Viqarunnisa Noon School teacher Murad arrested after suspension for alleged sexual harassment of students

Unhappy with the decision to suspend him, parents earlier vowed to continue protests until his sacking

Police have arrested Murad Hossain Sarker hours after his suspension by Viqarunnisa Noon School and College in Dhaka from the position of senior mathematics teacher at its Azimpur branch on charges of sexually harassing students.

Police made the arrest at Murad’s home in Kalabagan after midnight on Tuesday, said Khandaker Mohammad Helal Uddin, the chief of Lalbagh Police Station.

The mother of a student accused the teacher of sexually harassing the girl in a case filed in the evening, said the duty officer of the police station.

Earlier, after his suspension at night, Acting Principal Keka Roy Chowdhury said a high-level committee would be formed by the Divisional Commissioner’s Office to fully investigate the allegations.

Parents protesting to demand Murad’s trial and legal action against him were unhappy with the decision to suspend him.

One of them, Shaheda Akter, said: “We didn’t want this. We will resume our protests.”

But Keka said the authorities are taking the steps against Murad in line with the law, which requires further investigation after his suspension before sacking him.

Some students and parents have defended Murad, saying the allegations are false.

They have also scheduled a press conference for Tuesday morning at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity office.

The senior mathematics teacher has been working in the school since 2010. He is accused of sexually harassing some of the students at his private coaching centre in Azimpur after developing good relations with them.

After the media reported an investigation by the renowned institution, the matter sparked huge outrage from students and parents.

Amid their anger, the school withdrew Murad and attached him to the principal’s office on Saturday, saying initial investigation suggested the allegations were true.

But students of the institution demonstrated against Murad for around three hours outside their Azimpur branch on Monday.

Their parents threatened to take legal action themselves and launch more protests if the authorities refused to act firmly against Murad.