From a Correspondent
JORHAT, October 19: The Imam (religious head) of the Cinmora Basbari Mosque under Cinmora Outpost of Jorhat was apprehended by a team of Paltan Bazaar Police Station in Guwahati led by Sub-Inspector Aminul Islam and Ujjal Goswami from the Paltan Bazaar bus station when the Imam, identified as Mohd Abdul Basit (43), along with his two minor - daughters, one 7 years old and another 4 years old – were about to board a bus to Karimganj. The arrest comes regarding a Cinmora P.S Case no 2274/15 filed by one Imtiaz Hussain of kachari.
Talking to The Sentinel, Mayurjit Gogoi, Officer-in-Charge of Cinmora Outpost said, “Mohd Abdul Basit is by profession an Imam at the Basbari mosque near the Sunday Bazaar under Cinmora Outpost of Jorhat and is married to Tamiza Begum (45). It was at around 2:45 am on October 18 that our patrolling party was informed about an attempted assault by the Imam on his wife with sharp weapons. We reached the spot within 10 minutes to see Tamiza bleeding profusely. She was hacked repeatedly on her head from behind by the Imam with a sickle type sharp weapon. In the meantime, Mohd Abdul Basit had already fled the scene with his two minor daughters on a Scooty (AS 03 L 9047).”
“We sought local help and after calling the 108 ambulance service we first shifted the victim to the JMCH while another party went on the Imam’s trail to recover the two minor girls as well as apprehend the Imam. Our informants informed about Abdul Basit taking shelter in the Gohain Tekela mosque which is under the Bhogdoi Outpost. But once again, the accused maged to give us a slip and before our arrival, he not only vanished from there but also set on fire to the Scooty, perhaps to give the incident another angle. Incidentally, the Scooty belonged to another person of a different community. His wife Tamiza Begum is origilly from kachari of Jorhat while Abdul Basit, son of Urmaan Ali, is a resident of Rahotpur, Bhanga Bazaar under Karimganj PS. Based on an FIR filed by the nephew of Tamiza Begum, we registered a Cinmora P.S case no 2274/15 U/S 324, 307, 498 (A) and 436 IPC and immediately circulated the Imam’s photo, besides monitoring his mobile tower location which ultimately led to the successful arrest,” added OC Mayurjit Gogoi.
Meanwhile, other police sources informed that a team of police led by Assistant Sub Inspector of Police Jatin Mohon and Head Constable Bisheswar Gogoi under instructions from OC Mayurjit Gogoi left for Guwahati on Monday to pick the Imam and reunite the daughters with their mother’s family. The people in general have condemned the ghastly act committed by the Imam. Stern police action has been demanded by the public. Sources said that the Imam often had petty quarrels with his wife that led to an escalation of domestic violence and on Sunday the scene took an ugly turn.