• NET Web Desk

Congress lawmakers from Assam have written to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), urging it to investigate the demolition of a madrasa in Bongaigaon and ensure justice for its 224 students.

In a letter to the NCM Chairperson – Iqbal Singh Lalpura, the Congress MP Abdul Khaleque and MLAs Pradip Sarkar, Abdur Rashid Mondal, Asif Nazar and Abdul Batin Khandakar alleged that the state administration demolished the Markazul Ma-Arif Quariayana Madrassa in Bongaigaon “in blatant disregard to the rule of law”.

The madrasa was razed to the ground on August 31, following an order issued by the Bongaigaon district magistrate on August 30.

According to the order, The madrasa lacked the paperwork required for multipurpose activities on a single site with several buildings.

The order also stated that as the buildings were not constructed in line with PWD regulations, the madrasa was structurally weak and unfit for human habitation.

“The district administration did not give sufficient time to the 224 residential students of the madrasa, who were mostly minors, to vacate the premises. The students had to vacate in the middle of the night, and had no shelter as most of them came from far-off places,” the Congress leaders said in the letter.

It was also an act of inhumanity towards these students who have been denied the right to education by such an unlawful action, they alleged in the letter sent on Monday.

“The buildings were demolished by exercising the power conferred upon by the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It is pertinent to mention that the building of the madrasa had permission from the local panchayat and the construction was completed three years ago,” they pointed out.

“The entire action is based on the backdrop of a teacher from the madrasa being arrested recently for allegedly having links with terror groups. The arrested teacher has already been suspended and the madrasa management had extended full cooperation to the investigating agencies as they scanned the entire campus but no incriminating documents were found in the premises during the search by the agencies,” they claimed.

In this case, the law has been violated and misused, which has resulted into the collapse of the building under the guise of safety; they claimed.

The Congress leaders urged the NCM to intervene and look into the entire matter; thereby ensuring justice for the 224 pupils of the now demolished madrasa.

Meanwhile, two more madrassas, one each in Barpeta and Morigaon districts, were also demolished last month.