Bangladesh: Hindu headmaster beaten, forced to resign amid false charges

Dhaka(The Uttam Hindu): Family of an ousted Hindu headmaster of a high school in Bangladesh has expressed grave concerns and disappointment after he was held hostage and compelled to resign from his post based on unfounded allegations. Local media reports cited that Kanti Lal Acharya, the acting headmaster of Bhatiari Haji Tobarak Ali Chowdhury (TAC) High School in Chittagong, was pressured into signing a resignation letter by members of Khaleda Zia led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its affiliated organisations.

The headmaster's daughter, Bhavana Acharya on Thursday took to social media, alleging that her father was forced to step down without any proven charges. "My father Kanti Lal Acharya has been teaching at Bhatiari Haji Tobarak Ali High School for 35 years. My father was forcibly removed from the post of acting headmaster on Wednesday without any proven charges. What crime has my father committed? Nothing has been told," she wrote in her social media post

"Before the latest episode, my father was forbidden to go to school. He was told that if he went to school, he would be humiliated. In response to that, my father said that he had done nothing wrong and committed no crime. He said that if you ask me to step down from my post, I will step down without hesitation but I will still go to school and not run away. He had asked to bring proof of his crime," Bhavana Acharya wrote.

She said that her father was "still fearless" and was forcefully asked to sign a paper that said that he was resigning voluntarily due to corruption charges. "My father fearlessly said that he has not committed any corruption and will not sign on the page. He said he would rather resign. At that point, people beat my father. Later, another paper was written which said that he has resigned for personal reasons," she stated

"This is an insult to a teacher! We are the only lowly nation in the world who are targetting teachers at every level and presenting them with this humiliating situation," she added further, expressing disappointment. Speaking to Bangladesh's leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo, Kanti Lal Acharya said that he has fallen ill after the school incident and is in a state of fear and panic with his entire family also worried about him.

When asked about the incident, Upazila Executive Officer Fakhrul Islam told Prothom Alo that the Chittagong Education Board authorities have formed a committee headed to investigate the incident. Certain reports also suggested that BNP members who had attacked the teacher claimed that Bangladesh should be an Islamic state where non-Muslims cannot be a head teacher. Bangladesh has been gripped with violence and a deteriorating law and order situation since the fall of the Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, last year.

The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has been frequently accused of engaging in the persecution of minorities. India has repeatedly raised concerns over the current situation, hoping that the Yunus-led government would take strong action against the perpetrators of violence. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also raised the issue of the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, during his meeting with Yunus, held on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok.