Child Abuse: Sharmin Academy manager sent to jail

A Dhaka court yesterday sent Pabitra Kumar Barua, the manager and administrative officer of Sharmin Academy in Dhaka’s Nayapaltan, to jail in a case filed over the assault on a four-year-old student.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid passed the order after police produced him before the court, seeking confinement in jail, said a sub-inspector working at the court.

While Pabitra was standing inside the dock at the courtroom, a journalist approached him about the reason behind the alleged abuse of the child.

In response, Pabitra said the incident occurred due to the circumstances at the time.

“The child was not beaten in the manner being described to make the issue go viral,” he added.

Meanwhile, police yesterday sought a five-day remand for Pabitra. The court yesterday set January 27 for hearing on the remand prayer, said a court staffer.

Yesterday, Pabitra was arrested from a house in Dhaka’s Mirpur-6.

On Thursday, the child’s mother filed a case with Paltan Police Station under Section 70 of the Children Act against Pabitra and his wife Sharmin Jahan, the founding principal of Sharmin Academy.

The CCTV footage, dated January 18 at 12:51pm, shows a woman dragging a child in a school uniform into an office room. She first slapped the child. A man who was already present in the room then joined in, at times grabbing the child by the throat.

The man was seen holding a stapler. The child was seen crying and distressed. The woman was smiling and laughing.

According to police, the couple were seen in the video beating and intimidating the child.

The viral CCTV footage also triggered widespread public anger.

Child rights lawyers have criticised the incident, noting that corporal punishment in schools is prohibited under a 2011 Supreme Court judgement and a Ministry of Education circular.