Sylhet Bureau

Social media harassment, police investigation, and administrative probe plans involving a primary school headteacher over a Facebook reel ended in a dramatic U-turn by the education administration following interventions by state minister Bobby Hajjaj.

The drama unfolded on July 23 after Beauty Paul, headteacher of Pitaitikor Government Primary School in Sylhet’s Fenchuganj upazila, uploaded a short video reel on her Facebook page. Set to a segment of the popular 1980s band Different Touch’s iconic song "Shrabon er Megh Gulo," the video showed her walking across the school campus wearing a saree.

The post triggered severe online trolling and harassment against the headteacher. In response, teachers from primary schools across the country rallied behind her in solidarity, posting similar videos set to the same track under hashtags protesting the online abuse.

On July 24, Beauty Paul filed a GD with Fenchuganj Police Station seeking safety and action against cyberbullies.

Fenchuganj Police Station OC Lutfur Rahman confirmed the investigation, noting that Paul filed the complaint as individuals exaggerated and misrepresented her video, causing her severe embarrassment. The police's IT forensics team was deployed to identify those responsible for harassing her online.

Initially, the Sylhet District Primary Education Office contemplated forming an inquiry committee to determine whether the video violated the government employee code of conduct or social media guidelines for civil servants. District Primary Education Officer Sakhawat Ershad stated that officials were reviewing whether any administrative rules had been broken.

However, the local education office took a complete U-turn after State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj addressed the matter during his visit to Sylhet on Monday.

When reporters questioned him regarding the controversy, Hajjaj remarked: "I am not on social media, so I haven't seen the video. But after asking around, I learned that she made a video with a song and there was no vulgarity involved. Unless there is something objectionable, singing or using a song isn't a crime—whether anyone else accepts that or not, I certainly do."

Following the state minister’s statement, the Sylhet primary education administration scrapped its plan to launch an investigation.