Villagers voluntarily raze down madrassa in Assam over suspected terror links

Guwahati: The villagers of Pakhiura Char in western Assam's Goalpara district on Tuesday demolished a private madrassa that had allegedly employed two suspected Bangladeshi nationals linked to Jihadi terror outfits, police said.

An Assam police spokesman explained that local people of Pakhiura Char (Darogar Alga) came forward to demolish the madrassa and the residence next to it, which was previously used by two suspected Bangladeshi nationals with terror links. "The local people are following a strong resentment towards the Jihadi activities on their own, bulldozing the madrassa and the adjoining residence. Aminul Islam alias Usman alias Mehdy Hasan and Jahangir Alom were residing in the residence," the spokesman said.

Aminul and Jahangir belong to the Ansarul Bangla Team, a Bangladesh-based terror outfit, and are absconding cadres of Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent. The police added that recently arrested Jalaluddin Sheikh, who was recently arrested for his terror links, engaged Aminul and Jahangir as teachers of this Pakhiura Char Madrassa at different times during 2020 to 2022.

This is the first time in Assam that local people voluntarily demolished an Islamic educational institution that has been reportedly misused by "anti-India terror groups."

Last month, the district administrations in Morigaon and Bongaigaon districts annihilated three madrassas for their suspected terror links. Assam's Director-General of Police, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, earlier said that some Muslim MLAs and heads of four Islamic organisations run more than 1,000 private madrassas, and during a recent meeting they promised to take action against madrassas and mosques that are allegedly involved in "jihadi" activities.

The police chief informed us that a web portal would be launched and madrassa functionaries must upload the details about the madrassa, their locations, authorisation certificates, names and addresses of teachers, the number of students, and other relevant information.

The Assam Police chief on Sunday held a meeting with Muslim organisations and boards of madrassas and urged them to keep a hawk eye and follow the procedures while engaging teachers (Imams) from outside the state, and also verify the necessary details, including the identity. The directive comes on the heels of the arrest of 37 Jihadi cadres in Assam in less than a month for alleged ties to Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent and the Ansarul Bangla Team.