Magura madrasa principal beaten by mob, detained after ‘disrespecting national flag’ on National Mourning Day

Police in Magura Sadar Upazila have detained the principal of a madrasa after he was beaten by locals for declining to hoist the national flag at half-mast on the National Mourning Day.

He was nabbed from Shatrujitpur on Monday afternoon, the district’s Superintendent of Police AKM Ehsan Ullah said.
 
The detainee, Abdul Aziz, is the principal of Beroil Darul Huda Senior Fazil Madrasa at the Upazila’s Beroil Palita Union.
 
Ehsan Ullah said legal steps will be taken against him.
 
Bangladesh observes Aug 15 as the National Mourning Day, the same day Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were brutally killed in 1975.
 
The national flag flies at half-mast in all government, semi-government and autonomous organisations, educational institutions, private establishments on this day - a public holiday.
 
Madrasa teacher Aziz faced the ire of the locals at first on Monday by disagreeing to hoist the flag at half-mast.
 
The union’s Chairman Khandker Mahabbat Ali said local Awami League leaders, freedom fighters and other had gone to the madrasa after hearing of Aziz’s decision.
 
“When they asked Principal Aziz to hoist the flag, he refused saying the madrasa staff did not come in today. As the locals repeatedly urged him to hoist the flag, he disagreed and even went on to say that he will kill himself, but he won’t touch the flag.”
 
Ali said, “That made the already agitated locals lose their temper and they started to beat him. But Aziz managed to flee the scene.”
 
Police were notified about the incident after a while and they caught Aziz later in the day.