The Thiruvananthapuram Rural police on Tuesday booked the former Imam of a mosque at Tholicode, near Vithura, under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly sexually harassing a minor girl.
The Vithura police have identified the accused as Shafeeq Al Qassimi, who is the former Chief Imam of the Tholicode Muslim Jamaat.
He was allegedly apprehended by a group of women over a week ago after he had taken the victim in his car to an isolated, forested area at Peppara.
The case was registered on the basis of a complaint submitted by the president of the mosque.
The victim and her family were purportedly reluctant to file a complaint, the police said. Besides being removed from the position, the accused has also been suspended by the All India Imams Council.