A youth in Feni was handed over to police by his father yesterday in the wake of allegations of brutally molesting a female student of Shahin Academy in the town.
Gias Uddin Patwary, who lives in Rampur village, handed his son Payel Patwary to Feni model police around 3:30pm.
Police also detained 17 more youths from places adjacent to the school till yesterday morning, said Feni Assistant Police Super Shamsul Haque.
He said police were questioning the detainees to identify the real culprits.
“The indifference of the school authorities to take any action against the allegation came to Feni Police Super Rezaul Haque’s notice. He talked to the family of the girl and also the school authorities on Sunday, and assured the family members of providing all sorts of legal help,” said Shamsul.
Meanwhile, principal of the school M Ekramul Haque Bhuiyan filed a case with Feni Model police station on Sunday night in connection with the incident.
According to the case statement and the girl’s family, a group of 10-12 local men abducted her while she was returning home after school on September 1.
They took her to a nearby place where Rahul, one of the group members, brutally molested her while two of his accomplices, with arms in hand, stood guard. All of them, however, exploded crude bombs and fled when the girl’s classmates went there to rescue her.
Rahul began harassing the girl regularly on her way to school and back home as she did not respond to a proposal to have a love affair with him.
The family then stopped sending her to school two weeks ago.
Uncertainty now looms over whether the girl, an eighth-grader, would be able to sit for the JSC test.
Earlier on August 20, Rahul and his cronies attempted to kidnap her at gunpoint while she was on her way home on a rickshaw with her mother. They hurled abuse at the mother and the daughter when pedestrians came to help.
A number of students said they feel insecure when they see these men wandering around the school but the school authorities do nothing about this.
The indifference of the school authorities encourage the men to commit more offences, they said.
The girl’s family members told reporters they did not file any case as the school authorities did not cooperate with them and also because of the fear of being humiliated publicly.
Sub-Inspector of Feni town police outpost and also investigating officer in the case Kamal Uddin said police were trying to nab the accused.
