Muezzin ‘kills’ minor girl in N’ganj

Law enforcers today arrested a muezzin in Narayanganj on charge of killing a minor girl.

Hafez Jahirul Islam, 30, muezzin of a mosque in Barapa Sutlara area of Rupganj upazila, was held after the body of deceased Sumaiya, 8, was recovered from a pond beside the mosque on Friday night, reports our correspondent.

According to the father of the victim, Sumaiya and another girl from their neighbourhood went to attend Arabic class at Barapa Sutlara Mollah Bari Jam-e-Masjid around 6:00am on Thursday.

After the class, the other girl named Tamanna returned home but Sumaiya did not, Wazit Mia, Sumaiya’s father, said at a press conference.

She had been missing since then.

Based on allegations raised by the locals, police interrogated Jahirul, who at one stage admitted that he threw the girl in the pond, said Md Ismail Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Rupganj Police Station.

After the Arabic class, he asked Sumaiya to stay back for cleaning the mosque staircase. While sweeping, she fell down and got injured, he claimed. Scared of beating by the locals for her injuries, muezzin Jahirul threw Sumaiya in the pond, the OC also said quoting the muezzin.

Whether the girl was raped before being killed could be confirmed after autopsy, he added.