Hriday Chandra Mondal, the schoolteacher from Munshiganj who was taken into police custody for discussing the difference between religion and science, has claimed that he was framed because of internal conflicts in the school.
Coming out of jail after 19 days on bail granted by the Munshiganj District and Sessions Judge's Court on Sunday, Hriday, 52, left for Dhaka at around 5pm to a relative’s house due to illness.
He would stay there for a week, said his wife Babita Hawlader.
A popular teacher of Binodpur Ramkumar High School, Hriday also urged the government to ensure the safety and security of his family.
Babita expressed satisfaction with the bail order. She hoped that no other teacher in Bangladesh would have to experience what her husband had to go through.
Earlier, he was denied bail twice last month – once on March 23 and again on March 28.
In response to a question, Hriday told reporters he still could not figure out why such a case was filed in the first place.
“I did not say anything insulting any religion that day. It may be due to internal conflicts in the school or over private tutoring,” he added.
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The teacher believed that he was kept in jail for security reasons. However, he was happy about getting out on bail.
Babita said they want to file a case for defamation and for recording his speech on a mobile phone without his permission under the ICT Act.
She thinks someone from outside the school instigated the students to do this.
The state can also file the case, she said, adding: “We’re in a helpless state. Anything can happen to us.”
Advocate Shahin Mohammad Amanullah, legal counsel for the accused, stressed that Hriday had not said anything to his students in class that would hurt religious sentiment.
“The accusations made by the plaintiff in the case have not been substantiated… I hope Hriday Chandra Mondal will be released from jail by this [Sunday] evening,” he added.
Meanwhile, the prosecution said it was not unhappy with the court order. “But as this is a free country...anyone can lodge a case over blasphemy,” Public Prosecutor Advocate Sirajul Islam Paltu said.
On March 20, in response to queries during a class at Binodpur Ram Kumar High School in Munshiganj, Hriday Mondal told his students that “religion is a matter of faith” while “science looks at evidence”, according to an audio recording shared on social media.
The teacher said: “There is no evidence in religion. Religion in the end says God will take care of everything. Religion offers memorized words whereas science shows evidence.”