Schoolgirl Found Dead at Boarding Madrasa in Gournadi

Police have recovered the body of an 11-year-old student from the room of a residential madrasa in Gournadi upazila, Barishal. The deceased, identified as Jannatul Ferdaous, was found hanging late on Monday night, 20 July, at the Miftahul Jannah Hifzul Quran Model Women’s Madrasa in the Kasemabad area.

Jannatul was the daughter of Md Santu, an expatriate worker hailing from Naluya village in Naogaon’s Atrai upazila. Prior to her admission to the boarding facility, she resided with her mother at her maternal grandfather’s residence in Kasemabad, Gournadi, to pursue Quranic studies locally.

According to police accounts citing fellow students, suspicion arose on Monday evening after a dormitory room remained locked from the inside for an unusually long period. Concerned by the lack of response, classmates peered through the glass window, discovering Jannatul hanging from the window grille by a scarf. The alarming sight prompted widespread panicked cries for help from the residential students.

Teachers and nearby residents rushed to the scene upon hearing the commotion and forced open the locked door. Although they immediately lowered her to the ground, the young girl had already died before medical attention could be rendered.

Officers from Gournadi Model Police Station arrived at the institution late on Monday night to retrieve the body and conduct preliminary inquest procedures. On Tuesday morning, 21 July, the remains were dispatched to the mortuary at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal for a formal post-mortem examination.

The director of the institution, Md Abu Yousuf Khondoker, stated that 15 female students currently reside at the boarding facility. Two female teachers were on duty monitoring the residential premises at the time of the tragedy.

Investigating officers have initiated an inquiry to determine the precise circumstances surrounding the girl’s death. Md Tariq Hasan Russell, Officer-in-Charge of Gournadi Model Police Station, confirmed that police are evaluating all possibilities, including suicide or foul play. Law enforcement authorities added that official legal proceedings are ongoing and the definitive cause of death will be confirmed once the autopsy report is released by medical examiners.