HC orders Narayanganj teacher humiliation case hearing in Dhaka court

The police complaint over the public humiliation and assault of Narayanganj school teacher Shyamal Kanti Bhakta will now be heard in a Dhaka court.

The High Court on Sunday ordered Narayanganj Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court to transfer the general diary along with other documents to Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court.

The bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice JBM Hassan also issued the rule over the incident after receiving the judicial inquiry report.

Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Saju, who stood for the State, presented the judicial inquiry report.

The High Court had ordered the investigation into the allegations of assault and public humiliation of Shyamal, the headmaster of Piyar Sattar Latif High School.

A video of the May 13, 2016 incident showed Jatiya Party MP AKM Salim Osman making Shyamal squat up and down holding his ears.

The lawmaker had faced intense public outrage after the video went viral on the social media.

It prompted thousands in Bangladesh to stage a unique protest by posting photos of themselves holding their ears and saying ‘Sorry Sir’.

The matter was brought to the attention of the court by former additional attorney general MK Rahman. He was also present at the hearing.

Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sheikh Hafizur Rahman submitted additional documents alongside the 65-page main report, Deputy AG Saju said.

He said 27 persons were interviewed during the investigation. The judicial investigation drew six conclusions.

The report found there was no truth in the allegation that the incident was incited by Shyamal Kanti’s comments 'insulting Islam'.

The report also found that the interviewed persons believe MP Salim had humiliated the teacher due to 'demands from the locals’.

It is the duty of law-enforcing agencies to work in an impartial and indiscriminate manner, said the court after receiving the report.

"No one can take the law into their own hands. No one is above the law. That is what the rule of law means.

"Based on the judicial enquiry’s report, we have received an initial confirmation of the incident’s authenticity. It is apparent that this matter must be pursued in the interest of justice," it added.