Muslim Religious preacher Syed Ali arrested for raping and murdering a minor girl

Guwahati: Assam police have resolved the brutal rape and murder case of a minor girl who belonged to the religious minority community as it arrested Syed Ali, a 65 years old cleric associated with a local mosque at Bhuragaon in Morigaon district, on Saturday night.

The incident took place on 20 June, when the accused individual overpowered the nine years old girl and then disposed of her body at jute filed at Balidonga in Laharighat locality. The investigating police personnel revealed that the post-mortem report confirmed sexual assaults before the girl’s death.

A large number of neighbours identified the cleric when he went to the victim family asking the members not to follow up the case. Various women’s rights organizations demanded stringent punishments to the culprit so that it can work as a deterrent to such heinous crimes in future.

Visiting the bereaved family on Friday, State chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted that the perpetrators will not be spared. Sarma, also in charge of the State home portfolio, empathized with the victim family members and assured them of stringent punishments to the culprit. He reiterated that the safety and security to every citizen remain a priority for the government.

The police had lately arrested five other individuals in a separate rape and murder case relating to two young girls in the Kokrajhar district. The police claimed that among the five accused, Farouk Rahman, Muzammil Sheikh and Nazibul Sheikh were directly involved with the crime. Both the victims (aged 14 and 16), who belonged to the indigenous Rabha community, were found hanging from a tree at Abhayakhuti village on 16 June.

Initially, it was suspected to be a case of suicide, but CM Sarma after his visit to the victims’ families along with BTC chief Pramod Boro, revealed that both the girls were raped before murdering and putting on the tree.