Narail teacher suspended for harassing female student

An assistant teacher of a secondary high school in Sadar upazila of the district has been temporarily suspended for physically harassing a female student, reports UNB.

Locals, guardians and civil society formed a human chain and staged a broom procession in front of the school on Tularam-Sheikhhati road demanding the suspension, as well as exemplary punishment for the accused teacher, forcing the authorities to act on Tuesday.

Speakers included Assistant Prof Ramesh Chandra Adhikary, Awami League leaders Asim Kumar Pal and Biproda Proshanna Mallick, and former health officer Sudir Kumar Pal.

They alleged that the accused teacher, Sukanta Kumar Goswami, had been physically harassing and teasing female students in the name of teaching.

In the afternoon of January 18, the teacher called a female student to an isolated room on the first floor of the school and harassed her physically.

Later, the victim shared the matter with her friends and mother.

Goswami again harassed her on the pretext of dropping her home when she was returning after getting vaccinated for Covid-19.  

The now disgraced teacher even threatened to make her fail in her exams when she raised her voice against the incidents.

Rabindranath Mandal, headmaster of the school, said her mother filed a complaint in writing against the teacher on January 22.

Later, the issue was informed to Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Upazila Education officer, he said.

Headmaster Mandal said a five-member committee headed by the School Managing Committee’s Member Ratan Bhowmick was formed and asked to submit its report within seven working days.

Necessary measures will be taken in this connection after getting the report, he said, adding that Goswami was temporarily suspended.

UNB managed to reach Goswami, who defended himself by saying that his opponents had hatched a conspiracy to disgrace him socially. He denied any involvement in the alleged incidents.