Assam: Three associated with opening of controversial 'Miya Museum' detained

The president of the Miya Parishad M Mohar Ali was picked up from the museum at Dapkabhita in Goalpara district when he was sitting on a dharna, while its general secretary Abdul Baten Sheikh was taken into custody from his residence in Alamganj of Dhubri district on Tuesday night, police said.

Guwahati: In a significant development in the Assam Miya Museum controversy that erupted last week, M Mohar Ali, Abdul Baten Sheikh, and Tanu Dhadumia were detained by the police on Tuesday night. They were brought to Nalbari in connection with a case registered at the Ghograpar police station on charges of sedition filed under sections 120(B), 121, 121(A), 122 and UAPA 10/13 of the Indian Penal Code. The police suspect their alleged association with Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarul Bangla Team (ABT).

According to police sources, the president of the Miya Parishad Mohar Ali was arrested from the museum at Dapkabhita in Goalpara district. At the same time, its general secretary Abdul Baten Sheikh was taken into custody from his residence in Alamganj of Dhubri district. The third detainee, Tanu Dhadumia, who had inaugurated the museum on Sunday, was taken into custody from his residence in Kawamari village in Dibrugarh.

A team of government officers sealed the controversial 'Miya Museum' on the deputy commissioner's order on Tuesday. The word 'Miya' in Assam refers to Bengali-speaking migrants having roots in Bangladesh. Senior BJP leaders had demanded the museum be sealed, and the party's Minority Morcha member Abdur Rahim Gibran even filed a complaint at the Lakhipur police station alleging it was opened in a PMAY allotted house and raised questions on the source of funding for the museum.