Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 31: After five persons were earlier detained for connections to an extremist group with roots in Bangladesh, a madrassa in Assam’s Bongaigaon was destroyed due to links to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. With the assistance of the neighbourhood, the Madrasa administration has been executing the eviction since last night.
“District administration said in an order that the Madrasa is structurally vulnerable and unsafe for human habitation as the Madrasa buildings were not built as per APWD specifications/IS norms,” SP Swapnaneel Deka told ANI.
“Yesterday, Goalpara district police had also conducted a search operation along with an arrested person linked with AQIS/ABT in the Madrasa. As per direction of the district administration, we have started the process to demolish the Madrasa,” he added.
#WATCH | Assam: Markazul Ma-Arif Quariayana Madrasa, located at Kabaitary Part-IV village in Bongaigaon district, being demolished
This is the 3rd Madrasa demolished by the Assam government following arrests of 37 persons including Imam and Madrasa teachers linked with AQIS/ABT pic.twitter.com/zTQiiicAne
— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2022
Madrasa teacher Hafizur Rahman was detained on August 26 as a result of information from two imams who were detained in the nearby Goalpara area on August 21.
This was the third private madrasa this month to be demolished due to potential extremist connections.
Authorities destroyed a private madrasa on Monday in the Barpeta district, and earlier this month in the Morigaon district. Both locations are said to have served as a focal point for jihadi activity by AQIS and ABT members.
Since March of this year, Assam police have detained over 40 persons, including a Bangladeshi national, on suspicion of having ties to both of these terrorist organisations and attempting to establish jihadi sleeper cells there.
