Sri Lanka to regulate Madrasas under religious & cultural ministry
Colombo: Madrasas in Sri Lanka should be regulated by the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry and not by the Education Ministry, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, days after the country's worst terror attack killed over 250 people.
Authorities are on high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring about 500.
The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.
Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said that Wickremesinghe has stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas.
"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror newspaper.
Earlier, Kariyawasam had said that the Education Ministry would take steps to regulate them.
Some 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at Madrasas, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said, adding that they had arrived on tourist visas and therefore should be deported.
Sri Lanka has a population of 21 million which is a patchwork of ethnicities and religions, dominated by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority.
Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
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Several Gurugram schools receive hoax bomb threats
Gurugram (PTI): Several Gurugram schools received another hoax bomb threat emails on Wednesday morning, prompting police to launch searches on the premises.
Police said the email was sent by the 'Khalistan National Army', with threats issued to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to declare April 29 as the "40th Khalistan Declaration Day". It also threatened to bomb the Red Fort in Delhi.
Police said it was a hoax as no suspicious items were found after an intensive search.
Several schools, including Shri Ram, Amity, and the HDFC school, received threatening emails at 8.33 am, when classes had already begun, police said.
The school administrations became aware of the threats around 9 am and immediately informed the police, a senior police officer said.
The schools immediately implemented emergency protocols, with many declaring a holiday and asking parents to take their children home safely, the officer said.
A large number of anxious parents gathered outside the schools, as police and bomb squad teams reached the spots and started checks.
"Around 10 schools have approached the police from morning until now over bomb threats. Police teams are alert, and searches are underway on all the premises", the officer said.
As soon as the information about this email was received, police in Gurugram and Delhi swung into action and started investigation.
Schools immediately implemented emergency protocols upon receiving the mail. Many schools declared a holiday and sent messages to parents, asking them to take their children home. Large crowds of parents gathered outside the schools.
The schools were sanitised by sending a bomb disposal squad as well as a dog squad.
A senior police officer said that police teams thoroughly searched the school premises, classrooms, buildings, and surrounding areas. No suspicious objects or explosive materials were found during the investigation.
"Police teams are seriously investigating the entire matter. Cyber experts are being consulted to determine the authenticity of the email, its source, and the identity of the sender", added the officer.
This is the third time since January that schools have received fake bomb threats.
In March, at least a dozen schools in the city received bomb threat emails, which later turned out to be hoaxes.
Similarly, on January 28, as many as 13 schools received hoax bomb threats via email, forcing authorities to evacuate campuses and suspend classes.
Last month, police arrested a Bangladeshi national whose email ID was allegedly used to make a bomb threat for some payment.
