“Slap Incident” Fuels Public Outrage Against Child Sexual Abuse: Angry Crowds React Aggressively to Child Abuse at Madrasas in Several Areas

Staff Correspondent | 24 October 2026

The issue of child abuse in madrasas has come under renewed discussion after a video of a madrasa vice-principal being slapped for allegedly sexually abusing a seven-year-old child in Tongi, Gazipur went viral. In the past few days, madrasa teachers or directors have been arrested on similar charges in Gazipur, Kushtia and Pabna. In some places, angry mobs have beaten up the accused, while in others, madrasas have been vandalized and set on fire.

Tongi: Slapping video and counter-cases

A class 1 student (7) was accused of sexually assaulting the vice-principal of a madrasa in Auchpara, Tongi, last Wednesday. The child’s family said that after the incident, he was threatened with beating if he told anyone. As a result, the child did not want to go to the madrasa for several days.

After learning about the matter, the family and locals went to the madrasa to demand answers from the accused. At that time, the agitated people beat him up. A 24-second video of the slapping went viral on social media. The police rescued him from the hands of the crowd. Tongi West Police Station OC Arif Hossain said that the primary investigation found the truth of the sexual harassment allegations. When the accused was sent to court in a case filed by the child’s father, the judge sent him to jail.

On the other hand, the madrasa authorities have counter-alleged that the child’s parents were attacked, vandalized, teachers and staff beaten, and money and mobile phone looted. The OC said that efforts are underway to arrest the accused in the case.

Similar complaints in Gacha, Kushtia and Pabna

• Gazipur’s Gacha: Teacher Aliullah Islam and madrasa director Mohammad Mizan have been arrested on charges of raping an eight-year-old student of class three of a residential Qawmi madrasa. They were sent to jail on Friday. The complaint states that the child was taken to a storeroom on the night of October 10 to 12 and tortured multiple times.
• Daulatpur, Kushtia: Teacher Sayeed Hossain alias Nannu (42) has been sent to jail on charges of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old child. Police said that efforts were being made to resolve the incident locally. Knowing this, the police started the case process after talking to the family. Earlier, on October 8, three policemen including the OC were injured in an attack by an angry mob while trying to arrest the teacher on charges of rape at another madrasa in the same upazila.
• Pabna Sadar: Abu Yusuf, the director of Nur Medina Residential Women’s Madrasa in Bhandara Union, has been accused of attempting to rape a fourth-grade student. Various reports have given different ages of the student, and the investigation will clarify this. Police said that locals detained him on Thursday night and handed him over to the police. The next morning, angry people vandalized and set fire to the madrasa. A source said that the accused’s house was also set on fire. The child’s uncle has filed a case under the Women and Children Abuse Prevention Act. The Superintendent of Police said that both the complaint and the arson are being investigated and police are deployed in the area.

There has been a tendency for complaints of child abuse in madrasas to remain suppressed for a long time. According to the Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), at least 211 cases of rape and sexual abuse in madrasas have been reported to the media between 2020 and 2025. According to human rights activists, the actual number is higher because many cases are covered up by local arbitral tribunals. An analysis by Prothom Alo says that the tendency to view criticism of religious institutions as an ‘attack on religion’ often silences the victim’s family and critics. In the Daulatpur incident in Kushtia, efforts were being made to resolve the matter locally. After the police came to know about it and spoke to the child’s family, the mother filed a complaint. In recent days, cases and arrests have been made in Tongi, Gacha, Daulatpur and Pabna within a short period of time, leading many to believe that the courage of parents to file complaints is increasing. However, the role of the Tongi slap video behind this trend has not been proven. Because the complaints in Kushtia and Gacha had reached the police station before the incident. The risk of taking the law into one’s own hands is also clear. A counter-case has been filed against the victim’s family in Tongi, and the incident of setting fire to a madrasa and the accused’s house in Pabna is now under investigation. Analysts therefore say that the place of courage should be to complain to the police station and seek justice in court, not to be punished by the public.

Old crisis, rare legal consequences

Allegations of child abuse in madrasas are not new to social media and the media. Many cases are ‘resolved’ locally after complaints are raised, as was seen in the Kushtia incident. In 2019, Nusrat Jahan Rafi, a student of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Madrasa, was burned to death after the sexual abuse case was not withdrawn. In that case, 16 people were initially sentenced to death. On August 24 this year, the High Court upheld the death sentences of two, sentenced four to life imprisonment and acquitted 10 others.

Warning: Anger is justified, but taking the law into your own hands is not

There is no disagreement among those concerned that ensuring the safety of children and prosecuting the accused is the responsibility of the state. However, mass beatings, vandalism and arson are ways outside the law. In this, the accused gets punished before facing trial in court, and there is also a risk that the right person will not be identified. Apart from this, burning down the madrasa also affects the education of other children. The counter-case in Tongi also shows that the victim’s family itself may find itself in legal trouble amid the tension.

Every complaint requires proof in court. It is not right to lump all madrasa teachers in one category. However, if there is no prompt investigation, protection of the victim child, and transparent trial, this anger and violence will continue to increase.