India, Sept. 2 -- Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday threatened to have Islamic scholar and All India Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind president Mahmood A Madani locked up if he crosses the line.

The chief minister's statement came hours after Madani, who is visiting locations in the state where members of the Muslim community were being evicted under a state-wide drive, criticised the state government's handling of the eviction drive.

"People are being divided on the basis of religion to grab power. Particular slogans are being raised, they are being called a 'particular community', they are being called 'Miya', they are being called 'unknown', they are being called 'doubtful', and derogatory words are being used. That attitude is ...