The manager of Sharmin Academy in Naya Paltan has been sent to jail following allegations of abusing a four-year-old student from the school’s playgroup section.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junayed on Friday ordered the detention of Pabitra Kumar Barua, the school’s manager, and scheduled a remand hearing for him on Tuesday.
Earlier, on Thursday night, police arrested Pabitra Kumar from Mirpur area of the capital. However, the principal of the school, Sharmin Jahan, who is the main accused in the case, is still at large.
According to the case document, the victim’s mother had enrolled her son at the school on 11 January.
On 18 January, she dropped him off at school in the morning. Later, when she returned to the school around 1pm, she found her son in a state of extreme fear and distress.
Upon her arrival, she saw Principal Sharmin Jahan holding the child’s hand, while Pabitra Kumar Barua was seated nearby.
Once at home, the child repeatedly cried and told his mother what had happened.
His alarming statements prompted the parents to obtain CCTV footage from the school.
The footage allegedly shows Principal Sharmin Jahan dragging the child into her office, where she slapped him repeatedly.
During the abuse, Manager Pabitra Kumar Barua allegedly inserted a stapler into the child’s mouth and pinned him to a sofa, subjecting him to both physical and psychological abuse.
As a result of the assault, the child sustained injuries to his head and neck, and his mother reported that he is now experiencing hearing problems in one ear.
After the incident, the child was taken to a hospital for treatment.
On Thursday, the child’s mother, Sharmin Ferdousi, filed a case under the Children Act with the Paltan Police Station.
Police have confirmed that the CCTV footage provided preliminary evidence of the abuse.
Authorities are continuing their search for the fugitive principal, Sharmin Jahan, and efforts to apprehend her are ongoing.
The case is under investigation, and law enforcement agencies are working to bring the responsible to justice.
