ED raids 10 locations in Ahmedabad linked to INR 100 crore Waqf Board fraud
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out raids at 10 locations in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in connection with a INR 100 crore fraud involving Salim Jummakhan Pathan
- AHMEDABAD — The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out raids at 10 locations
in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in connection with a INR 100 crore fraud involving Salim
Jummakhan Pathan, who is accused of illegally posing as a Waqf Board trustee
and siphoning off rent from Waqf properties.
-
- The action follows an FIR registered by the Gaekwad
Haveli police, where five individuals were earlier arrested for allegedly
misrepresenting themselves as trustees of the Waqf Board.
-
- The group is accused of illegally collecting rent from
properties associated with the Waqf Board, including the historic Kaanch Ni
Masjid (Glass Mosque) and Shah Bada Qasam Trust in the Jamalpur area.
-
- According to police investigations, the accused were
never officially appointed as trustees by the Gujarat State Waqf Board.
-
- Despite this, they allegedly posed as authorised
representatives to extract rent from tenants occupying Waqf-owned properties
and commercial establishments built on land leased to the Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC).
-
- A key revelation in the investigation points to a plot
originally allotted by the Waqf Board to AMC for constructing a school.
-
- The school building was damaged during the 2001 Gujarat
earthquake. In 2009, the accused allegedly demolished the remaining structure
and began renting out the land. One of the main accused, Salim Pathan, is said
to have set up an office -- Sodagar Construction -- in one of the shops, while
leasing out the rest. Neither the rent collected was deposited in the Waqf
trust's official account nor reported to the municipal body, leading to a
misappropriation of public and religious assets.
-
- The ED’s raids are part of a broader probe into the
alleged financial misdeeds and money laundering linked to this case.
-
- Further investigations are ongoing, and more details are
awaited.
-
- The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, enacted on April 8,
introduces significant reforms to the governance of waqf properties in the
country, aiming to enhance transparency, inclusivity, and administrative
efficiency.
