Rape of 5th grader in Thakurgaon: Accused school teacher beaten by public

A group of people beat up a man arrested on charges of raping a 5th grader in Thakurgaon today (9 March) at the court premises.

When the arrestee Mozammel Haque Manik, a teacher at Kachubari Madarganj Government Primary School, was being escorted to court, he was beaten by a group of protesting people in the presence of police officers.

The incident took place when Manik was being taken to the court of Thakurgaon Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Shariful Islam.

In response, additional police forces arrived at the scene to control the situation, eventually sending Manik into court custody.

Later, an hour-long human chain was formed in protest, demanding justice for the accused teacher, Mozammel Haque Manik. After the human chain, a protest procession was organized, which marched through various roads in the city and culminated at the District Judge Court premises.

During the procession, protestors were seen chanting slogans calling for the hanging of the accused.

They also warned of more intense actions if the teacher did not face exemplary punishment.

Later, students from different educational institutions gathered at the Deputy Commissioner's office to express their outrage. To ease the tension, Deputy Commissioner Ishrat Farzana reassured the students that the law would take its course and that, if the allegations were proven, the teacher would be given exemplary punishment.

The incident that sparked the protests occurred on Saturday (8 March), when teacher Manik allegedly violated the girl while giving private lessons at the school.

The victim was later admitted to hospital. Following a complaint, police conducted a raid and arrested Manik in the afternoon. That evening, the victim's father filed a case against Manik at Bhulli Police Station in Sadar.