After sealing Miya Museum, Assam nabs five for alleged links with AQIS, ABT

Right on the heels of the Miya Museum—that supposedly showcases the culture of immigrant Muslims in Assam—being sealed by the Goalpara district administration, three persons were arrested and booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for having alleged links with Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Bangladesh-based Islamic terror group Ansarul Bangla Team (ABT).

Mahar Ali, Abdul Baten and Tanu Kumar Dhadumiya were detained from their homes in Goalpara, Dhubri and Dibrugarh districts, respectively on Wednesday, hours after the administration in Goalpara district sealed the museum.

Two others, Sadek Ali and Jekibul Ali, were also arrested on the same charges on Wednesday. The five were arrested in connection with a case registered at Ghograpar police station in Nalbari district. The case was registered for investigation into activities of AQIS and ABT in Assam.

All five have been remanded to police custody for interrogation, and have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code on charges of criminal conspiracy and Section 10 and 13 of UAPA, for allegedly being part of an unlawful organisation.

Assam police have arrested more than 40 Muslims since March as part of its investigation to unearth modules of AQIS and ABT in the state, particularly in the Muslim-dominated districts of Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri and Morigaon.

Ali, Baten and Dhadumiya were, however, arrested soon after a controversy erupted over the opening of the Miya Museum on October 23 at the residence of Mahar Ali, chairperson of All Assam Miya Parishad at Dapkarbhita in Goalpara district.

The Bengali-speaking immigrant Muslims in Assam, who constitute nearly 30 per cent of the state’s population, are referred to as Miyas. The ruling Bharatiya Janta Party, however, considers them a threat to the identity and culture of the state’s ethnic communities, which the saffron party had made into a poll issue before the Assembly elections in 2016 and 2021. It also said it would protect the indigenous communities against the “demographic threats” posed by the immigrant Muslims.

The private museum displayed items showcasing the culture and traditions of the Miyas in Assam, akin to museums showcasing the culture of other ethnic communities in Assam. It displayed the tools used in cultivation, fishing and other activities, which were disappearing fast.

But the Goalpara district administration sealed the museum as it was opened in a house provided under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana. Dhadumia, a non-Muslim, was arrested for being part of the programme to inaugurate the museum.

The museum was sealed after several BJP MLAs and leaders demanded its demolition and even Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma questioned it stating that there is no community called Miya in the state. He said that most of the items displayed in the museum belong to the indigenous communities in Assam.

“When I opposed the idea of Miya museum and Miya poetry earlier, many called me communal. Now it is time for those to ponder over how they have opened the museum by stealing the items of our indigenous communities,” Sarma had said.