Cops: SIT found 200 Azamgarh madrassas flouted norms

VARANASI: Police on Sunday booked over 200 madrassas, including some existing only on paper, in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district for flouting prescribed standards.

"Of the more than 700 madrassas in Azamgarh, 313 were under scrutiny for non-compliance with govt norms. A special investigation team (SIT) probe found that 219 of them were non-compliant," said Varsha Agarwal, district minority welfare officer.

The SIT investigation revealed that several madrassas in the district were granted recognition in 2009-10 for govt funding without undergoing physical verification.

In 2017, complaints about fraudulent madrassas began surfacing, prompting investigations. These investigations found that while 387 madrassas adhered to govt rules and standards, 313 had numerous irregularities.