He set out to build a school for his village in Madhya Pradesh. What followed: Madrasa rumours and demolition
Abdul Naeem, who poured nearly Rs 20 lakh of borrowed money and family savings into the construction, watched portions of it crumble following orders from the administration
A private school built to educate children from nursery to Class 8 in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district became embroiled in controversy when rumours falsely branding it as an unauthorised madrasa led to its partial demolition, officials said on Wednesday.
Abdul Naeem, a local resident who had poured nearly Rs 20 lakh of borrowed money and family savings into the construction, watched portions of his dream crumble on the evening of January 13 as earthmovers tore through walls and a front shed under administrative orders.
For years, Naeem had envisioned a nursery-to-Class 8 school for children in Dhaba village and surrounding tribal hamlets, where families often send their children miles away for decent education. He secured commercial land diversion, obtained a panchayat NOC, and on December 30 filed his formal application with the School Education Department, submitting all requisite land documents.
“I had decided to construct the school on my private land so that my village can progress and some people can study. Senior officials claimed that we were doing wrong things here,” Naeem said.
Rumours spread for 3 days and then came the demolition
Construction was progressing steadily when, three days before the demolition, rumours began to spread that a madrasa was being built in the area.
“This is a village with only three Muslim families. How would a madrasa even function here? And the building wasn’t even complete — no classes, no students,” Naeem said.
On January 11, the Gram Panchayat issued a notice ordering Naeem to demolish the structure himself, citing lack of permission. When he rushed to the panchayat office to submit a formal response, he says officials refused to accept his application and told him to return later.
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On January 13, as Naeem and a group of concerned villagers travelled to the district collectorate to meet the Collector and seek clarity, the administration moved in. A JCB machine, flanked by heavy police presence, arrived at the site in Dhaba.
By dusk, a portion of the school building and the front shed had been razed.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ajit Maravi defended the action, saying it followed a complaint from the gram panchayat alleging encroachment and rule violations. “A verification found that part of the construction fell under encroachment. Only the illegal portion has been removed, not the entire building,” Maravi said, adding that all mandatory permissions had not been obtained.
Naeem disputes this entirely. “I had the panchayat NOC. I had applied for school approval. If there was any mistake in paperwork, I was ready to pay whatever fine the government demanded.”
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
