Raihan Sharif would wield gun very often, but nobody prevented him

Raihan Sharif, a teacher at the Community Medicine Department at Shaheed M Monsur Ali Medical College, Sirajganj, who came into focus after shooting a student had been carrying illegal arms for a long time.

He often would threaten to shoot people differing in his opinions, but no action was taken against him.

The teacher was sacked from his previous workplace the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Sirajganj on allegations of threatening a senior colleague at gunpoint.

Students alleged he threatened them very often while welding his pistol at his present workplace. Having received verbal complaints, the college authorities served the teacher show cause notice twice, to which the teacher did not respond, said Amirul Hossain Chowdhury, principal of Mansur Ali Medical College.

The principal claimed they could not take any action against Raihan Sharif due to his connection to influential people.

Raihan Sharif shot student Arafat Amin during a viva examination at the college on Monday afternoon. On information, police rushed to the spot and recovered two foreign pistols, 81 rounds of bullets, four magazines, and 12 foreign knives from him.

The police said Raihan Sharif faces two lawsuits. The victim’s father Abdullah Al Amin filed one of the cases accusing the teacher of attempting to kill, as well as intimidating his son. Raihan Sharif gave a confessional statement to judge Billa Hossain at Sirajganj’s additional chief judicial magistrate court in this case.

Detective branch inspector Abdul Wadud of Sirajganj’s police filed another case under the Arms Control Act, the police sought a seven-day remand for the teacher, which the court did not grant as he gave a confession in another case.

Sirajganj superintendent of police Arifur Rahman Mandal told Prothom Alo that the two pistols seized from Raihan Sharif were illegal. Nobody complained to the police against him for carrying arms and threatening with guns, but now the matter will be investigated, he added.

Raihan Sharif joined the Monsur Ali Medical College as a lecturer of community medicine one and a half years ago. Since then he has been doing various wrongdoings that include threatening students at gunpoint, displaying a pistol in the classroom and making indecent gestures toward female students. Video clips of Raihan Sharif intimidating students with a pistol in the classroom are making the rounds on social media platform Facebook.

One of the college students, Emamul Hasan said Raihan Sharif often would go to the student dormitory at midnight and threatened students with the pistol. He would force students to buy tea and snacks for him with the students’ money. He sometimes would force them to take those tea and snacks to the female students’ dormitories.

One of the dormitory students, Saimul Rahman alleged that Raihan Sharif came to his room one night and ordered him to bring tea and some puffed rice. As he served the teacher with mixed puffed rice, Raihan Sharif then asked him to have some. Since he did not agree to eat puffed rice at midnight, Raihan Sharif brought out his pistol and said, ‘Have some puffed rice or I will shoot you.’

Sources said Raihan Sharif was a student of the 52nd batch of Rajshahi Medical College (RMC) and vice president of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s RMC unit. He was a medical officer of the private North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Sirajganj town in 2017. North Bengal Medical College community medicine associate professor and Bangladesh Medical Association, Sirajganj chapter president Zahurul Haque told Prothom Alo Raihan Sharif often created a terrifying situation wielding a gun and he was terminated after threatening the hospital’s child department head Liakat Ali at gunpoint.

Liakat Ali told Prothom Alo on Tuesday that Raihan Sharif pointed the pistol at him at one stage of exchanging heated arguments over distributing responsibilities.

Raihan Sharif allegedly harassed a female physician three months ago while attending foundation training at the National Academy for Planning and Development in Dhaka. The training took place between December 2023 and February 2024. Another physician, who stayed in the next room of the victim, told Prothom Alo that Raihan Sharif knocked on the door of the victim’s room at night and disturbed her in various ways during the training. The authorities were informed of the matter, but no action was taken.

Students, who witnessed Monday’s incident, said Raihan Sharif took out a pistol from his bag in the classroom and said, "This is my pet bird’ and then opened firing a round that hit student Arafat Amin’s right thigh."

According to the case statement filed over this incident, Raihan Sharif always behaves rudely. He would carry pistols and sharp knives in his bag. He took class keeping a pistol on the table. When Arafat Amin screamed for help after being hit with a bullet, friends approached him. As they tried to take him to the hospital’s emergency department, Raihan Sharif shouted at them while welding the gun saying, “If you take him to the emergency department for treatment, I will shoot all of you to death.”

Sirajganj’s DB inspector Julhas Uddin said lots of images of foreign pistols were found on the mobile phone that belongs to Raihan Sharif. The police raided his residence on the Sirajganj Government College Road to determine whether he possessed more guns, but no arms were found. According to this police official, Raihan Sharif admitted during primary interrogation that he has a fascination for guns and bought the pistols at Tk 180,000 each.

The probe committee formed by the Directorate General of Medical Education (DGME) over Monday’s incident started working. A three-member probe team visited the campus on Tuesday. When the team led by DGME additional director general professor Baizid Khoorshid Riaz was taking the statement of the injured student and the witnesses, general students were demonstrating on the campus boycotting the class. Protesting students also blocked the Sirajganj-Nalka regional road demanding the termination of Raihan Sharif and revoke of his medical certificate. Traffic remained halted on the road for an hour, later students cleared the road upon the assurance of the college principal.

Sources said Raihan Sharif admitted to the probe team of firing shots at the student, but claimed it was ‘unintentional’. He also admitted possessing two unlicensed pistols and displaying them at various times. The committee may file the report in three days, but Raihan Sharif is likely to face action before that.

According to the probe committee sources, the victim student sustained minor injuries. The bullet first hit the mobile phone in his pocket before piercing through his body.

Shaheed M Monsur Ali Medical College principal Amirul Hossain Chowdhury told Prothom Alo students are terrified about whether Raihan Sharif will return to campus after getting bail. Academic councils were called urgently and several decisions have been taken. They would recommend for sacking Raihan Sharif from jobs as per the rules, he added.

*This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna