Madrasah student arrested in Pabna over child's sexual abuse, suicide in Dhaka
During the preparation of the initial inquest report, forensic investigators discovered clear physical evidence of unnatural sexual assault and trauma on the victim's body
Police have arrested a 20-year-old madrasah student from Pabna last night (20 May) in connection with the rape and subsequent suicide of a 10-year-old boy inside a madrasah in the capital's Banasree area.
The suspect, identified as Md Shihab Hossain, was apprehended during a raid conducted by a team from the Rampura Police Station at Khakchara village in the Bera upazila of Pabna district.
The arrest was officially confirmed today (21 May) by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Motijheel Zone Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Harun Or Rashid.
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The suspect faces charges of rape and abetment of suicide following a formal case filed by the victim's mother, Mst Tuku Ara Khatun, against Shihab and several unidentified individuals.
The deceased child was identified as Md Abdullah, a student at the Alokito Quran International Hifz Madrasah located in C-Block of Banasree, Rampura. Abdullah was the son of Abul Kalam Azad of Anupnagar village under the Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila.
According to police accounts, law enforcement officers recovered the hanging body of the victim from a washroom on the second floor of the madrasah building at around 10pm the day before yesterday (19 May), after being alerted by local residents.
The child had reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself with a towel wrapped around his neck.
During the preparation of the initial inquest report, forensic investigators discovered clear physical evidence of unnatural sexual assault and trauma on the victim's body.
Rampura Police Station Sub-Inspector Saiful Islam initially noted that authorities strongly suspected sexual violation, adding that the precise medical cause of death would be conclusively established upon the arrival of the final autopsy report.
Subsequent police interrogations of the madrasah management revealed a pattern of predatory behaviour.
Madrasah authorities disclosed to investigators that the suspect, Shihab Hossain, had a history of engaging in sexual assault involving at least four other students at the madrasah.
Shihab had gone into hiding immediately after Abdullah's body was recovered from the washroom, prompting the police to launch a cross-district tracking operation that eventually located him at his ancestral home in Pabna.
