Digital Desk: According
to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Assam government will soon require
police verification and online registration for madrasa teachers and imams who
are not residents of the state.
The action follows the
arrest of 25 people, including Bangladeshi nationals, with ties to the Al Qaida
affiliate Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a terrorist organisation with a
stronghold in Bangladesh (AQIS).
Abdus Subhan (43) and
Jalaluddin Sheikh (49), two imams affiliated with two distinct mosques in the
Goalpara district, were detained by police on Saturday. Police also found
damning paperwork, their phones, and SIM cards, which connected them to
terrorist groups like ABT and AQIS.
"Two people with
extremist connections have been detained. One of them has been identified as a
kingpin who, in addition to serving as an imam, was active in a terror network,
Sarma told reporters on Monday.
In order for police to
investigate new imams' antecedents before they start work, he continued,
"We have prepared some standard operating procedures (SOPs) through which
residents will have to notify local police about new imams who are from outside
the area."
According to Sarma,
the state government will also launch a website where imams and private madrasa
teachers from outside Assam can register for employment. The SOPs or the
portal's operational launch date were not mentioned by the chief minister.
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