The Uttar Pradesh government has set up a special investigation team to investigate 4,000 madrasas, mostly running along the border with Nepal, which are allegedly receiving funds from abroad, officials said on Monday.
An official said the SIT will examine if the money was used on any illegal activities, like terrorism or forcible religious conversion.
The three-member SIT led by Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Mohit Agarwal of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) was formed on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a senior official said.
Cyber Cell Superintendent of Police Triveni Singh and Minority Welfare Department Director J Reebha are its other members.
Confirming the setting up of the SIT, ADG Aggarwal said there are about 24,000 madrasas in Uttar Pradesh, of which 16,000 are recognised and 8,000 unrecognised.
About 4,000 madrasas could come under the purview of the investigation and the process of serving notices to them will start this week, an official said.
In the last few years, several madrasas have come up in the areas bordering Nepal, according to officials.
Maharajganj, Siddharthnagar, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri and Pilibhit share their borders with Nepal.
An official said a complaint was earlier received that the funds received from abroad were allegedly used in anti-national activities.
A survey last year found that “most madrassas” in the border areas were receiving large sums of money, but were unable to give an accurate account of it, he said.
The SIT will serve notice to such madrasas and seek information about transactions into Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency (EEFC) Accounts, he said.
The SIT will then investigate the madrasas that get funds from abroad, questioning them on the source of the money and activities on which it was used, the official added.
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