GUWAHATI:
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on August 4, said that in the last five months, five terror modules have been busted in the state, and informed that Assam was becoming a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalist activities during the Covid-19 pandemic period.
“At least five terror modules were busted in Assam in the last five months. These include the busting of a module in Barpeta on March 4, when six people with alleged links to Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an Islamic jihadi organisation in Bangladesh, were arrested. The second ABT module was also busted in Barpeta, on April 14, and another six people were arrested,” said the chief minister.
The third ABT module was busted in Jogighopa and four people were held from Tripura while the fourth module of ABT was unearthed in Morigaon in connection with which a madrasa was demolished, Sarma continued. The Chief Minister further added that the fifth ABT module was busted in in Barpeta on July 27 and nine suspected ABT members were arrested.
“It has been proven beyond doubt that Assam is becoming a hotbed for Islamic fundamentalists. When you bust five modules and the whereabouts of another five Bangladeshi nationals are still not known, then you can imagine the gravity,” said Sarma.
In view of these arrests and reports on jihadi modules operating in Assam, the government has decided to keep vigorous watch on imams of various mosques and teachers of madrassa schools in different parts of the state.
Urging the people to keep a check on what is being taught to children at madrasas, the chief minister said, “Don’t entertain imams from outside. If you do not know him, please report him to the nearest police station.”
Sarma also informed that as part of his government’s efforts to thwart “nefarious” plans of jihadi modules functioning in the state, it has already converted 800 government-run madrasas into general schools.
“We have already abolished 800 government madrasas. But there are many Qawmi madrasas. So, the citizens, especially the parents, must keep a watch on these madrasas and the academic curriculum they are following,” Sarma said.
Meanwhile, a massive eviction drive was carried out at the sealed Jamil Huda Madrassa in Moirabari in Assam on the orders of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Morigaon district on August 4.
“The madrassa has been cleared after a demolition order by the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Public Works Department (PWD) and other authorities. As per the demolition order, the madrassa is no longer habitable,” Morigaon Superintendent of Police (SP), Aparna N, said.
Earlier on July 28, Mufti Mustafa, who had opened the madrassa in 2018 and is also its head, had been arrested by the police for alleged links with a jihadi group. The madrassa is also said to have been a breeding ground for jihadi terrorists in the state.
The police had sealed the madrassa after they seized various incriminating documents including a bank passbook and mobile phones from Mustafa’s possession.
“Mustafa alias Mufti Mustafa obtained a doctorate in Islamic Law from Bhopal in 2017 and had earlier studied Islamic education in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The police have also seized a book in connection with the ABT module that contains literature on Jihad,” Sarma said.
The Chief Minister also informed that the jihadis are using some “very sophisticated apps” to send messages and information to their people.
Sarma said that jihadi activities were first unearthed in the state in 1999. “The police first busted the module of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) in 1999. From 2003 to 2004, the police unearthed the module of HUJI (Harkat Ul Jihad e Islami) in the state. From 2011 to 2016, Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) module was busted. In 2015-16, the police busted another module Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). From 2021 to the date new module Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent were busted,” the chief minister said.
Informing that all these busts were done based on inputs provide by central agencies, Sarma said, “All Muslims are not jihadis, we shouldn’t generalise the issue.”