3 juveniles, 2 teachers arrested over rape of madrasah student in Savar

Police have arrested five of the 10 accused in a case over the alleged repeated rape of a seven-year-old madrasah student by teachers and students at Markazul Uloom Ash-Shariyyah Madrasah in Savar, Dhaka.

The arrested include three juvenile students aged 15, 13 and 12, and madrasah teachers Jaber Hossain, 21, and Kamruzzaman, 26, Additional Superintendent of Police (Savar Circle) Rakibul Hasan Ishan confirmed it at a press briefing at Savar Model Police Station around this noon (5 September).

He said police analysed information, evidence and digital data before conducting raids in different parts of the country.

Multiple teams from Savar Model Police Station, Ashulia Police Station and the Detective Branch of Dhaka District Police carried out raids in Bhola, Barguna, Sirajganj, Gazipur and Dhaka.

Police said some of those arrested admitted involvement during preliminary questioning.

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

Of the five arrested, the three juvenile students and Jaber Hossain are directly accused of rape in the case, while Kamruzzaman faces other allegations linked to the abuse.

Case names 10 accused

According to the original case application, 10 people were named as accused – five students and five madrasah officials.

The five officials named in the complaint are assistant teachers Jaber Hossain, Sabbir and Kamruzzaman, maktab department head Qari Rafiqul Islam and muhtamim Zia Ibne Kasem.

The complaint directly accuses all five students and Jaber Hossain of rape. The remaining four face allegations including assaulting or threatening the child, encouraging or facilitating the alleged abuse and trying to prevent the matter from reaching police.

According to the complaint, the child was allegedly raped repeatedly between 21 February and 6 July at the madrasah.

The victim's father filed the petition with the court on 23 August. The tribunal later directed Savar Model Police Station to register the complaint as an FIR.

Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Saiful Alam earlier 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 allegations, giving some of the accused an opportunity to leave.

Saiful said it would have been easier for police to take action against the accused had the family approached police first.

Records show differences in ages

The ages in the original complaint differ from those provided by police following the arrests.

The complaint listed the three arrested students as aged 20, 22 and 15, while the detailed identification section of today's police press release gives their ages as 15, 13 and 12, respectively.

The police release itself also contains a discrepancy: its earlier summary lists one of the arrested students as 22, while the detailed identification section later gives his age as 13.

The complaint lists Jaber Hossain as 29 and Kamruzzaman as 28, while the latest police release gives their ages as 21 and 26, respectively.