Waqf Fraud Case: ED registers case in Waqf fraud case, raids nine places in Gujarat

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided several places in Gujarat. The raids were conducted as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged financial irregularities in some Waqf properties in the state. According to sources, the agency took cognizance of an Ahmedabad police FIR against Salim Khan Jumma Khan Pathan, Mohammed Yasar Abdulhamia Sheikh, Mahmud Khan Jumma Khan Pathan, Fazmohammed Peer Mohammad Chobdar and Shahid Ahmed Yakoobhai Sheikh and registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Five people were arrested on April 20

Police arrested five people on April 20 in connection with the scam. Assistant Commissioner of Police Vani Dudhat said that the central agency took cognizance of the matter and raided nine properties linked to the main accused Salim Jummakhan Pathan and others. He told reporters that as per the request of the ED, we have provided 78 policemen to search.

The case is related to the Kanch Ni Masjid Trust and the Shah Bada Kasam Trust.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) for cheating and forgery lodged at Gaikwad Haveli police station, the accused collected rent from around 100 houses and shops on the land of Kanch Ni Masjid Trust and Shah Bada Kasam Trust. Both the trusts are registered with the Gujarat Waqf Board. Between 2008 and 2025, Pathan and others allegedly carried out illegal construction on 5,000 square meters of land belonging to both trusts. Built around 100 properties (houses and shops) and collected rent. The four other accused have been identified as Mohammed Yasar Sheikh, Mahmoodkhan Pathan, Faiz Mohammad Chobdar, and Shahid Ahmed Sheikh. Salim Jummakhan Pathan is a history-sheeter and has five cases registered against him, including one under the Arms Act.

None of the accused is a member of any waqf or trust.

Mohammad Rafiq Ansari, a tenant of the properties built on the land of the Kanch Ni Masjid Trust, said that none of the accused is a member of any waqf or trust. The complaint states that apart from collecting rent, the accused also embezzled the money deposited in the donation box of Shah Bada Kasam Trust. The accused allegedly built 15 shops on the land of the Kanch Ni Masjid Trust, which was allotted to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for an Urdu school.