Headmaster dies after assault by guardian

A headmaster died after being punched allegedly by a guardian of a student in Netrakona on Sunday.

Delwar Hossain Dulal, 50, was the headmaster of Udhoypur Mitali High School in Kalmakanda upazila.

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The victim's younger brother Alal Uddin lodged a murder case with Kalmakanda Police Station accusing eight people, including the guardian, yesterday.

 Quoting the victims' family members and school teachers, AKM Mizanur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Kalmakanda Police Station, said Dulal had asked a seventh grader of the school to clear the fees of the half-yearly examination and other dues before being allowed to sit for his scheduled exams on Sunday morning.

Maruf then immediately returned home and informed his father Chand Mia of the matter.

Chand Mia, who ferries people on his motorbike to earn a livelihood, went to the school with some of his relatives and locked in an altercation with the headmaster over the issue around 10:30am the same day.

At one stage, Chand Mia allegedly punched Dulal in the chest repeatedly, injuring him, said the OC.

Dulal was immediately rushed to Kalmakanda Upazila Health Complex and was later transferred to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH), where he succumbed to his injuries around 10:00pm, the OC said. The body was sent to MMCH morgue for autopsy. 

Syed Mahbub Ishtiaq, a doctor at the emergency ward of the health complex who treated Dulal, said the punch might have the caused a heart attack and eventually the death.

None of the accused could be reached for comment.

Towhid Ansari, an assistant teacher at the school, said hearing the commotion, he, along with other teachers, rushed to the spot and found the headmaster lying on the floor. “Dulal, a father of two children, had been serving the school since 1998 and no such incident had happened before,” said Ansari.

Monayeem Talukder, president of school managing committee, said the incident had shocked the entire area. He also demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. 

The school also suspended classes and examinations yesterday.

Meanwhile, hundreds of locals, including the school's teachers and students, brought out a procession from the school premises this morning, protesting the incident.

Later, they submitted a memorandum to the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Kalmakanda this noon and said if the killers were not arrested soon, they would go for tougher movement.

Arifuzzaman, UNO of Kalmakanda, said legal action would be taken against the culprits after proper investigation.

Police drives are on to arrest the absconding, said police.