Lucknow, The Uttar Pradesh government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to scrutinize the funds received from overseas by madrasas operating within the state. This move comes amidst the backdrop of increasing scrutiny of the Muslim minority in areas governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

According to a new release by the Kashmir Media Service, Uttar Pradesh is home to an estimated 25,000 madrasas. Of these, more than 16,500 have recognition from the state Board of Madrasa Education. The probe’s purpose, as stated by the Additional Director General of the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), Mohit Agarwal, is to assess how these foreign funds are allocated. The investigation will delve into whether the money is strictly used for madrasa operations or if it gets diverted to other activities.

Joining Agarwal in the SIT are J. Reebha, the Director of the Minority Welfare Department, and Triveni Singh, the SP of the Cyber Cell. A significant portion of the investigation will be directed towards madrasas located in districts sharing a border with Nepal.

As for the duration of the probe, Agarwal noted that the government has not set any specific time frame. The investigation will encompass both recognized and unrecognized madrasas within its purview.

The SIT has already approached the madrasa board for more detailed information. In an earlier initiative in August of the previous year, the state government under Yogi Adityanath’s leadership tasked district magistrates with surveying unregistered madrasas. This survey, which spanned two months, identified 8,449 madrasas that lacked official recognition from the state’s madrasa education board. Notably, regions neighboring the Nepal border, including Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Shravasti, Siddhartha Nagar, and Bahraich, have over 1,000 madrasas in operation, in addition to several other adjacent areas.