hear the case on April 10.
Dhaka Tribune reached out to Upazila Secondary Education Officer Nilufar Jahan on phone, who cited a budget meeting and asked to be called later. But she did not receive the call later. District Education Officer Benazir Ahmed did not answer his phone either.
Additional District Magistrate (education and ICT) Snehahish Das declined to comment and said, “The deputy commissioner (DC) will comment on this, not me.”
DC Nahid Rasul told Dhaka Tribune: “He may have fallen victim to an incident. Since the allegations are yet to be proven, we cannot say he is guilty. It’s a sub-judice matter, so I have nothing more to say.”