A teacher opened fire and injured a student during a viva session of forensic medicine at Shaheed M Monsur Ali Medical College in Sirajganj on Monday evening.
Arafat Abir Tamal, a third-year student, was admitted to the hospital with a wound in his right thigh.
Julhaz Uddin, officer-in-charge of Detective Branch (DB) of police, said: “The teacher Raihan Sharif used to bring a pistol to class every day. Teachers and students had an altercation over a trivial issue around 5pm. At one stage, the teacher could not control his anger and opened fire. Arafat Amin, a student, was injured in the incident. The teacher was taken into custody after the incident.”
Following this, the students have declared a boycott of classes, demanding punishment for the teacher.
The students alleged that teacher Raihan Sharif shot the student in the right leg in the presence of 45 students during the viva.
During class this afternoon, the teacher suddenly shot Arafat Amin Tamal, a third-year student of the 8th batch of the 2021-22 academic year.
When everyone came forward after hear Tamal’s screams, Dr Raihan Sharif was locked up. At present, medical students are protesting for the trial of the teacher, they said.
According to the students' complaints, Dr Raihan Sharif intimidated the students with his gun at different times. He often carried a gun during class.
Even though Dr Raihan Sharif is a teacher of community medicine, he takes classes in the forensic department to show his power. At present, law enforcement is trying to bring the situation under control.
Accused teacher detained
Sirajganj's Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance), Mohammad Hannan Mia, said that the accused teacher was detained from the medical college and brought to the station.
A case will be filed once the victims submit a written complaint. Actions will be taken accordingly once the case is filed, he added.
District Superintendent of Police (SP) Arifur Rahman Mandal said preparations for filing a case against him are underway. Additionally, whether the firearm is legal or illegal is being verified.
The college principal, Md Amirul Hossain, said: “The operation on the injured student has been completed. He is now out of danger. The victim's family has not yet contacted me. However, action will be taken against the accused teacher.”
The hospital’s emergency department doctor Dr Kamrul Hasan, said: “Arafat is receiving emergency treatment.”
Why did the teacher shoot the student?
Arafat Amin Tamal and his classmates reported that the teacher, Rayhan Sharif, would call students to attend his classes at irregular times despite there was no scheduled classes. On Sunday afternoon, he suddenly called Arafat and several other students to attend a class. However, none of the students, including Arafat, attended.
On Monday, around 3pm, during a forensic viva class, he brought up the previous day's issue and, after arguing with the students, eventually pulled out a pistol from his pocket and fired. The bullet hit Arafat in the thigh of his right leg. Hearing his screams, everyone rushed to help and took him to the emergency department of the hospital in an injured state. Later, the students locked the teacher in a room.
Upon receiving the news, the police arrived and took him away along with the pistol.
