40 minor girls found locked inside toilet of unregistered madrassa in UP's Bahraich: SDM

Bahraich: Forty girls aged between nine and 14 years were found confined inside a toilet of an unregistered madrassa here during an inspection, officials said on Thursday.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Payagpur Ashwini Kumar Pandey told PTI that the district administration received repeated complaints regarding the functioning of an illegal madrassa inside a three-storey building in Pahalwara village under Payagpur tehsil.

"On Wednesday, when we went to the building for an inspection, the madrassa operators initially tried to stop us from going upstairs. In the presence of police, we entered the premises and found the toilet on the terrace locked," he said.

When the door was opened by female police personnel, 40 girls, aged between nine and 14, hiding inside the toilet came out one by one. The girls looked frightened and were unable to say anything clearly, he added.

The SDM said District Minority Welfare Officer Mohammad Khalid has been asked to verify the registration and legality of the institution.

According to Khalid, locals said that the madrassa had been running for around three years without registration.

"The management and staff could not produce any document related to registration or legality. During the 2023 survey, 495 unregistered madrassas were identified in Bahraich and tt appears this one escaped the survey team's notice then," he said.

The state government has not issued a clear policy regarding such illegal madrassas so far. While some were sealed last year, their managers obtained a stay from the High Court, Khalid said, adding that a new regulatory framework is expected from the government soon.

"During questioning, we asked why the girls were hiding inside the toilet despite there being eight rooms in the madrassa, to which a teacher, Takseem Fatima, replied that the girls panicked in commotion and locked themselves inside," he added.

He said the madrassa records are being examined, and orders have been issued to shut it down. "The management has been told to send the girls safely to their homes and it seems all have now reached back home," Khalid said.

Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Ramanand Prasad Kushwaha said no FIR has been registered so far. "The parents, SDM, or the minority welfare officer has not approached us for lodging a case so far. If any complaint is received, appropriate legal action will be taken," he said.