Private madrasa demolished by villagers in Goalpara district, says Assam police

Assam police on Tuesday said local residents at Darogar Alga, a riverine village in Goalpara district demolished a private madrasa, where two Bangladeshi nationals worked as teachers earlier.

The two Bangladeshi nationals, Aminul Islam alias Usman and Jahangir Alom are now absconding and are wanted by the Assam Police for being members of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a banned terror group and an affiliate of Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), police said.

Police said Jalauddin Sheikh, who was arrested recently for his alleged involvement with the ABT, disclosed that he had engaged the two Bangladeshi nationals in the madrasa as teachers.

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Three madrasas were earlier demolished by administration in Morigaon, Barpeta and Bongaigaon districts in August. But police on Tuesday said the fourth madrasa at Goalpara was demolished by local residents and not by the administration. A house adjacent to the madrasa was also demolished by Muslim villagers, police said.

Morigaon, Barpeta, Bongaigaon and Goalpara districts has a sizeable Muslim population. Demolition of three madrasa had invited strong protests by the Opposition parties in Assam.

The administration said the private madrasas were demolished as they were found violating construction and safety norms. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, however, said police investigation found that members of Islamic terror groups, ABT and AQIS also used madrasa in some places to carry forward their "jihadi activities."

The state police have arrested at least 37 people including Madrassa teachers since March this year for their alleged links with ABT and AQIS.

The BJP-led government had earlier closed down nearly 800 government-aided madrassas in the state stating that religious education can not be allowed with public funding. The government also asked the state police to step up vigil against private madrasas in order to prevent use of such institutions by unlawful organisations.