Police in Barishal have made two arrests over the harassment of a local madrasa teacher in public.
On Friday, feces were thrown at Abu Hanif, the principal of a madrasa in Bakerganj Upazila, before he was assaulted while talking a walk in the morning.
The incident was recorded on a mobile phone and later uploaded on the internet, which went viral on the social media.
On Saturday, Hanif filed a case with the police against 13 people, including his brother Zakaria Hossain.
“We had initially let the matter go, but when the video was uploaded on the internet, a case was filed,” said Hanif’s son Md Mahibullah, before adding that the perpetrators are now threatening them with life.
According to locals, Hanif, who is also an imam of the local mosque, has been serving as the principal of the madrasa, founded in 1984.
“In 2009, the madrasa bought a piece of land to build an orphanage. Some Jamaat-e-Islami affiliated people have been trying to grab the land, when a case was filed in 2014,” victim Hanif said.
He said the perpetrators were supporters of one Khandaker Md Jahangir Alam, who lost in the elections this year to the president of the madrasa committee.
“It was around 7am and was some 500 yards away from home, taking a walk, when 14 to 15 people ambushed before assaulting me. They then threw feces on me,” Hanif said describing the incident.
Early on Monday, police arrested two people over the incident.
“Initial investigations found that Hanif was harassed in public,” Bakerganj police’s Inspector Abdul Haque said before adding that the suspects were identified from the video clip of the incident.