Calcutta, March 9 :     The West Bengal Madrasa Board today confirmed that state intelligence officials had approached them for a ?census? of Muslim educational institutes. A senior official of the board said on condition of anonymity that some queries were made as recently as last week. The board was even ?verbally? informed that the survey was being conducted at the directive of the Centre. A state government official, however, said that the ?census? on Muslim educational institutes and mosques was totally a ?state venture?, adding that intelligence branch officials are convinced some institutes in the districts are being used for spreading religious fundamentalism. Madrasa board officials admitted to having supplied the intelligence branch with the number of their institutions in the state. But as the queries seemed to go ?deeper?, they were requested to obtain information from the district inspector of schools. Congress legislator Sultan Ahmed, also president of the West Bengal Pradesh Qaumi Tanzeem, condemned the ?census? in a letter to chief minister Jyoti Basu. ?The intelligence machinery of the police in different states (even in West Bengal) is being flagrantly misused to whip up communal passions against the Muslim community,? Ahmed said in his letter to the chief minister. ?The open denunciation of Muslim outfits by the state director general of police ... reflects the bias and prejudice of a section of police officials ... This section of police officials in West Bengal is working under the same gameplan as their counterparts in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh...? Ahmed said. He observed that objections should not be raised if Muslims in the districts built religious and educational institutions, a right guaranteed by the Constitution. Ahmed added that the director general of police and the intelligence branch have not only cast aspersions on the Muslims but also tarnished the image of the state government. Man kills woman in Sealdah hotel, commits suicide: A 47-year-old man hanged himself after killing a woman in a Sealdah hotel early today. Police said that the man, identified as Swapan Ghosh, checked into the hotel yesterday with Kalpana, 43, with whom he was having an affair. A suicide note was also found in the hotel room. Scribe dead: Veteran journalist Brojen Bhattacharya died in Calcutta today after a brief illness. He was 79. He is survived by his wife and two sons.