Three juveniles, two teachers arrested over rape of madrasah student in Savar

Police have arrested five of 10 accused in a case filed over the alleged rape of a seven-year-old madrasah student by teachers and students at Markajul Uloom Al-Sharia Madrashain Savar, Dhaka.

Three of the five arrested are juveniles, aged 15, 13 and 12, while police say several of the accused confessed during primary interrogation.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Savar Circle) of Dhaka District Police Rakibul Hasan Ishan confirmed the arrests at a press briefing at Savar Model Police Station today (5 September) around noon.

He said police analysed various data and evidence before arresting the five accused from different parts of the country in connection with the case involving the alleged repeated rape of the seven-year-old over a prolonged period.

Multiple teams from Savar Model Police Station, Ashulia Police Station and Dhaka District Police’s Detective Branch (DB) conducted raids in Barguna, Bhola, Sirajganj, Gazipur and Dhaka to arrest the accused.

“Dhaka District Police is dealing with this case with the highest priority, and we are hopeful, we are confident that we will be able to arrest the remaining accused very soon,” Rakibul Hasan Ishan said.

A police press release earlier confirmed that the three detained juveniles are all students at the madrasah. The other two arrested accused are madrasah teachers Zaber Hossain, 21, and Md Kamrul Islam, 26.

The three juveniles and Zaber Hossain have been directly accused of rape in the case.

According to the case application, the victim’s father alleged that his child had been raped at different times over six months. He filed the application against five students, four teachers and the director of Markajul Uloom Al-Sharia Madrasah in Shahibag, Savar, at the Dhaka Violence Against Children Suppression Tribunal on 23 August.

The tribunal later directed Savar Model Police Station to accept the complaint as an FIR.

Six students and four teachers were named as accused in the case. Five students and one teacher were directly accused of rape, while the other four were accused of aiding the alleged rape, helping the accused flee and issuing threats.

Earlier, Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Saiful Alam said the case was registered on 26 August following the court’s order.

He said the victim’s family had gone to the madrasah before filing the case to discuss the incident, giving the accused an opportunity to leave the madrasah.

He added that had the plaintiff first gone to the police station to file the case, it would have been easier to bring the accused under the law.