Teenager Imon arrested over stabbing of schoolgirl in Kushtia

Police have arrested teenager Imon, accused of repeatedly stabbing a class-ten schoolgirl in front of her house in Kushtia town.

He was arrested from the Patikabari area of Kushtia Sadar upazila at around 1am on Tuesday. Zakir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kushtia Model Police Station, confirmed the arrest.

The OC said Imon was arrested from the Patikabari area over the stabbing of the schoolgirl. Imon is the son of Abbas Uddin of Patikabari.

His family began living in the East Majampur area of Kushtia town about 20 years ago. His father has been in Saudi Arabia for a long time and his elder brother Akash is in the Netherlands. Imon is the younger of the two brothers. He is a class-ten student at a school and college.

Earlier, on Monday at around 1:30pm, SSC candidate Zakia was stabbed in front of her house in the Thana Para area of the town. After returning home from school, she was standing at the gate waiting for it to open after pressing the calling bell.

Imon came from behind and stabbed her repeatedly with a sharp knife before fleeing. Hearing Zakia's screams, locals rushed forward, and the attacker dropped the knife and ran away.

Locals rescued her and admitted her to hospital. She has deep wounds in various places on her hands and back. She is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Police said that after identifying the attacker from CCTV footage and intelligence information, several teams launched operations to arrest him. After the incident, Imon went into hiding with members of his family. Their house was found locked from outside. A later raid there found no one.

However, under police surveillance and sustained operations, he was finally arrested.

Pranab Kumar Sarkar, additional superintendent of police (Sadar Circle) in Kushtia, said several police teams had been working since the incident to arrest the accused. The process of filing a case by the victim's family is under way.

He said that once the injured schoolgirl recovers somewhat, physically and mentally, police will speak to her in the presence of women police personnel. After that, police will try to find out the reason behind the attack.

Meanwhile, the open stabbing of the schoolgirl has caused concern and sensation across the town. From Monday evening, the district police launched a special operation against teenage gangs.

Raids at gathering spots including Pukurpar and the Rabindra Lalon Udyan park of the district council led to 14 people being detained within an hour. Police said the process of taking legal action is under way after verifying their identities and involvement in criminal activities.