Humiliated a year ago, now in jail

Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, a schoolteacher who was forced to do squats holding ears in presence of Jatiya Party lawmaker AKM Salim Osman last year, landed in jail yesterday after a Narayanganj court rejected his bail petition in a bribery case.

The court order came a day after Salim Osman secured bail from a Dhaka court in another case filed over the public humiliation of Shyamal.

Shyamal, headmaster of Piyar Sattar Latif High School in Narayanganj’s Bandar area, surrendered before the court and sought bail in the case filed by Morsheda Begum, an English teacher at the same school, on July 14 last year.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashok Kumar Dutta, however, rejected the bail prayer and sent him to jail yesterday.

Earlier in the day, the court issued an arrest warrant for Shyamal after taking cognisance of the bribery charge.

According to the case statement, the teacher took Tk 1.35 lakh in bribe from Morsheda, making a false promise of having her included in the monthly pay order (MPO) system.

On May 13 last year, Shyamal was assaulted by a mob over allegation that he made derogatory comments about religion while meting out corporal punishment to a student. The teacher has been rejecting the allegation.

Salim Osman, lawmaker from Narayanganj-5, was then seen making Shyamal hold ears and do squats in public, sparking outrage across the country.

A video clip of the incident went viral on social media, triggering a firestorm of protests in the social networking sites and public outrage with a cross section of people demanding trial of Salim Osman and his accomplices.

The incident also prompted many to stage a unique protest by posting their photos on Facebook where they were seen holding their ears and standing or sitting next to placards that read “Sorry Sir”.

A few days later, the managing committee of the school forced Shyamal to resign over an allegation that he had hurt “religious sentiments” of the Muslims.

But an education ministry probe found the allegation false and Shyamal was reinstated as headmaster of the school. He underwent treatment in the capital and joined duty on July 10. The school managing committee was dissolved subsequently.

Interestingly, just four days after his return to work, three complaints were filed against him with the Narayanganj Judicial Magistrate court.

One Rina Begum of Kallyandi area in Bandar filed a case against the headmaster for torturing her son Rifat, a student of the school, on May 8 and May 13 while Samsul Haque Samsu filed another case for hurting “religious sentiments” of the Muslims.

The third one was filed by Morsheda allegedly for taking bribe from her.

The court scrapped the first two cases on the very day as an investigation was going on into the same incidents following a High Court order. But the Narayanganj court ordered police to investigate the bribery charges.

SM Siddiqur Rahman, the plaintiff’s lawyer, alleged the headmaster took bribe of Tk 1.35 lakh in cash in two phases promising to get her listed in the government’s MPO scheme. But Shyamal did not make any effort for this.

On April 17 this year, police pressed charges against him and submitted the charge sheet to the court. Yesterday, the court took cognisance of the case and issued the arrest warrant for Shyamal.

It fixed July 13 for the next hearing.

Talking to The Daily Star on the court premises before issuance of the arrest warrant, Shyamal said, “I am being framed. The case is false and fabricated… and it will be proved in the court.”

His wife Shabita Rani Halder echoed his words. “He was made accused in a false case. Everything started after May 13, the day when my husband was humiliated publicly.”

She said Shyamal had been suffering from several diseases, including diabetes, and he suffered a brain stroke in 2014.

Shyamal’s lawyer advocate Shakhawat Hossain said he was saddened and frustrated. “He [Shyamal] is an old person who is suffering from several diseases. We have submitted documents citing his illnesses. Yet, he has been sent to jail. We didn’t expect it.”

Shakhawat said, “People of the country know why he had to go to jail”.

“Shyamal Kanti Bhakta is an example that a lawmaker can make anyone suffer, if he wants,” the lawyer said.

HUMILIATION AND STEPS FOLLOWED

Following media reports, the High Court in May last year ordered Narayanganj’s deputy commissioner and police officials to submit separate reports specifying the steps taken against those involved in humiliating Shyamal.

Although the HC expressed satisfaction over a report submitted by the DC, it rejected the police probe report which described the MP as “innocent”.

The court then ordered a judicial probe, rejecting “carelessly made” report by police.

The judicial inquiry found untrue the allegation against the teacher of criticising Islam. It also found that Shyamal was forced to do squats holding ears on Salim Osman’s instructions, a reliable source said.

The HC also directed the chief judicial magistrate of Narayanganj to immediately transfer the general diary lodged for the public humiliation of the headmaster to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka.

Acting on an order of the Dhaka court, Salim Osman surrendered before it on May 14. He got bail on Tuesday.

Source: The Daily Star