Assam: One madrasa teacher held, 5 others detained on suspicion of terror links

In Saharai village of the Moirabari area of Morigaon, police nabbed Mufti Mustafa Ahmed who runs Jamiut-ul-Huda Madrassa. Police received intelligence input about some suspicious activities going on within the madrasa premise. It is adjacent to the house of Mustafa, who was caught by the police from his house earlier on Thursday.

Police have seized a few mobile phones, bank passbooks and other ‘objectionable’ materials from his possession.

According to sources, Mustafa was suspected to be carrying out terror modules from his madrasa.

Morigaon Superintendent of Police (SP) Aparna N. told IANS that after interrogating Mustafa, police produced him before the court in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, police have also raided another girls’ madrasa in Saruchala area of the same district. Five teachers of that madrasa were also detained by the police. SP Aparna said: “Their interrogation is going on, we have not arrested them so far.”

She also said that more details can be divulged only after further investigation.

It has been learnt that the two madrasas were situated in interior areas of the district.

Reacting over the development, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: “The government-run madrasas have already been shut down in the state. These are two religious madrasas. We have already sealed one and the district administration was instructed to shift the children from there to a nearby school.”

Meanwhile, Assam’s director general of police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said that al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has shown signs of expanding its base in Northeast India. Recently, al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri issued an appeal to his groups to intrude in Assam, stated the Assam top cop.

He added: “Their quarterly magazine is now published in Bengali, with an aim to radicalise youths from Assam which may be very dangerous.”