Kushtia schoolgirl stabbing: Imon arrested, 14 detained in anti-gang raids

Police have arrested Imon, the teenager accused of stabbing a Class 10 schoolgirl in public outside her home in Kushtia town. He went into hiding with family members after the attack but was arrested late on Tuesday night in Patikabari, Kushtia Sadar upazila. District police also detained 14 others in special raids against teenage gangs across the town following the incident.

Imon was arrested around 1am on Tuesday (10 November). Kushtia Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Zakir Hossain confirmed the arrest, saying police had detained him in Patikabari over the stabbing.

According to police, Imon is the son of Abbas Uddin of Patikabari. His family moved to the Purba Mojompur area of Kushtia municipality about 20 years ago. His father has been in Saudi Arabia for a long time, while his elder brother Akash lives in the Netherlands. Imon is the younger of the two brothers.

The attack took place at 1:11pm on Monday (9 November) in the town’s Thanapara area. The victim is a Class 10 student at a local school. She had returned home after a test examination and was standing downstairs ringing the doorbell when a teenager approached her from behind, stabbed her indiscriminately with a sharp weapon and fled.

The student suffered wounds to at least six parts of her body. Local residents rescued her and took her to Kushtia General Hospital. According to doctors, she is now out of danger.

Police identified the teenager involved in the attack after analysing CCTV footage and intelligence. However, Imon went into hiding with family members after the attack. Their house was locked from the outside, and police found no one during a raid there. Several police teams later tracked his location through raids and surveillance and arrested him.

Kushtia Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Pranab Kumar Sarkar said several police teams had been working to arrest the accused since the incident. The victim’s family is in the process of filing a case. Police will speak to the student in the presence of female police personnel once she has recovered further, both physically and mentally, to try to establish the motive for the attack.

Meanwhile, district police launched special anti-teenage-gang raids after the public stabbing sparked concern and anger across the town. After dusk on Monday, police raided several gathering spots, including the municipal pond area and the Zila Parishad’s Rabindra-Lalon Udyan park. They detained 14 people during the roughly hour-long operation.

Police said they were checking the identities of those detained and their involvement in criminal activities. They will take the necessary legal action after completing the checks.