A case has been filed against the headmaster of a kindergarten school in Badalgachhi upazila of Naogaon on charges of attempting to rape a student of class 5.

Following the incident, enraged students of the institution and a neighbouring high school vandalised and set fire to the school building.

Muhammad Ruhul Amin, officer-in-charge of Badalgachhi Police Station, confirmed the matter to The Daily Star.

The accused, Shafiul Hasan Dipu, 50, is the headmaster and founder of the school. He is also the ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami’s Akkelpur upazila unit in Joypurhat.

Locals said the incident happened on Monday morning at the school premises. As the news of the incident spread, aggrieved locals, students, and parents vandalised and set fire to the institution around 11:00am on Tuesday.

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Photo: Courtesy

Firefighters later brought the fire under control.

According to the case statement, due to the rain on Monday morning, not all the students attended class. The accused allegedly grabbed the child and tried to rape her.

However, the girl pushed him away and managed to escape. She later went home and revealed the incident to her parents.

"The child's father filed an attempted rape case against the teacher this afternoon. The accused is currently on the run. We will arrest him and proceed with further legal action," said OC Ruhul Amin.

Israt Jahan Chhani, Badalgachhi Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) visited the spot and told the local journalists, "I have inspected the scene. Necessary action will be taken after investigating the complaint."

When asked about the matter, Hasibul Alam, assistant secretary of Joypurhat district Jamaat, told The Daily Star, "We have received a complaint regarding this. We have formed an investigation team to determine whether the complaint is genuine or part of a conspiracy. Based on the investigation report, we will later inform the journalists about the matter.”