NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, AUG 25
Vadodara Police have unearthed a diversion of nearly Rs 6 crore allegedly by the managing trustee of a charitable trust, arrested earlier by the Uttar Pradesh police in connection with a conversion racket probe, to the main accused Mohammad Umar Gautam and others and Rs 60 lakh as legal help to anti-CAA protesters and those arrested post the 2020 Delhi communal riots.
The accused managing trustee, identified as Salauddin Shaikh, and his accomplices had collected Rs 24.48 crore from different sources and deposited the sum in the trust’s account which included Rs 19.03 crore received in the trust’s FCRA account. Some amount was received through an illegal Dubai-based Hawala channel, the Vadodara Police said in a release on Wednesday.
The Special Operations Group (SOG) on Tuesday registered an FIR against Shaikh, the managing trustee of Vadodara-based Afmi Charitable Trust, Gautam, and others on the charges of promoting enmity between different communities, forgery and criminal conspiracy under sections 153-A, 465, and 120-b of the Indian Penal Code, it said.
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had last month arrested Salauddin Shaikh (50) from the Panigate area of Vadodara on the charges of providing funds to Gautam and others, who are accused of converting several people to Islam illegally.
Both Shaikh and Gautam have been in the custody of the Uttar Pradesh police since their arrest.
As per the probe by Vadodara Police, the Afmi Charitable Trust has its office in the Panigate area of the city. Shaikh had transferred the money to Gautam and others in contravention to the trust’s constitution and purposes.
Since the trust was operating from the city, Vadodara Police had initiated a parallel investigation into the case and formed a five-member special investigation team (SIT), headed by crime branch ACP DS Chauhan, said the release.
“In total, Shaikh and his accomplices had collected Rs 24.48 crore from different sources and deposited the sum into the trust’s account. This included Rs 19.03 crore received in the trust’s FCRA account and some amount through an illegal Dubai-based Hawala channel,” said the release.
“Instead of using the fund for the purpose for which the trust was formed, Shaikh diverted Rs 5.91 crore to Gautam and others to help them in converting people to Islam illegally and to build mosques in Gujarat and other places. Rs 59.94 lakhs were diverted by Shaikh to provide legal help to anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protestors and other rioters held by Delhi police last year,” it said.
A detailed probe into the transactions made by Shaikh on behalf of the trust also revealed that he had laundered Rs 1.65 crore with the help of some local traders who had accepted forged bills and cheques from Shaikh and gave him cash on commission, said the release.
