Police in Gazipur have arrested three madrasa teachers following allegations of severe physical abuse, stripped beatings, and inflicting horrific burn injuries on two young boys using heated iron spatulas. The arrests were made between Friday night and Saturday after the parents of the two victims lodged separate official complaints detailing the torture inflicted upon their children.
The incident unfolded on Wednesday afternoon at Al-Madrasatu Darut Taqwa, a residential religious institution located in the Sakrauri area under Gacha Police Station. According to law enforcement sources and families of the victims, an altercation broke out between two students, aged 12 and 13, after one boy accidentally lost his pyjamas while playing in the madrasa compound.
Upon noticing the quarrel, Shohaib Ahammad, a 26-year-old teacher at the institution, intervened with extreme violence. He forcefully stripped the first boy, tied him, and thrashed him relentlessly with a bamboo stick, leaving extensive bruises across his body. The ordeal culminated when Ahammad heated a metal spatula and pressed it against the child’s buttocks, subsequently threatening him with dire consequences if he spoke a word about the abuse.
The second boy suffered an equally brutal ordeal. He was confined to a room, his mouth sealed with adhesive tape, and his limbs bound securely with rope. Stripped of his clothes, the 13-year-old was severely beaten before being branded on his lower abdomen with a hot iron spatula. Two other instructors at the institute—Md Habibur Rahman, 26, and Md Shahin, 19—were also implicated in participating in and abetting this systematic torture.
The horrifying acts came to light on Friday when one of the fathers noticed his son struggling to walk or sit after returning home to Nikli, Kishoreganj. The terrified child initially claimed he was suffering from boils, but broke down in tears under further questioning, revealing the full extent of the cruelty.
When the distraught father returned to the madrasa to demand answers, the teaching staff verbally abused him and forced him off the premises. The parent immediately sought medical treatment for his child at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in Gazipur, where doctors documented the extensive burn marks and physical trauma.
News of the brutality quickly triggered outrage across the Sakrauri neighbourhood. Local residents confronted the faculty on Friday night, detaining Shohaib Ahammad near the Munshi Market area before turning him over to the authorities. Following the initial complaint filed by one father, police launched a broader investigation, which led to the arrest of the remaining two suspect teachers on Saturday after the second victim’s family, hailing from Jhenaigati in Sherpur, stepped forward to press charges.
The three accused individuals—Shohaib Ahammad from Dobaura, Mymensingh; Md Habibur Rahman from Trishal, Mymensingh; and Md Shahin from Sreebardi, Sherpur—have been formally remanded into judicial custody.
Confirming the developments, the Officer-in-Charge of Gacha Police Station, Golam Rabbany, stated that two distinct cases had been registered against the trio. “All three accused teachers have been apprehended and produced before the court. Legal proceedings regarding both incidents are currently underway to ensure strict justice,” he added.
Institutional abuse and corporal punishment within educational facilities remain a persistent concern across the region, despite stringent court directives prohibiting physical violence against minors in academic environments. Rights advocates emphasize that residential madrasas, which often accommodate children from remote rural districts, require far stricter oversight and regulatory monitoring to prevent such egregious violations of child rights.
