Lucknow: A 28-year-old cleric was arrested on Thursday for the alleged rape of an 11-year-old girl in Hamirpur district. The incident reportedly occurred on Wednesday morning in the cleric’s room in a mosque.
The accused was identified as Maulana Muntazir Alam.
Station house officer, Kurara, Shree Prakash, said the survivor and her younger brother (9) used to take Arabic and Urdu lessons from the cleric in the mosque. The cleric allegedly lured the girl with toffees to his room on Wednesday and allegedly raped her. The accused cleric fled when the girl’s screams drew the attention of local residents.
The SHO added that the cleric had told the girl’s younger brother to wait outside the mosque.
The girl returned home with her brother and told her mother about the incident. Her father, a truck driver, was in Banda district at the time of the incident. The parents then informed the police and lodged a complaint against the accused.
SHO Prakash said a case was registered and two police teams were formed to nab the accused. The accused cleric was arrested from the outskirts of Hamirpur.
