On July 19th, the Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ) of Morigaon district sentenced a cleric from Morigaon district to 20 years in jail for the sexual abuse of a minor child. The accused identified as Imam Manzil Islam had been positioned as the Imam of the local Mosque named Dakshin Balidonga Rahmania Jame Masjid.

According to the local reports, a case was registered against Imam Manzil Islam at Bhuragaon Police Station on March 25th, 2023 accusing him of raping a minor boy. Investigating the case, the Bhuragaon police arrested the Imam who was believed to have a questionable character, and sent him to jail.

Last week, the Special Judge of the POCSO court convicted Imam Manzil Islam on the basis of evidence after expeditiously considering case no. 39/2023 and POCSO case 69/2023 registered at Morigaon Bhuragaon police station.

The court examined all the pieces of evidence that exposed the Imam of having sexually abused a minor child. The accused also had threatened the victim of death. The court finally in the last week sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under the POCSO Act and imposed a monetary fine of ₹10,000. However, the time he has already spent in jail, which is almost 1 year and 4 months, will be deducted from the jail term.