A day after a madrasa was demolished in Assam's Bongaigaon district, the district administration has imposed Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the district, on Thursday, 1 September. As per the order, the restrictions have been imposed "due to prevailing situation in some parts of the district after apprehending of anti-national activities."
"There is every likelihood of breach of public peace & tranquility in Bongaigaon," the order read.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his government does not "have any intention to go on demolishing madrasas. Only intention to see that they're not used by jihadi elements," as quoted by news agency ANI.
He further added that "If we get specific inputs that institution is being used under guise of madrasa for anti-India activities, we will raze them."
On Wednesday, 31 August, the two-storey building of the Kabaitari Ma Arif madrasa in Jogighopa area of Bongaigaon district, which was allegedly used for carrying out 'jihadi' activities, was demolished by authorities for "violation of building norms," a police officer said, reported news agency PTI.
However, the demolition for 'violating building norms' was conducted days after a teacher of the madrasa was arrested for his suspected links with terror outfits – Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and Ansarul Bangla Team.
Three Madrasas Demolished in 1 Month
This is the third madrasa to be demolished in Assam in one month. Last week, a madrasa in Assam's Barpeta district was demolished, with the state administration terming the facility as a 'terrorist hub'.
"This is the second madrasa we evicted as they were not running as an institution but were running as a terrorist hub. I don't want to generalise, but we investigate and take appropriate action when a complaint of fundamentalism comes," Sarma said.
Early in August, a madrasa in Assam's Morigaon district, whose head mufti was arrested for having alleged links with the Bangladeshi terror group, Ansar ul Islam, was demolished on 4 August.
Following the demolition, CM Sarma said, "Out of the five terror modules busted in Assam since March this year, the Morigaon module in which two persons, including Mustafa, were arrested had used the most sophisticated communication technology and can be considered to be the most dangerous."
The madrasa was demolished under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Disaster Management Act.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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