Six days have passed since Maria Akhtar Lima, 12, a class-five residential student of Aisha Siddiqua Radi Female Madrasa in Jadurchar area of Hemayetpur, Savar, went missing.
Although police are working to rescue her, they have not yet been able to trace her whereabouts. Meanwhile, on Thursday, the student’s aggrieved father, Nurul Islam, 34, went to the madrasa with local residents and attempted to enter the female hostel.
During this time, a clash broke out with madrasa students, leaving six people injured, including members of the student’s family and students.
According to police and General Diary (GD) sources, on 11 October at 11am, when classes ended, Maria slipped out unnoticed alongside non-residential students and went missing.
Subsequently, a GD was lodged by her family at Savar Model Police Station on that very day. Family members and police searched various locations but failed to trace her anywhere.
Failing to trace his daughter even after six days of the incident, the missing girl’s father, Nurul Islam, attempted to enter the female madrasa hostel on Thursday afternoon accompanied by 30 to 35 local residents, but the madrasa security guard barred their entry.
Later, male madrasa students arrived at the scene and obstructed them from entering, triggering a clash between the two sides.
Six people were injured in the clash, including Hafez Sohanur Rahman, Muhammad Rahat, Deen Islam, Ashraful, and Siam – all class-six students of the madrasa – as well as a journalist from a private television channel.
At one stage, the madrasa authority called the emergency service number 999, prompting police to arrive at the spot and calm both sides down.
Madrasa teacher Mufti Abdullah Firozi said, “The student fled dodging everyone’s eyes, and we demand a fair investigation into this incident.”
Sub-Inspector (SI) Sabuj, the investigating officer of the GD at Savar Model Police Station, said that police have been making continuous efforts to rescue the student since she went missing on 11 October.
