AHMEDABAD: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched coordinated raids across Gujarat on May 6, probing a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities involving Waqf properties.
The agency’s investigation stems from an FIR filed by Ahmedabad Police against key suspects, including Salim Khan Jumma Khan Pathan, Mohammad Yasar Abdulhamiya Sheikh, Mehmud Khan Jumma Khan Pathan, Fezmohamad Pir Mohammad Chobdar, and Saheed Ahmad Yakubhai Sheikh, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The accused, according to the ED, fraudulently posed as trustees of the Kanch Ki Masjid Trust and Shah Bada Kasam Trust, orchestrating a series of illegal actions.
The raids, led by the Ahmedabad zonal office, targeted nine premises linked to the suspects and their associates across the State. The accused allegedly entered into fraudulent lease agreements, extorted rents from tenants, and submitted falsified affidavits to the Waqf Board, sources confirmed.
According to sources, accused Salim Khan has been collecting illegal rent from 15 individuals for house rent. Sources further reveal that while Salim Khan Pathan, Mehboob Khan, and others have not been appointed as trustees on the board, they are still illegally collecting rent.
The sources claim that since 2005, Salim Khan and four accomplices have been collecting rent from 25 to 30 shops and 200 houses, including two illegal six-story flats, located on trust property.
Despite not being trustees on the waqf board, they have been using the rent money for personal gain.
It is also noted that crimes, including murder and rioting, have been registered against Salim Khan. Ahmedabad E Division ACP Vani Dudhat told local media, "Raids were conducted by the ED near Kachni Masjid in Jamalpur. Local police assistance was requested for the operation. The ED targeted properties linked to Salim Jummakhan Pathan, and police arrangements were made accordingly. It was discovered that shops were being illegally constructed on Kachni Masjid land, with rent being collected. A complaint has been filed against Salim Jummakhan Pathan at Gaikwad Haveli Police Station in connection with the case."
The ED suspects that the accused engaged in a deliberate conspiracy, building shops on Trust property, collecting rent, and committing fraud against both the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the Waqf Board for personal financial gain.