BHOPAL: A day after the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) recovered Rs 1.65 crore and $18,000 in cash from the premises of PC Singh, the Church of North India Jabalpur Diocese bishop, the Madhya Pradesh government on Friday ordered a three-pronged probe into the activities of the concerned church and related trust headed by Singh.
MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “Massive financial irregularities on multiple counts have come to the fore after the EOW action. Major fraud and irregularities in lease renewal of the entities of the trust, non-payment of relevant taxes worth around Rs 7 crore have come to light.
The EOW search has also resulted in seizure of a huge volume of cash including foreign currency, documents of 17 properties, 48 bank accounts and eight four wheelers.
We’ve decided on a three-pronged probe into the entire matter.” Chouhan added that the documents seized during the search indicate the possibility of the funds being used for illegal activities, including illegal religious conversion. “The EOW will conduct a detailed probe into this serious issue, while the Jabalpur district administration will also have its own probe,” he said.
“Complaints about land leased by the government to the trust and allied entities for religious, educational and medical purposes, actually being used for commercial purposes will also be investigated,” Chauhan stated.