Two cases in Tongi madrasa slap incident: teacher in jail as police move to arrest the father

A madrasa teacher in Tongi, near Dhaka, being slapped by the father of a first-grade child over an allegation of kissing the child has sparked nationwide discussion. There are now two cases from the two sides — in one, the teacher has been sent to jail; in the other, police are now seeking to arrest the child's father.

The father's allegation is that the teacher sexually harassed his child, and also threatened to kill the child if the child told the parents about the harassment.

A video of the madrasa teacher being slapped hard went viral on social media from Thursday. In the video, a man is seen slapping another man while saying 'what kiss?'; several others then beat the man. As locals gathered, police arrived, rescued the teacher and took him into their custody.

It later emerged that the man who slapped him is the father of a first-grade student at the madrasa, and the man who was slapped is a teacher and vice-principal of the same madrasa.

The video also shows the teacher saying before the slap that he had 'a different kind of relationship with the students — with everyone, especially class one.' At one stage he says the word 'kiss' — and immediately after hearing that, the man standing in front slaps him to the ground.

In the case filed by the child's father, the teacher was detained and sent to jail through the court. At the same time, the madrasa's principal has filed a counter-case naming the child's father as an accused.

Tongi West Police Station officer-in-charge Md Arifur Rahman said two cases have been filed by the two sides; police had already detained the madrasa teacher, and later the principal filed another case — police are working to arrest the named accused in that case. Asked whether the named accused is the child's father, he replied, 'Yes.'

Police said the principal's case alleges vandalism at the madrasa and beating of teachers, and also alleges that 17 lakh taka was looted from the child's father.

For his part, the father stated in his police case that the child was sexually abused on the staircase on the madrasa's ground floor. Earlier, on Wednesday, two members of the child's family had gone to the madrasa to ask the teacher about the incident.

At a press briefing on Friday night, the father sought safety for himself and his family. He also demanded justice for what happened to his daughter and a neutral investigation into the allegations against him. He claimed he had asked the teacher what had happened, and after the teacher spoke of 'forcing' and a 'kiss' in front of everyone, he could not control himself.

At the briefing he said it was no mob — he had gone to the madrasa only to seek justice for what happened to his daughter. He rejected the madrasa authorities' looting allegation and said video footage of his visit exists.

In a video message he also said that by slapping he had not insulted any alem or teacher; he said he is receiving constant threats on social media and by phone, including death threats. He also claimed attempts were made to hack his Facebook account, and said police are on his side and he is in contact with the police station.

Asked whether he knows police want to arrest him, he said that since a case has been filed, the law will take its own course, and if he has to go to jail for protesting, he will go to jail. He also said he will take legal steps for bail.

The madrasa principal's claim is entirely different. He said the allegations against the accused teacher are completely false and the incident is a conspiracy against his madrasa. He claimed the teacher told everyone, 'I will give a kiss if the results are good' — he did not say that he had given one, and he claimed no such incident happened either. The principal also said the child still came to class afterwards, asking why parents would send their child again to that teacher's class if the allegation were true. He said the accused teacher teaches part-time at the madrasa.

Two kinds of reactions are visible on social media. As the slap video spread, many expressed support for the father and demanded the teacher's trial; memes and polls about 'the slap' are being shared, and some have written that every father must stand up like this for their child. On the other hand, a section of madrasa teachers and another side have expressed anger over the beating of the teacher, asking how entering a madrasa without proof to attack, vandalise and lay hands on a teacher can be justice when the country has laws and the madrasa has a committee.

Amid the discussion, some madrasas are sharing video messages about teachers' conduct toward children. Madrasatut Taqi Al Islamiah said on its Facebook page that nothing may be done that makes a child uncomfortable, and that any teacher who even thinks of wrongdoing with a student should leave. Madrasatuz Joytuna, quoting its chairman Mokhtar Ahmad, wrote that no teacher has the slightest legitimacy to kiss a student or make a bad touch, and that such offenders must receive the harshest punishment.

Islamic writer Maulana Sharif Muhammad said negative news about children had frequently been coming from various madrasas recently, creating public resentment, and the Tongi incident happened in that context. In his view, madrasa authorities must ensure one hundred percent safety for children and respect modern child management, while parents must also consciously check whether the place they send their child is right.

Also in the background is a recent directive from the madrasa boards. Al-Haiatul Ulya Lil-Jamiatil Qawmia Bangladesh, the controlling authority of the country's six madrasa boards, has issued guidance completely prohibiting corporal punishment of students in madrasas and advising every madrasa to form or re-form a protection committee and keep it active. The guidance was finalised at a meeting of Al-Haiatul Ulya's standing committee on September 12; it completely prohibits striking with a stick, cane or any instrument, hitting the face, head or sensitive parts, and any punishment causing broken bones, bleeding or marks, and also says public humiliation, abuse and mentally abusive conduct must be avoided, with teachers who cross the limit answerable under both sharia and the rules.

Allegations of abuse of madrasa students in Bangladesh frequently spark discussion — alongside physical punishment, several incidents of sexual abuse have also been reported in recent times, and there are allegations that many such incidents have long been happening in various madrasas to varying degrees. In the Tongi incident, the investigation of the two cases will now decide which allegations are proven — the child-abuse allegation against the teacher, or the counter-allegations of vandalism, beating and looting against the father; until then, the debate will continue from social media to the madrasa community.