RANCHI: In yet another shocking incident from Jharkhand, an imam (cleric) of a local madrasa in Simdega has been arrested allegedly for raping an eight-year-old girl, who used to go to him regularly to take Urdu tuitions along with other children. Though the incident took place on Sunday, the matter came to light on Monday after the girl’s family approached Kolebira Police Station to lodge an FIR in the matter.
“The imam, who was on the run, was arrested immediately after the FIR was lodged,” said Simdega SP Saurabh. Further action is being taken, he added. The girl’s family members, however, alleged that the local Muslim body tried to settle the matter after it came to their notice, but the girl’s parents were adamant and the FIR was filed on Monday afternoon.
According to the FIR, the girl had gone to take Urdu tuition as usual on Sunday. After the class was over, the 43-year-old imam, Aminuddin Ansari, asked the other children, except the girl, to go home and raped her after taking her to his room. “The imam also threatened the girl that if she told anybody about the incident, he will kill her and also ask the ‘genie,’ which he has kept in a bottle, to kill her parents,” stated the FIR. But the girl, after returning home, told her parents about the incident, it said.
According to the girl, a similar incident had happened two months back, but due to fear she did not tell anything to her parents, it added. The girl’s parents also alleged that they first informed the local Muslim body on Sunday seeking help and it tried to settle the matter by calling an emergency meeting on Monday, but the imam escaped.