Schoolteacher 'raped' by headmaster

A simple act of trust has turned out to be a nightmare for a 24-year-old part-time school teacher of Meherpur's Mujibnagar upazila.

She went to Kushtia on Thursday night with the school's headmaster, whom she looked upon as her guardian, to take the Teachers' Registration Examination that would make her job permanent.

However, in the early hours of Friday, the scheduled date for the exam, that very “guardian” allegedly raped her. She lost consciousness at one point, and the culprit, with the help of his associate, took the victim to Kushtia General Hospital and left.

The victim lodged a case with Kushtia Model Police Station on Sunday night. In the case statement, she said Shariful Islam, the alleged headmaster, and she had taken two rooms at Al Amin Hotel at Barabazar area of Kushtia town on Thursday night.

Shariful knocked on the door early in the morning and offered to give her some tips on the exam, she alleged.

As she opened the door, Shariful entered the room, closed the door and raped her, she claimed.

At one point, the woman lost her consciousness. The alleged rapist called one of his associates Zahidul Islam, a medical representative, over the phone and asked him to go there.

Zahidul took the victim to the hospital and fled.

After primary treatment, the hospital staff persuaded her to go home, she claimed.

As she went home and narrated the incident to her family, they took her to the hospital again since her bleeding did not stop.

Kushtia Deputy Commissioner Syed Belal Hossain visited the woman at the hospital on Sunday evening after he came to know about the incident from journalists. He urged her to file a case.

According to Tarun Kanti Ghosh, medical officer of the hospital, a test to collect evidence of rape would be done on her today.

Talking to this correspondent on Sunday night at the hospital, the victim said, “My life has been ruined. Now I want to see the culprit behind bars.”

Contacted, Shabuddin Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Kushtia Model Police Station, said they were trying to arrest the absconding rapist with the help of Meherpur police.

Meanwhile, the headmaster was temporarily suspended at a meeting of the school managing committee yesterday.

Nazrul Islam, president of the managing committee, confirmed this correspondent about the decision.

While the meeting was going on, locals gathered outside the school and chanted slogans against the teacher, demanding his exemplary punishment and dismissal.