Munshiganj’s Hriday Mondal acquitted of charges he belittled religion

Key individuals in the district are relieved by the court order lauding the ‘example of communal harmony’

A Munshiganj court has acquitted schoolteacher Hriday Chandra Mondal of charges of hurting religious sentiments.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Joshita Islam issued the order on Sunday, said Hriday’s lawyer Debdas Mondal Dipu.

In March, Mondal was discussing topics of science with a group of 10th graders in class when some pupils asked him about the relations between science and religion and secretly recorded the teacher's response on a mobile phone.

According to an audio clip the students later shared on social media, Mondal had argued that “religion is a matter of faith” while “science looks at the evidence”.

Two days later, Mondal was arrested on charges pressed by an employee of the school, triggering countrywide protests. He was later released on bail.

On Aug 8, police submitted an investigation report mentioning that they found no truth to the allegations against Mondal. The court heard the case on Tuesday and ordered the withdrawal of charges on Wednesday.

After being acquitted, Mondal said: “Truth has prevailed. I hope the study environment at the school will return to normal.”

Expressing gratitude to those who supported him, Mondal demanded the identification of those responsible for his troubles to prevent such a “chaotic situation” from arising again.

The court order also came as a relief to some key people in Munishiganj.

Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee President MA Qader Molla said: “The teachers’ fear of science class has come to an end.”

Ajay Kumar Chakrabarty, the president of the district’s bar association, said: “The court order sets an example of communal harmony. It is very important that those who wanted to ruin the beautiful environment here are identified.”