Assam Police on September 12 arrested two more suspects with possible links with the banned terrorist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) from Morigaon district.
The suspected terrorists were identified as Musadik Hussain and Ikramul Islam. Ikramul is an Imam and was arrested in the Nagaon district. On the other hand, the state police arrested Hussain from the Moirabari area in the Morigaon district.
Superintendent of police of Morigaon district, Aparna N, said that both the arrested persons have links with the banned outfit.
Last month, Morigaon district administrations demolished a madrasa at Moirabari after police busted a terror module on the premises of the religious educational institute.
So far, the state administrations have demolished three madrasas across the state following the arrests of around 40 persons so far including the Imam and madrasa teachers on charges of being linked to terror outfits – Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
In addition, one more such educational institute was razed by locals themselves after a cleric associated with it was held for alleged anti-national activities.
There were reports that some militants disguised as religious teachers had sneaked into the state and silently gone ahead with their subversive and anti-state activities.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that some madrasa managements were not running the institution but were running a terrorist hub.
“I don’t want to generalise (all madrasas), but we investigate and take appropriate action when a complaint of fundamentalism comes,” Sarma had said.
Recently, chief minister Sarma said in a press conference that, six Bangladeshi nationals who are members of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) / al-Qaida Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), entered Assam in 2016-17 and Assam Police had arrested one among them and five are still absconding.
For better surveillance, the Assam chief minister reiterated that Islamic teachers coming into the state will be closely monitored and moreover the state was developing a portal where their details will be captured.
“We have laid down standard operating procedures. Locals must inform police if any religious teacher (Imam) coming outside of the state and are not known to them,” Sarma told reporters.
“Police will verify the person and then he can carry out his religious teaching in the madrasas,” he said, adding that Muslims of Assam have been cooperating with the government in this process.
Assam currently doesn’t have any government-run madrasas as they have recently been converted into regular schools.
However, individual or privately-run madrasas continue to exist.
