Bharaich, Sept. 26 -- Forty girls, aged seven to 14, were found confined inside a toilet at an unregistered madrasa in Payagpur tehsil of Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, during an inspection by district authorities on Wednesday evening.

Hindustan Times reported, citing officials, that the madrasa was being run illegally in a three-storey building in Pahalpurwa village without approval.

Sub-divisional magistrate Ashwini Kumar Pandey said the administration had received repeated complaints about the madrasa.

District minority welfare officer Mohammad Khalid confirmed the madrasa had been running illegally for nearly three years and had no valid documents.

Khalid said panic spread when police arrived.

Students and teachers locked themselves in...