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Police to quiz top religious scholar over slain lawmaker claims

Police have summoned renowned local scholar Sheikh Ilyas Hussain to question him over his recent claims regarding the gruesome murder of a top lawmaker in 2012.

An Islamic scholar himself MP Dr Afrasheem Ali's body was discovered brutally stabbed to death in the stairwell of his home on October 2, 2012.

During an opposition campaign rally in the southernmost Atoll Addu City on Saturday, Sheikh Ilyas claimed that there had been nine murders which are directly connected to Afrasheem's killing.

He criticized the police for failing to properly investigate the circumstances surrounding the murders.

In response, police during an impromptu press conference on Wednesday insisted that police had yet to receive such information and wished to question Sheikh Ilyas over his claims.

Police spokesperson Ahmed Shifan however did not specify when the Sheikh had been summoned for questioning.

Meanwhile, 24 year old Hussain Humam Ahmed remains on death row for Afrasheem's murder.

Humam had confessed to killing Afrasheem during a remand hearing. When the case reached the court, he retracted the confession, claiming his confession had been coerced.