Police on Wednesday detained a secondary school teacher in Daulatpur, Kushtia, for allegedly making derogatory and objectionable remarks in a classroom regarding Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
The detainee, identified as Golam Kibria Lalon, is a Bengali language teacher at Pragpur Secondary School. He was picked up by police around noon on Wednesday from the Bheramara-Pragpur regional highway area.
According to students and school sources, the incident occurred around 3pm on Tuesday during a Class 10 Bengali lesson. Teacher Lalon brought up Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s recent address delivered in Bengali at the United Nations (UN) and reportedly commented on his Bengali pronunciation.
Students claimed that at one point, the teacher mentioned the prime minister by name and made offensive remarks, creating discontent in the classroom. After class, students informed their families, leading to the news spreading among guardians and local residents.
On Wednesday morning, several guardians and locals gathered on the school campus, demanding official action against the accused teacher. Upon receiving information, police arrived at the scene, brought the situation under control, and subsequently took Lalon into custody at the police station.
Teacher Golam Kibria Lalon, however, denied the allegation of making derogatory comments about the Prime Minister.
Pragpur Secondary School Headmaster and Pragpur Union Parishad Chairman Ashrafuzzaman Mukul said that he learned of the matter on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, Lalon was questioned regarding the incident in the presence of the former president of the school committee and other concerned parties.
The headmaster said that during questioning, Lalon denied making any derogatory remarks, but acknowledged saying that the prime minister’s Bengali pronunciation was somewhat unclear due to his prolonged stay abroad.
Daulatpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Khaledur Rahman said Lalon was detained on allegations of making derogatory remarks about the prime minister and heating up the school environment. He added that the police are currently investigating the matter.
