Hefazat-Khelafat Majlis Leader Leads Fajr Prayers Without Bathing After Allegedly Raping Student

❐ Local correspondent

An imam and madrasa principal have been accused of raping a 16-year-old madrasa student in Companiganj, Sylhet. The accused is a senior leader of Hefazat-e-Islam and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis.

He is reported to have been in hiding since the allegations came to light.

The accused Hafez Mufti Noman Bin Rabbani (35) is the son of Golam Rabbani of Batertol village of the upazila. He is the Imam of Shaheed Smriti Tukerbazar High School and College Jame Mosque and the Principal of Darul Arqam Ebtedayi Madrasa. He is also the President of the Upazila Shane Sahaba National Khatib Foundation, Upazila Secretary of  of the Upazila Branch of Hefazat-e-Islam.

The victim student said that on Thursday evening, November 5, when he went to the mosque, the accused imam told him to press his head, saying he had a headache. Later, he gave him the responsibility of leading the Isha prayer. After the prayer, the imam told him to invite him to his house and asked him to come and inform him from home. After going to that house at night, he gave the student a massage on the pretext of stomach pain. At one point, he raped her. The student said that he was also threatened with death if he told anyone about the matter.

According to the victim, the imam took her to the mosque on a motorcycle during Fajr. Then, he led the prayer without taking a bath. After the prayer, he also stomped on her feet.

The student returned home and told his mother the whole incident.

The victim’s mother has demanded exemplary punishment for the accused. She said that what happened to her child should not happen to any other child in the future. She has demanded exemplary punishment for this incident.

Mohammad Usman Gani, officer-in-charge of Companiganj Police Station, said that the police are investigating the matter. Appropriate legal action will be taken if a complaint is received.