Teacher Detained Over Remarks on Prime Minister Released Following Direct Intervention
Golam Kibria, a secondary school Bangla teacher in Kushtia's Daulatpur upazila, was released from police custody following a directive from Bangladesh's Prime Minister, according to Mahdi Amin, the Prime Minister's spokesperson and adviser. The directive was publicly disclosed in a Facebook post late Wednesday night (Oct 1).
The educator, who teaches at Pragpur Secondary School, was initially detained by law enforcement at approximately 11:00 AM on Wednesday (Oct 1) from the Bheramara-Pragpur regional highway area. Daulatpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Khaledur Rahman had earlier confirmed the apprehension, which stemmed from allegations that the teacher had made derogatory and offensive remarks concerning the Prime Minister inside a classroom.
The controversy originated on Tuesday afternoon (Sept 30) at around 3:00 PM while Kibria was conducting a Bangla class for tenth-grade students. According to accounts from local residents, guardians, and students, the discussion turned toward the Prime Minister's recent address in the Bangla language at the United Nations. Students alleged that the teacher made objectionable remarks regarding the Prime Minister's pronunciation, prompting immediate discontent among the attendees.
Following the dismissal of school, students shared the incident within the community, leading agitated guardians and local residents to gather on the school premises on Wednesday morning (Oct 1) to demand punitive measures against the instructor. Police units were dispatched to the location to manage the escalating situation before detaining the teacher. During an internal interrogation conducted earlier on Wednesday morning by school authorities and management committee members, Kibria maintained that he had merely remarked that the Prime Minister's Bangla pronunciation had developed slight ambiguities due to an extended period of living abroad.
Detailing the intervention, the Prime Minister's adviser stated on social media that upon learning of the detention, the Prime Minister expressed strong displeasure and immediately instructed the concerned police station to release the teacher respectfully and escort him safely to his residence. Complying with the directive, Daulatpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Khaledur Rahman confirmed that police safely transported the teacher to his home in a vehicle at 11:45 PM on Wednesday (Oct 1).
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