Highlights
- Assam's Markazul Ma-Arif Quariayana Madrasa was demolished on Wednesday.
- This is the 3rd Madrasa demolished by Assam government following arrests of 37 persons.
- The Imam and Madrasa teachers linked with AQIS/ABT were also arrested.
Assam Madrasa demolished: Assam's Markazul Ma-Arif Quariayana Madrasa was demolished on Wednesday following arrests of 37 persons including Imam and Madrasa teachers. The demolition was done over the Madrasa's links to Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). This is the third madrasa demolished by the Assam government, following the arrests.
Earlier on Monday (August 29), two persons linked to AQIS/ABT were arrested in Assam’s Barpeta district on Sunday for allegedly indulging in jihadi activities. “Police also conducted an eviction drive in a Madrasa in Barpeta as it was illegally constructed on government land and also has a link with the two arrested accused,” said Amitava Sinha, SP, Barpeta.
Regarding the madrasa demolition today, SP Swapnaneel Deka told news agency ANI, "District admin said in an order that the Madrasa is structurally vulnerable and unsafe for human habitation as the Madrasa buildings were not built as per APWD specifications/IS norms."
"Yesterday, Goalpara district police had also conducted a search operation along with an arrested person linked with AQIS/ABT in the Madrasa. As per direction of the district administration, we have started the process to demolish the Madrasa," SP Swapnaneel Deka added.
In early August, the madrasa in Assam's Morigaon district, from where its head mufti was arrested for his alleged links with Bangladesh terror outfit Ansarul Islam, was demolished. The Jamatul madrasa in Moirabari, which was sealed after the recent arrest of mufti Mustafa was bulldozed this morning, the police said.
"Out of the five terror modules busted in Assam since March this year, the Morigaon module in which two persons, including Mustafa, were arrested had used the most sophisticated communication technology and can be considered to be the most dangerous," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma later said at a press conference in Guwahati.
The madrasa was demolished under the Disaster Management Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It had no permission from either the local panchayat or the district administration and was built on the land Mustafa had got as his share of his father's property.
