A 55-year-old imam was stabbed to death inside a mosque in Assam’s Tinsukia district in the early hours of Sunday, police said. The accused has been arrested.
The victim, Maulana Tehzeeb Islam, hailed from Bihar and was an imam at a mosque in Tinsukia’s Makum Kolabari area.
According to the police, the accused, 42-year-old Mohammad Ibrahim Ahmed, entered the mosque with a machete during the early morning prayers and stabbed the imam several times. While the imam died on the spot, Ahmed fled.
“The Imam died on the spot, and the accused fled, leaving behind the murder weapon. He changed his bloodstained dress and came back pretending to be an onlooker. We identified and detained him,” police said.
A case under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered.
A report by the Hindustan Times states that the duo had a verbal argument a few days ago, and Ahmed had threatened to kill him. When the imam was requested to lodge a complaint with the police, he had said, “Allah will protect me.”
Meanwhile, Ahmed has confessed to his crimes. Police speculate personal grudges as the motive behind the murder. However, investigations are still underway.
