Madrasa Demolished in Assam After Head Arrested Over Alleged Terror Links

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that the man running the madrasa was linked to a Bangladeshi terror outfit.

Authorities demolished the Jamiul Huda madrasa on Thursday, 4 August, of Mustafa alias Mufti Mustafa, who was recently arrested for his alleged links with a Bangladesh-based terror outfit.

(Photo: PTI)

A madrasa in Assam's Morigaon district, whose head mufti was arrested for having alleged links with Bangladeshi terror group, Ansar ul Islam, was demolished on Thursday, 4 August.

The Jamatul madrasa in Moirabari, which was earlier sealed after the arrest of its mufti named Mustafa, was bulldozed on Thursday morning, news agency PTI reported the police as saying.

Following the demolition, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma 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."

'Madrasa Was Illegal, Demolished Under UAPA': Sarma

He further said that the madrasa was demolished under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Disaster Management Act, adding that it did not have permission from the local panchayat or the district administration to be built on that specific plot of land.

Sarma also said that the power connection to the madrasa was found to be illegal, and hence the deputy commissioner ordered it to be demolished after observing all legal formalities.

Speaking on the alleged illegal activities of Mustafa, Sarma said that the mufti was an important financial conduit for Ansar ul Islam, and that money was deposited in his account often.

"Mustafa and Afsaruddin Bhuyan, the other arrested, can handle sophisticated communication tools. They were dealing with apps that we had not heard of. They had later dismantled the apps," the chief minister said.

He also said that after Mustafa was arrested, his wife broke his mobile phone. However, the police managed to recover the mother board, and are probing the matter on the basis of evidence collected.

Mustafa had created the madrasa with 43 students, all of whom have been admitted to nearby "regular" schools with the help of their guardians, Sarma said.

'Assam Has Become a Hotbed of Terror'

This comes after Sarma said that Assam had become a hotbed of "jihadi activities".

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Sarma said that the "indoctrination" of Muslim youths in madrasas by imams from outside Assam was alarming.

"Jihadi activity is very different from terrorist or insurgency activities. It starts with indoctrination for several years, followed by active participation in promoting Islamic fundamentalism, and finally going for subversive activities," he said.

"Only one of these Bangladeshis have been arrested so far, and I appeal to the people to inform the local police in case anybody from outside the state becomes a teacher or an Imam in a madrasa," Sarma added.

(With inputs from PTI.)