On Monday, August 29, the district administration and police in the Barpeta district in Assam demolished a Madarsa, run by Maulvis Akbar Ali and his brother Abul Kalam Azad, arrested for their links with Bangladesh-based terror outfit Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
#Assam #Madrasa terror case gets bigger: Two more Al-Qaeda terrorists arrested in #Barpeta district, police conducts eviction drive of Madrasa illegally constructed on govt. plot.@nibirdeka and @anchoramitaw with more on the terror bust. pic.twitter.com/cqLTTPPaWY
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) August 29, 2022
The madarsa named Shaikhul Hind Mahmudul Hasan Jamiul Huda Islamic Academy against which the action was taken was located at Dhakaliapara in the Barpeta district of Assam and said to be illegally constructed on government land. The administration demolished the illegal structure under the Disaster Management Act & UAPA Act.
During the eviction drive, heavy presence of security personnel was seen in the area.
Amitava Sinha, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of the Barpeta district confirmed that the madarsa was illegally constructed on government land and that there is a link between the arrested cleric and the madarsa.
Assam | 2 more persons linked with AQIS/ABT in Barpeta district arrested. Police also conducted an eviction drive in a Madrasa in Barpeta as it was illegally constructed on government land & also has a link with the two arrested accused: Amitava Sinha, SP Barpeta https://t.co/bvsQPRcvRX
— ANI (@ANI) August 29, 2022
The Assam police had reportedly detained Akbar Ali and his brother Abul Kalam Azad from a house in the Sorbhog area of the district on Saturday night. “Following their interrogation overnight, they were arrested on Sunday,” a police officer said. When produced before a local court, they were remanded to 10 days in police custody, he said.
The police also arrested Mahmunur Rashid, the principal of the madarsa.
Notably, the aforementioned Madarsa had housed the Bangladeshi terrorist Md Suman alias Saiful Islam, who was arrested by the Assam police in March this year. Md Suman reportedly stayed here along with one of his aides, who is still on the run.
Media reports confirmed that the now arrested Bangladeshi terrorist Akbar Ali, along with his brother Abul Kalam Azad use to help Md Suman alias Saiful Islam and his accomplice in their illegal activities.
As per reports, Md Suman had been carrying out jihadi activities under the guise of a madarsa teacher since 2019. Under the supervision of Md Suman, this madrasa became the epicentre of jihadi activities.
In March this year, the Barpeta police arrested Md Suman alias Saiful Islam and four others based on an intelligence report shared by the Special Branch of the state police.
The police had then said that Md Suman had indoctrinated the other four arrested accused in a bid to develop Barpeta as a base for jehadi activities for AQIS. The police also recovered documents and several electronic devices including mobile, laptops, and pen drives, along with jihadi literature.
Assam crackdown on Jihadi terrorists operating from mosques and madarsas
The demolition and the arrest were a part of the ongoing crackdown on Jihadi terrorists operating from mosques and madarsas in the state. Prior to this, on August 26 (Friday), the Assam Police arrested another person linked to Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) in Assam’s Goalpara district.
Hafizur Rahman Mufti, the arrested terrorist, is a resident of Goalpara and was working as a cleric in a madarsa located in the region.
On Saturday, the Assam police arrested two more imams linked with Islamic terror groups. The two Imams were arrested by the Goalpara Police in Assam as part of a broad anti-terror operation against the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent. After being questioned by police for many hours, Jalaluddin Sheikh (49), the imam of Tilapara Natun Masjid, and Abdus Subhan (43), the imam of Tinkunia Shantipur Masjid, Mornoi, were both taken into police custody.
Notably, the crackdown on Jihadi terrorists by the Assam police came weeks after the Morigaon district administration demolished the Jamiul Huda Madarsa in the Moirabari area. The madrasa was sealed after Mufti Mustafa, who was running it, was arrested for his links with Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team & AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent).
