'Start searching madrassas to counter terror'

LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded intensive search operations in madrassas (seminaries) across the state to check terror activities.

"Some of the madrassas in the state are turning into haven for anti-social and unlawful elements," BJP state president Ramapati Ram Tripathi said here on Tuesday.

Referring to Abu Bashar, the alleged mastermind behind the serial blasts in Gujarat, Tripathi said: "Bashar was a mufti in a seminary in Azamgarh. His stay in the madrassa provides ample evidence that the terrorists are using seminaries to hide themselves."

Tripathi demanded that the police undertake a special drive to verify the citizenship of teachers and students in the madrassas.