Police have arrested a madrasa teacher in Fatullah, Narayanganj, over an allegation of raping a 17-year-old student.
The accused, Md Rafiqul Islam, 28, was arrested from Tahsinul Quran Madrasa in Muslim Nagar on Wednesday after local residents detained him and called the national emergency service 999.
Fatullah Model Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Anwar Hossain confirmed the arrest to Dhaka Tribune on Thursday afternoon.
He said the student’s father filed a case at the police station over the allegation. The student was sent to a hospital for a medical examination, while police have started investigating the case.
According to police, a resident of Muslim Nagar called 999 on Wednesday afternoon and reported that a teacher at the madrasa had allegedly raped a 17-year-old student.
The report prompted local residents to detain and beat the teacher, creating tension in the area. The emergency service subsequently informed Fatullah police station and requested police intervention.
A police team later went to the madrasa and arrested Rafiqul with the help of local residents before taking him to the police station.
Police sources said the student had completed Hifz, or memorization of the Quran, and enrolled at Tahsinul Quran Madrasa about a year ago to further improve his Quran memorization.
According to the allegations, Rafiqul had been sexually abusing the student for about a year by intimidating him.
The latest alleged assault took place on the night of August 31, after which the student fell ill, police sources said.
The student’s mother took him home for treatment. After learning about the alleged assault, she and local residents went to the madrasa and confronted the teacher.
Rafiqul is the son of the late Abdul Mannan of Barunda village under Tongibari police station in Munshiganj. He had been working as a teacher at Tahsinul Quran Madrasa in Muslim Nagar, Fatullah.
The information was provided in a statement issued by the national emergency service 999.
