On the first day of the special drive to stop harassment of schoolgirls, police yesterday picked up seven teenage boys from the capital’s Lalbagh area on suspicion.Hours after taking the suspects in custody, police released them on undertakings from their guardians.

On Saturday, student of class-VIII Umme Kulsum Elora committed suicide in the face of regular torment and harassment by a local bully.

In the wake of such premature deaths due to teasing, the government decided to deploy police at girls’ schools from yesterday.

Deputy Commissioner M Khurshid Hossain of Lalbagh division told The Daily Star that the boys were picked up from Agrani Girls’ School and College and Azimpur Government Staff Quarters areas as their movement seemed suspicious.

Before releasing, police took photographs of the suspects and undertakings from their parents, the DC said.

Officer-in-Charge of Lalbagh Police Station Mohammad Ali said among the seven suspects, five are students while two left school recently.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner AKM Shahidul Haque said plain-clothes police had been deployed in and around girls’ schools during school hours.

The DMP has launched an awareness-building programme to curb harassments of girls, he added.

The DMP commissioner also urged the parents and teachers to motivate their children and students to keep themselves from teasing girls.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net

Popularity: 1% [?]