Assam has demolished a madrassa in Barpeta district, the second such incident in the state.
A private madrassa in the Barpeta district of Assam was today demolished by the administration after it was claimed that the facility was built illegally on government land and was being used as a training camp for terror activities. Confirming the demolition, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: "This is the second madrassa we have demolished [in Assam] as these institutions were being used as a hub for terrorism."
The demolition of the madrassa follows the arrest of two brothers, Akbar Ali and Abdul Kalam Azad, in Barpeta on Saturday, who had privately built the Jamiul Huda Academy Madrassa. The brothers reportedly had links with Al Qaeda-backed Jihadi modules and were missing since March this year.
Claiming that there was no academic activity at the madrassa, Chief Minister Mr Sarma alleged that the facility was being used as a training camp by terror outfit Al Qaeda.
Police claimed the arrested persons were the key elements of the Barpeta module of Al Qaeda, providing transport and other logistical support to Bangladeshi terror operatives. A car had also been seized.
Police sources added that the madrassa demolished today was also used by Bangladeshi Mohammad Sumon, who was arrested earlier. He was one of the masterminds behind the AQIS-backed sleeper cells in Assam and was a member of Ansarullah Bangla Team, or ABT, a banned radical terror group based in Bangladesh. According to the police, Sumon used to stay at Jamiul Huda Academy Madrassa under the guise of a teacher.
Meanwhile, reacting to his latest war-of-words with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Twitter, regarding comparisons between state-run educational institutions in Assam and Delhi, Mr Sarma said it was wrong on Mr Kejriwal's part to "compare the national capital with smaller cities".
Mr Sarma said: "Kejriwal doesn't know the country. He doesn't know how the Northeast had been subject to prolonged negligence. The Delhi CM is mocking at the Northeastern states. If we sit on top of the nation's resources and mock at smaller states, is that a comparison? Don't compare apples with oranges. This is a joke. Make Guwahati the capital of India and then compare. Compare Delhi with New York, not with Guwahati."