Child abuse: Sharmin Academy manager placed on 4-day remand
Investigators said further interrogation was necessary in the interest of the probe.
A Dhaka court today (27 January) placed Pabitra Kumar Barua, the manager of Sharmin Academy and husband of the school principal, on a four-day remand in a case filed over the alleged abuse of a four-year-old child at the school in the capital's Nayapaltan area.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sefatullah passed the order today after a hearing, sub-inspector of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's prosecution division Mohammad Rukunuzzaman confirmed.
Police had produced the accused before the court on 23 January and sought a five-day remand. The court sent him to jail that day and fixed today for the remand hearing.
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According to the remand petition, Pabitra Kumar Barua was arrested around 4:30am on 23 January from the Mirpur-6 area under Mirpur Model Police Station.
Police claimed that preliminary interrogation corroborated the allegations and that sufficient evidence had been found against the accused and other absconding suspects.
Investigators said further interrogation was necessary in the interest of the probe.
During the hearing, defence lawyer Abdul Rashid Mollah sought cancellation of the remand and prayed for bail, while public prosecutor Shamsud Doha Sumon opposed the plea.
After hearing both sides, the court granted a four-day remand.
According to the case statement, the complainant enrolled her four-year-old child in the playgroup class of Sharmin Academy in Nayapaltan about two months ago, with classes starting on 11 January.
On 18 January, when she went to the school around 1pm, she allegedly found principal Sharmin Jahan forcibly holding the child's hand, while her husband, Pabitra Kumar Barua, was seated nearby. The child appeared pale, terrified and was crying.
The complainant later alleged that after taking the child home, he repeatedly said he had been beaten by "miss" and "uncle" and threatened with further harm if he spoke about the incident.
The parents subsequently collected CCTV footage from the school.
Police said CCTV footage shows the principal assaulting the child in her office, repeatedly hitting his face and cheeks, while her husband allegedly put a stapler in the child's mouth and continued the abuse by pinning him to a sofa.
The child later complained of pain in his head, neck and ears and suffered hearing difficulties, after which he was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Following the incident, the child's mother filed a case with Paltan Police Station under Section 70 of the Children Act, naming the principal and her husband as accused.
