Oldham men kidnapped and assaulted an Imam
Two men, Azizur Rahman and Shohad Miah, have been found guilty of kidnapping and violently assaulting an 87-year-old Imam in Oldham, causing severe injuries including a brain bleed. They also attempted to pervert justice by setting fire to the car used in the crime.
Two men face lengthy prison sentences after being convicted of kidnapping and brutally assaulting an 87-year-old imam in Oldham, leaving him with a brain bleed and multiple injuries across his body.
Azizur Rahman, 38, and Shohad Miah, 24, denied the charges but were found guilty at Manchester Crown Court of kidnapping, non-fatal strangulation, inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Rahman received an additional conviction for robbery.
The attack occurred around 9pm on September 15, 2024, when the elderly victim was walking on Lee Street. Miah pulled up in an Audi alongside the imam, and both men forced him into the back seat, activating the child locks to prevent his escape. They blindfolded him with his own scarf, strangled him, and assaulted him with a stick despite his pleas for mercy.
After stealing his phone, cash, and clothing, the men abandoned the victim on Oldham Road in Rishworth, Sowerby Bridge - an unfamiliar area where he had to walk before finding help. The assault left him with a brain bleed, facial swelling, lacerations to his ear and jaw, neck bruising, and a lost tooth.
The perpetrators attempted to cover their tracks by setting fire to the Audi five days later on Beever Street in Oldham. However, forensic evidence including the victim’s blood on the rear seat, DNA linking Rahman to accelerants at the scene, and dashcam footage from Miah’s Volkswagen capturing the men discussing the planned kidnapping proved their guilt.
“Azizur Rahman and Shohad Miah carried out a disgraceful, targeted attack on a lone man,” said Sobia Ahmed, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West. “After bundling him into a car, they subjected him to a brutal assault, causing serious injuries including a bleed on his brain. Not only was he physically injured and terrified, he also had his phone, cash and clothing stolen before he was callously abandoned on the street in an area he didn’t know.”
Both men will be sentenced on May 29, 2025.
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