Seven madrasas have been sealed in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani district on Sunday, April 13. Officials say they were operating without proper registration.

A team of officials from the distinct administration, municipal and police inspected the seven madrasas in the Muslim-majority Banbhulpura area. Even as madaras members tried to reason out that an inspection was conducted last month, documenting location and number of enrolled students, their pleas fell on deaf ears.

According to the Haldwani magistrate AP Bajpayee, the institutions flouted state government rules and were found not to be registered with the Uttarakhand Madrasa Board or the state education department.

On February 8, municipal officials razed down an ‘illegal’ madrasa in the Banbhoolpura area, alleging it was part of an anti-encroachment drive. Tensions escalated after chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ reverberated in the air, leading to violent clashes and arson between Muslims and Haldwani police. Locals hurled stones and petrol bombs at municipal workers and police, forcing many police personnel to seek refuge at a police station, which the mob then set on fire. Six people, including a 16-year-old, were killed.

Following the unrest, the district administration suspended internet services and ordered the closure of all schools and colleges. Police registered cases against 19 named and 5,000 unidentified people.

In December last year, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed an anti-encroachment drive against “illegal” madrasas. On January 9, Dhami was quoted as saying, “Whether it’s illegal madrasas or encroachment, it should not happen in Uttarakhand at any cost. The district magistrates and superintendents of police will supervise and run the verification drive. Their funding, links and backgrounds will be checked.”