Police have taken a Gazipur mosque imam into custody after he admitted that he attempted to rape a 10-year-old girl.

The accused, Khorshed Alam, 52, serves as imam of a mosque in Bairagirchala village under Sreepur municipality.

Sreepur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Shahinur Alam confirmed the detention, saying, “The local people have detained a man on charges of attempted rape and handed him over to the police. The man is the imam of a mosque. A case is under process in this incident. The accused is currently in police custody and will be sent to court tomorrow.”

The OC added that during interrogation, the imam admitted he had tried to rape the child, claiming he was “tempted by the devil.”

According to police, the incident took place about 20-25 days ago when the child was allegedly assaulted in an empty room in their house.

The girl later confided in her grandmother, who informed locals.

Locals confronted and detained the imam today around 1:00pm before handing him over to police.