A Munshiganj court has granted bail to schoolteacher Hridoy Chandra Mondal in a case filed over “hurting religious sentiment”.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Motaharat Akter Bhuiyan passed the order on Sunday.
Earlier, Hridoy was denied bail twice.
In response to queries during a class at Binodpur Ram Kumar High School in Munshiganj on March 20, Hridoy Mondal told his students that “religion is a matter of faith” while “science looks at evidence”, according to an audio recording shared on social media.
On March 22, two days after the recording was made, the school’s headteacher told the media that students and other people from the community were demonstrating inside and outside the school calling for the teacher’s punishment. The mob also attacked his house with bricks and sticks, and hurled abuses.
Police took the teacher into custody, and later that day, an office assistant of the school filed the case with the police.
The incident has created huge outcry on social media with rights groups and activists condemning the arrest, which raises concerns about the ability of academics to teach.
