Terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda have set their sights on the state, said Assam director general of police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta on Sunday.
Addressing the media following a crucial meet held at the Assam Police headquarters in Guwahati, the DGP informed that talks were held with representatives of four Islamic organizations from different parts of the state.
DGP Mahanta said, “Police have issued some guidelines in the form of recommendations. The four parent organisations, Jamiat, Ali Adiz, Ali Sunnat and Nadua, have been advised in this regard. The guidelines will be in addition to the rules that they already have in place.”
He said, “In this regard, we will open a portal which will include accurate information about the madrasa, information about the teachers, source of salary etc. We will not allow any group of people to come together and decide on who is to be an Imam.”
“A total of 739 madrasas are registered under the Jamiat. A committee will be formed with the help of these organizations. They will look into the feeding of information about every madrasa on the portal,” the DGP added.
Elucidating on the sudden meet amid a rise in Jihadi elements in Assam, representatives of the Islamic organizations said, “People associated with some madrasas and mosques in the state are involved in anti-national activities. The four major Islamic organizations have come forward to help the Assam Police to eradicate this problem from Assam.”
They said, “A small fraction of Muslim people who make up around 40-50 per cent of the state’s population are involved in such treasonous activities. We have advised the functioning of all madrasas in the state under a rigid set of rules and guidelines.”
“A survey will be conducted across Assam within the next six months. We will not accept anyone doing wrong in the name of religion. We support the cooperation sought by the police. They have recommended that madrassas offer other technical education and various subject courses besides religious education,” they added.
Anyone coming into the madrasas from outside states will have to undergo police verification, they informed, adding that police advised the organisations to check all details provided by them.
Speaking further, they said, “Terrorism has no links to Islam and the holy Quran. Terrorists have their own religion. Along with the police, we will keep a close watch on people coming from other states. Madrassas not in use will soon be removed.”