When eight to 10 men were beating up the headmaster, Jahanara Akhter of
class-II and her classmates scattered in panic. But, a man with a
cricket bat appeared out of nowhere and bashed her with it.
Screams and cries of children echoed from the walls of Khuniyagachh Government Primary School in Lalmonirhat yesterday morning when BNP men in procession stormed the school to enforce the 18-party opposition alliance hartal.
The rampaging hartal supporters vandalised the school and beat up at least 60 little children of class-II and class-III and three teachers.
Their “crime”: they went to school on a hartal day.
It was around 10:45am when about 35 hartal supporters, led by Khuniyagachh union BNP unit President Aminul Islam, stormed the school breaking through the main gate.
They had brought out a procession, which was passing the school.
Headmaster Abdul Hai of the school said, “After vandalising the main gate, they began screaming at me for keeping the school open defying the hartal.”
About 10 of the intruders pinned him down and beat him up in front of other teachers and students. They also beat up two female assistant teachers, Sabina Yasmin Kakuli and Taznin Akhter.
“We pleaded not to attack the kids but they did not listen,” said injured Kakuli, adding that the intruders were carrying sticks, iron rods, sharp weapons and cricket bats.
Storming the teachers’ lounge, some pro-hartal men vandalised furniture and tore up books, said teachers of the school.
The students of class-II and class-II came under attack when they were trying to flee the horror.
The headmaster said apart from slapping and jabbing the children, the hartal supporters beat them up with canes they found in the teachers’ lounge, and with three to four cricket bats they were carrying.
Jamir Uddin, officer-in-charge of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station, said locals rushed to school in their hundreds hearing the news and the BNP men were forced to retreat.
The injured teachers and 20 students of class-II and class-II were treated at Khuniyagachh Union Health Complex.
President of the school managing committee, Mozammel Haq Sarker, filed a case against 65 people, mentioning names of 44, with the local police station. BNP unit President Aminul Islam was number one in the list of accused.
Officer-in-Charge Jamir Uddin said they had already started conducting raids to arrest the “BNP men responsible for the attack”.
However, contacted Aminul and he denied having anything to do with the attack.
“It is true that we brought out a procession in support of the hartal and passed by the school,” he said, claiming ignorance of the attack.
Solaiman Ali, father of injured Ankhi Moni, a class-II student, said: “It was beyond our wildest imagination that such little kids will come under attack inside a school.”
Primary and Mass Education Minister Afsarul Ameen yesterday termed the attack on the school, its teachers and students heinous and barbaric.
“We saw many agitations in the past but we never saw such an attack on any primary schoolteachers and kids. These kids are between five to 10 years old. They are just kids … they don’t understand politics,” he told over the phone yesterday evening.
Mentioning that the state minister of his ministry was already in Lalmonirhat, he said, “We’ll definitely do whatever necessary for the injured teachers and students and repair the school.”
contacted BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed for the party’s reaction to the incident. Salahuddin, at around 7:00pm yesterday, said they were unaware of the incident.
Screams and cries of children echoed from the walls of Khuniyagachh Government Primary School in Lalmonirhat yesterday morning when BNP men in procession stormed the school to enforce the 18-party opposition alliance hartal.
The rampaging hartal supporters vandalised the school and beat up at least 60 little children of class-II and class-III and three teachers.
Their “crime”: they went to school on a hartal day.
It was around 10:45am when about 35 hartal supporters, led by Khuniyagachh union BNP unit President Aminul Islam, stormed the school breaking through the main gate.
They had brought out a procession, which was passing the school.
Headmaster Abdul Hai of the school said, “After vandalising the main gate, they began screaming at me for keeping the school open defying the hartal.”
About 10 of the intruders pinned him down and beat him up in front of other teachers and students. They also beat up two female assistant teachers, Sabina Yasmin Kakuli and Taznin Akhter.
“We pleaded not to attack the kids but they did not listen,” said injured Kakuli, adding that the intruders were carrying sticks, iron rods, sharp weapons and cricket bats.
Storming the teachers’ lounge, some pro-hartal men vandalised furniture and tore up books, said teachers of the school.
The students of class-II and class-II came under attack when they were trying to flee the horror.
The headmaster said apart from slapping and jabbing the children, the hartal supporters beat them up with canes they found in the teachers’ lounge, and with three to four cricket bats they were carrying.
Jamir Uddin, officer-in-charge of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station, said locals rushed to school in their hundreds hearing the news and the BNP men were forced to retreat.
The injured teachers and 20 students of class-II and class-II were treated at Khuniyagachh Union Health Complex.
President of the school managing committee, Mozammel Haq Sarker, filed a case against 65 people, mentioning names of 44, with the local police station. BNP unit President Aminul Islam was number one in the list of accused.
Officer-in-Charge Jamir Uddin said they had already started conducting raids to arrest the “BNP men responsible for the attack”.
However, contacted Aminul and he denied having anything to do with the attack.
“It is true that we brought out a procession in support of the hartal and passed by the school,” he said, claiming ignorance of the attack.
Solaiman Ali, father of injured Ankhi Moni, a class-II student, said: “It was beyond our wildest imagination that such little kids will come under attack inside a school.”
Primary and Mass Education Minister Afsarul Ameen yesterday termed the attack on the school, its teachers and students heinous and barbaric.
“We saw many agitations in the past but we never saw such an attack on any primary schoolteachers and kids. These kids are between five to 10 years old. They are just kids … they don’t understand politics,” he told over the phone yesterday evening.
Mentioning that the state minister of his ministry was already in Lalmonirhat, he said, “We’ll definitely do whatever necessary for the injured teachers and students and repair the school.”
contacted BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed for the party’s reaction to the incident. Salahuddin, at around 7:00pm yesterday, said they were unaware of the incident.
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