The civic administration in Assam’s Bongaigaon district demolished on Wednesday a private madrasa—third such structure to be razed this month as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s “crackdown against jihadi activities” in the state.
According to officials, the Markazul Maarif Quariyana madrasa, in Kabaitari Part IV village—which falls under the jurisdiction of Jogighopa police station—was demolished using excavators, after the administration found it to be structurally unsafe for inhabitants. The district administration used at least six bulldozers to demolish the two-storied madrasa.
Also, the demolition was carried out five days after the police arrested one of the madrasa’s teachers, Mufti Hafizur Rahman, for his alleged links with al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent (AQIS).
On Tuesday, the police took Rahman to the madrasa and searched the premises. The police said that many incriminating documents were recovered from the madrasa.
This was the third private madrasa demolished this month since the police in the state stepped up its operations against alleged modules of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a Bangladesh-based terror group that had links with AQIS. Another private madrasa in Barpeta district was demolished on Monday and a similar structure was pulled down on August 4 in Morigaon.
Police crack down on suspected terror modules
So far, the police arrested at least 37 persons in Assam, including a Bangladeshi national for allegedly running ABT modules in the state. The arrests were made in Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Goalpara and Morigaon districts having sizeable Muslim population.
In March, a Bangladeshi national, identified as Saiful Islam alias Mohammad Suman, who was allegedly a part of a terror network was arrested by the state police. According to them, he was indoctrinating “jihad” ideas in Muslim youth across the state. The police said that five more Bangladeshi nationals were absconding.
The National Investigative Agency, which took over the case in March, had earlier said Islam was trying to set up an AQIS base in eastern India.
‘Madrasa demolitions part of BJP’s political plan’
Reacting to the demolitions, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief and Lok Sabha member from Dhubri in Assam, Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, on Wednesday, alleged that the BJP-led government was demolishing madrasas in order to “terrorise” Muslims for votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“The BJP needs at least 10 per cent Muslim votes to retain power in 2024. So, they are adopting various means to create fear among the Muslims and force them to vote for BJP,” Ajmal told reporters in Guwahati, while condemning the demolitions.
“If one or two individuals are involved in any illegal activity, action should be initiated against them. Just because he was associated with an educational institution, that institution cannot be destroyed. This is an injustice. madrasas impart education, spread the message of love and brotherhood. They don't spread hatred or violence,” Ajmal said.
AIUDF is an important Opposition party in Assam with 15 MLAs—in a state assembly of 126—and one Lok Sabha MP from the state.