ED raids Rajasthan man on charges of religious conversion, funding radical NGOs

New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) The ED on Thursday said it has conducted searches against a Rajasthan-based man, identified as the "amir" of the Jamiat Ahle Hadees (JAH), as part of a money-laundering probe against him on charges of unlawful religious conversions and financing NGOs propagating religious and radical causes.

The raids were undertaken on Wednesday at four locations in Bikaner linked to the man, Mohammad Sadeeque Khan, apart from his "close" associates under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The money-laundering case stems from a January 2022 FIR lodged by the Bikaner (Kotegate police station) Police.

Khan has been identified as the "amir" of the JAH. He is linked to "hawala" transactions and money-laundering activities, the ED alleged in a statement.

"Information was also received regarding his involvement in unlawful religious conversions and activities posing a potential threat to national security.

"It was also reported that he is suspected to be a sympathiser of a terrorist organisation and has extended financial support to NGOs supporting religious and radical cause," the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said.

It was found during the raids that Khan held the "position" of president of the Alfurkan Educational Trust, which also oversaw the operations of the Masjid-e-Ayesha Trust.

He has received "huge" cash deposits in about 20 bank accounts, including those of these trusts and has been involved in "substantial" financial transactions running into crores of rupees. These accounts were "operated and controlled" by him, the federal probe agency said.

The sources of these deposits, according to the ED, were "not" explained by him and were "suspicious".

"Even though he was not found to have any legitimate and substantial personal income, he had undertaken multiple foreign visits in the past few years to countries such as Bangladesh, Iran, Oman, Nepal, Qatar etc. and he stayed there for long," the agency said.

Some "evidence" related to financial support extended by Khan to an NGO in Bangladesh has been unearthed during the searches and digital records "linked" to the man indicate his involvement in disseminating "radical" and "inflammatory" content via social media.

The ED claimed to have found videos during the raids of the Israeli flag being burned to garner sympathy and raise funds for illicit activities. PTI NES RC