Staff Correspondent

The District Education Office ordered an investigation after allegations of various irregularities, fake certificates, marriage to a minor student and death threats against three teachers and employees of Dargah Sharif Secondary School in Mirzaganj Union, Patuakhali.

However, the matter took a new turn when an accused teacher filed a case in court before the scheduled investigation and requested a stay of the investigation. The complainant claims that the court has been resorted to to obstruct the administrative investigation. On the other hand, the plaintiff teacher in the case has claimed in the court that the allegations are false and harassing.

It is learned that The Country Today newspaper's Patuakhali District Correspondent Md. Manjur Morshed Tuhin filed a written complaint with the District Education Officer on July 6, 2026.

The complaint states that the school's ICT teacher Md. Sohel is accused of marrying a minor student of the same school and living together. In addition, a complaint has been raised against Hindu teacher Chobi Rani Khaskel for taking a job using a fake educational certificate. The complaint further states that although a written complaint was filed with the Upazila Secondary Education Officer and District Education Officer on November 29, 2025, the complainant later withdrew the complaint without a full investigation, stating that the certificate of the concerned teacher was valid.

In the same complaint, the journalist claimed that on July 5, when he went to the school to collect information about the complaint, in the presence of Chobi Rani Khaskel, assistant teacher Md. Sohel and English teacher Billal Hossain Raju, at the instigation of the fourth grade employee Md. Jalil Goldar, misbehaved with them and threatened to kill them. The complaint also states that the video of the incident and the school's CCTV footage are preserved.

In addition, Md. Jalil Goldar is also accused of joining the job using a fake eighth grade certificate. The complainant claimed that no information about any student with that name was found in the school records of the relevant academic year.

After receiving the complaint, on July 8, 2026, District Education Officer Muha. Mujibur Rahman appointed Assistant Inspector Md. Abu Hanif and Research Officer Md. Ayub Ali Khan as investigation officers to investigate the matter and ordered them to submit a report within five working days.

Then on July 9, another letter was sent from the District Education Office stating that an on-site investigation would be held at the school at 10 am on July 13. The teachers and employees concerned were instructed to be present for the investigation along with the necessary documents.

But before the investigation was conducted, the accused teacher Chobi Rani Khaskel filed case No. 65/2026 in the Mirzaganj Civil Judge Court. In the case, she applied for a stay of the District Education Office's July 8 investigation order (Memorandum-532) and July 9 letter regarding investigation assistance (Memorandum-542).

In view of this, the court issued a show cause notice to the concerned defendants and asked them to show cause why the investigation process will not be suspended. The court notice has asked them to appear and respond on the specified date.

In the application for the case, Chobi Rani Khaskel claimed that she was appointed as per the rules in 2003, later completed the necessary religious courses and has been serving as an MPO registered teacher for a long time. She further claimed that the Upazila Secondary Education Office had earlier investigated and found the authenticity of her educational certificate and no irregularities were found in various audits of the Education Department. Therefore, the new investigation initiative is an attempt to harass and dismiss her.

District Education Officer Muha. Mujibur Rahman said, "In view of the complaint, an investigation committee has been formed as per the rules and a proper investigation has been ordered. The time for the on-site investigation was fixed for July 13. However, Chobi Rani Khaskel has sent a show cause notice through the court regarding the suspension of the investigation process. A proper reply will be given in the court and further activities will be conducted as per the court's instructions and prevailing rules."

The incident has created a lot of discussion in the local education arena. The complainant claims that an impartial investigation is necessary to uncover the truth of the allegations. On the other hand, the accused teacher has presented her position through the court