Ajmer: An imam was allegedly beaten to death by three masked miscreants in the wee hours of Saturday in Rajasthan's Ajmer, a police official said. A case has been registered and search is on for the accused, he added.
According to the police, a team from Ramganj police station reached Mohammadi Masjid in Kanchan Nagar in Ajmer this morning and found Maulana Mohammad Mahir lying in a pool of blood. The body has been shifted to the mortuary of JLN Hospital in Ajmer for post-mortem.
Ramganj police station in-charge Ravindra Singh Kheri said the incident took place when the imam was sleeping in a room next to the mosque with six children. As per preliminary investigation, three masked men had stormed into the room in the wee hours and started beating him with sticks, he said.
When the children woke up, they were threatened not to raise an alarm. After the imam succumbed to his injuries, the trio left and the children ran outside to inform others, Kheri said.
The maulana was a resident of Rampur area of Uttar Pradesh. When the children were interrogated, they told police that the accused had told them that they too would be killed if they made any noise. Maulana's family members have been informed, police said.
The FSL and dog squad team have arrived at the spot and are presently collecting evidence. Investigation has revealed that the accused had entered the mosque through the back door and after murdering the imam, they fled through the same route. They also took the imam's mobile phone with them so as to prevent the children from informing anyone.
Officials of Ramganj police station are examining the CCTV footage from buildings around the mosque. Till now, police have recovered two sticks from the fence behind the mosque and it is being suspected that these were used by the accused.
Kheri said when neighbours were interrogated, it came to light that the imam was living here for the last seven years and used to teach children. More than a dozen children live at this mosque.
Six months ago, after former imam, Maulana Zakir Hussain died due to illness, Mohammad Mahir took over as the new imam.
Meanwhile, the incident has triggered panic and anger among residents of the area. Locals have demanded that the accused be arrested immediately.
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