A 55-year-old Imam named Maulana Tehzeeb Islam was tragically stabbed to death in a mosque in Assam’s Tinsukia district during the early hours of Sunday, according to the police.
They also confirmed the arrest of the suspected assailant. Hailing from Bihar’s Purnia district, Maulana Tehzeeb Islam served as an Imam at a mosque located in Tinsukia’s Makum Kolabari area.
The police disclosed that the alleged perpetrator, a 42-year-old local resident named Mohammad Ibrahim Ahmed, entered the mosque during Sunday morning prayers, wielding a machete, and inflicted multiple stab wounds on Maulana Islam.
Despite the fatal outcome, the accused managed to escape, leaving behind the murder weapon, and later returned to the scene, pretending to be a mere bystander.
Law enforcement swiftly apprehended him, and Ibrahim Ahmed has been formally charged under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, citing his confession to the crime.
The additional superintendent of police (ASP) of Tinsukia district stated that further interrogation was ongoing, with the possibility of additional charges.
Local witnesses recounted a previous verbal altercation between the Imam and the accused, with Ahmed allegedly issuing death threats to the Imam a few days earlier.