A local leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has been expelled from the organisation following allegations that he sexually abused a nine-year-old girl in Paba upazila of Rajshahi.
The accused, Omar Faruk, 42, was stripped of his position as a Rukon and removed from all party posts and responsibilities following a decision taken at an emergency meeting of the upazila Jamaat’s working council on Sunday night (2 August).
The development came a day after police arrested Faruk from his home in the Paba area. He was later produced before a court and sent to Rajshahi Central Jail after questioning. The girl’s mother had filed a case against him under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act at Paba Police Station on the night of 31 July.
According to information available from the case, Faruk lives in the Pakarmatha area of Bargachhi village under Bargachhi Union in Paba. Before his expulsion, he served as a Rukon of Jamaat’s Ward No. 3 unit in the union. He is also known locally as a village practitioner. His brother, Abu Bakar, serves as secretary of the same ward-level Jamaat unit.
The case statement alleges that Faruk ran a medicine shop, known as Faruk Pharmacy, at his home. He also reportedly used a room inside the house to provide religious lessons to children.
According to the complaint, the nine-year-old girl went to Faruk’s home on 12 July to receive religious instruction. The allegation is that Faruk sent the other children away and sexually abused the girl after she was left alone with him.
The girl’s mother reportedly noticed marks on the child’s face and different parts of her body after she returned home. The child’s distress and crying attracted the attention of neighbours, who gathered at the family’s home. The girl subsequently described the alleged incident to her mother and others present, according to the case statement.
Following the allegations, local residents reportedly gathered outside Faruk’s home, prompting him to go into hiding. Local Jamaat leaders allegedly met the girl’s family at the time and assured them that appropriate action would be taken. However, according to the account provided, no organisational action was taken during the 19 days that followed the alleged incident.
The girl’s mother subsequently filed the case at Paba Police Station on 31 July. Police arrested Faruk the following day.
Abdur Rahman Milon, the amir of Bargachhi Union Jamaat, said on Sunday night that the organisation had conducted an internal investigation into the allegations. He said the initial findings supported the allegations, leading the upazila working council to cancel Faruk’s Rukon membership and remove him from all organisational responsibilities.
Milon described the alleged conduct as a serious moral violation and said the matter should be dealt with under the country’s existing laws.
The police investigation into the allegations is continuing. Faruk remains legally presumed innocent unless and until the allegations against him are established through due legal process.