Assam: Madrassa with 'links' to terror outfits demolished for building norms violation

Guwahati, Aug 31: A madrassa in Assam's Bongaigaon district, which was allegedly used for carrying out 'jihadi' activities, was demolished by authorities on Wednesday for "violation of building norms", a top police officer said. The district disaster management authorities had recently declared that it was "not fit for human habitation" as the building code was not followed during its construction, he said.

Around a dozen of excavators were deployed to demolish the two-storey building of the Kabaitari Ma Arif Madrassa in Jogighopa area of the district, the officer said, adding that other structures on the premises were also razed to the ground. "The district disaster management authorities had issued a notice to the madrassa for violation of building norms and declared that it was not fit for human habitation," he said.

Adequate security arrangements were made there for the demolition drive, he said. Students of the educational institute, which had a residential facility, left for their homes on Tuesday night, the officer claimed. "There were 224 students, and the authorities asked them to vacate the premises by the night of August 30. The district administration helped them go to their homes.

In most cases, guardians came and took away their wards," he said. The demolition drive, however, was conducted days after a teacher of the madrassa was arrested for his suspected links with terror outfits - Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and Ansarul Bangla Team. This is the second such action taken by the state administration this week as a madrassa in Barpeta district, which had allegedly sheltered two Bangladeshi operatives of Ansarul Bangla Team for four years, was demolished on Monday. One of the alleged Bangladeshi terror operatives, the principal, a teacher and another person associated with the madrassa were also arrested by the Barpeta police.

The police officer from Bongaigaon said the Kabaitari Ma Arif Madrassa was demolished, following the recovery of incriminating documents related to 'jihadi' elements from its canteen during an operation by the Goalpara police on Tuesday night. The Goalpara police arrested the madrassa teacher last week, and the raid was carried out based on inputs provided by him, he said. The arrested teacher had joined the madrassa in 2014, police said.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had recently said that the state was becoming a "hotbed of jihadi activities" with about five modules having links with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and Ansarul Bangla Team busted in the last few months. More than 40 people with suspected links with the 'jihadi' activities, including Bangladeshis, have been arrested in the state since March this year.