Kochi: Rape-accused Imam moves for advance bail

Kochi: Shafiq Al Qassimi, the former chief imam of Tholicode Juma Masjid facing charges of sexually assaulting a minor, has approached the high court on Thursday for anticipatory bail as the police booked him on rape charges.

The cleric, who was a leader of All India Imams Council controlled by the Popular Front of India (PFI), is absconding since local people caught him with the 14-year-old girl in a forest area. The medical examination of the girl later confirmed sexual abuse.

In the anticipatory bail application, he pleaded innocence and argued it was part of a political vendetta waged by the CPM against him after he spoke at a meeting of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the PFI's political platform.