Pabna madrasa head arrested over attempted rape; building set on fire

Police have arrested the head of a residential women’s madrasa in Pabna Sadar upazila over allegations that he attempted to rape a fourth-grade student. The madrasa premises were vandalised and parts of the building set on fire following the incident.

Pabna Superintendent of Police Abu Ashraf confirmed the arrest, saying the victim’s uncle had filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. Additional police have been deployed in the area to prevent further unrest.

The incident occurred late on Thursday night at Nure Madina Residential Women’s Madrasa in Bhaudanga Kalurpara of Bhara Union, where the accused, Abu Yusuf, 37, allegedly took a fourth-grade student to his bedroom by force and attempted to rape her.

Another student witnessed the incident and raised the alarm, prompting neighbours to rush to the madrasa. They rescued the child, detained Yusuf and handed him over to police.

Police subsequently took Yusuf into custody and brought him to the police station.

On Friday morning, news of the incident spread, triggering outrage among local residents, who stormed the madrasa, vandalised the premises and set parts of the building ablaze.

According to locals, Yusuf had established and been running the madrasa for several years in a rented house owned by Isai Pramanik.