ED detains 2 in Pune in ₹7.7-crore Waqf land scam case - Hindustan Times
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ED detains 2 in Pune in 7.7-crore Waqf land scam case

ByNadeem Inamdar, Pune
Nov 11, 2021 11:19 PM IST

The duo, whose names have been withheld, has been brought to Mumbai by ED for questioning. If their roles are established in the Waqf land scam case, they would be placed under arrest and produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday has raided seven places in Pune and one place in Aurangabad in connection with the Pune Waqf Board land scam case. The anti-money laundering agency started raids on Thursday morning after an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered by ED zone-2 office.

Nawab Malik said the wakf board has registered a total of seven FIRs that includes two in Beed and one each in Thane, Parbhani, Jalna and Aurangabad. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday has raided seven places in Pune and one place in Aurangabad in connection with the Pune Waqf land scam case. (HT PHOTO)
Nawab Malik said the wakf board has registered a total of seven FIRs that includes two in Beed and one each in Thane, Parbhani, Jalna and Aurangabad. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday has raided seven places in Pune and one place in Aurangabad in connection with the Pune Waqf land scam case. (HT PHOTO)

ED detained two people in connection with the case in Mulshi, Pune. The duo, whose names have been withheld, has been brought to Mumbai for questioning. If their roles are established in the alleged crime, they would be placed under arrest and produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court.

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The value of the fraudulent deal involving Tabut Inam Endowment Trust is 7.7 crore, as per police.

Reacting on the development, state minority affairs minister Nawab Malik said the scam that came to light in Pune is not an isolated case and the state Waqf Board is ready to provide details of 30,000 trusts registered under them, which can be probed by the central agency.

Earlier, the Bund Garden police had lodged a first information report (FIR) against Imtiaz Shaikh and Chand Mulani, both of whom were arrested on charges of impersonating the trust’s president and secretary, respectively. Shaikh and Mulani had allegedly submitted a forged document of the state Waqf Board, showing its consent to their appointment, after which the collector’s office released an amount of money to them instead of the trust members.

The FIR stated that the trust, which is registered with the Waqf Board, owns eight hectares in Maan village of Mulshi taluka. The government was scheduled to give compensation of 9.64 crore to the trust and accordingly released 7.7 crore.

The trust later complained to the Waqf – the Muslim charity board – that it had not received any compensation from the state. During an inquiry by deputy collector (land acquisition), it was revealed that Shaikh and Mulani, had submitted fake documents and claimed the money.

The Pune regional officer of Waqf Board, Khusro Khan, lodged a complaint in this regard, following which Shaikh and Mulani were arrested.

Malik said the wakf board has registered a total of seven FIRs that includes two in Beed and one each in Thane, Parbhani, Jalna and Aurangabad. In one of the cases in Beed, a deputy collector-rank official was also arrested by the police. ED can take over all the seven cases and start a probe against the 30,000 trusts registered with the board,” the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister said.

Malik said that his department has taken a “clean-up drive” ever since he took charge as minister. “Ever since I got the charge [of the minority affairs ministry], a clean-up drive has been started in the department. We are not sparring government officers; a few old members of the Waqf Board will also be brought to justice. We have decided to make the functioning of the board fully transparent by making it digital. The state information technology department has formed a portal which will be started soon,” Malik said in a media briefing on Thursday.

“Many news channels are claiming that ED has entered the scene and will reach my residence and that I would be in trouble. I welcome ED if they come after informing in advance. The state government and wakf board are ready to provide all the cooperation to the central agency. But if ED believes that it will be used to defame me, then it is their misunderstanding. Nawab Malik cannot be threatened and my image can’t be tarnished because I have started the fight against the injustice of framing of innocents,” he added.

(With inputs from Vijay Kumar Yadav and Faisal Malik)

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