Head teacher and office assistant arrested in Jashore school rape case, accused teacher on the run

Police in Abhaynagar, Jashore, have detained acting head teacher Julia Afrin and office assistant Mostafizur Rahman on allegations of helping in a case filed over the alleged rape of a fourth-grade student during school hours.

The main accused, assistant teacher Imran Hossain, has been on the run since the incident, police said.

Julia Afrin and Mostafizur Rahman were detained on Wednesday night from the Nawapara Bazar area. On Thursday they were shown arrested in the rape case and produced before a court.

Sheikh Lutfar Rahman, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Abhaynagar Police Station, said that on 26 October the fourth-grade student went to the bathroom at Bahirghat Government Primary School to answer nature's call.

According to the allegation, assistant teacher Imran Hossain entered the bathroom, held the girl's mouth shut and raped her. He then threatened to kill her if she told anyone, the allegation says.

Police said that when the girl refused to go to school the next day, her mother asked why. She then said she had been raped by the teacher.

On receiving the news, the upazila nirbahi officer and police went to the spot. The girl's father filed a case as plaintiff over the incident.

OC (investigation) Sheikh Lutfar Rahman said a preliminary investigation found that the victim's guardians and relatives had informed acting head teacher Julia Afrin about the incident.

According to police, Julia Afrin took no action and, with the help of office assistant Mostafizur Rahman, helped the accused teacher flee, which is why they were detained.

Sheikh Lutfar Rahman said police are working to arrest the absconding teacher Imran Hossain and expressed hope that he could be arrested soon.