Abdul Rehman, who was arrested on Wednesday morning by special cell of Delhi Police and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate police from his house at Paschima Kachha village, located near 5 km from Jagatpur police station, had started his student career at a local madrasa.
Rehman was studying at Jamia Ashraful Uloom at Fakirabad in Kendrapada district, which has been now shifted to Mehmudabad village between 1994 and 1995 when he was about 12 years’ old.
According to Mohammad Farooque Qasmi, the Principal of Jamia Ashraful Uloom, who was the teacher of Rehman, when Rehman was a student, he was meritorious and gentle in nature. He did not have any issues while he stayed at the madrasa. But after a few years, he left the madrasa and went for higher studies to Uttar Pradesh, stated Qasmi, while talking to this paper.
We did not have any contact or relationship with Rehman nor did he communicate us in last two and a half decades. So we have failed to know about his activities, said Qasmi, adding, “I would have definitely restricted him if I had known he was having terror links.”
Clarifying that a madrasa does not promote terrorism, Qasmi said, “We generally preach students about Islamic religion, besides Urdu, Arabic, Parsi, English and computer.” Islam always teaches us to live in peace. Madrasas generally discourage students to go for blood-shed, terrorist activities and betraying the motherland, asserted Qasmi.c