Mumbai, March 18 The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is investigating a fake religious trust in Beed that received money from a controversial international organization, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday.
In a written reply to a question by Satej Patil (Congress) in the legislative council, Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, said a fake trust was formed under the name Gulzar-e-Raza at Patrud village in Majalgaon taluka of Beed district.
The accused then collected Rs 4.73 crore using the license number of Ahilyanagar-based organization Faizan-e-Kanzul Iman Bhingar, and opened five bank accounts, he said.
A case was registered against four persons in this regard and two of them were arrested on January 8, Fadnavis said.
Investigation showed that Gulzar-e-Raza was not registered with the district Waqf authority or the registrar of cooperatives. However, the trust paid income tax for three years using the registration of another organization, and the Income Tax department has also been asked to conduct an independent probe in this matter, the CM said.
Speaking in the House, Fadnavis said the case was not limited to collecting money for religious activities. "Daawat-e-Islami, an organization working at the international level, was found to have deposited Rs 25 lakh," he said, adding that money in four accounts of the trust has been frozen.
"Therefore, the ATS is conducting a parallel investigation, because we have realized that the possibility that the Rs 4 crore collected from people could have been used for a different purpose cannot be ruled out," the CM said without elaborating.
Further, 18,573 persons donated money in 400 donation boxes, spread across four districts, and there is no information about all the donors, the CM said, adding that verification of those who donated money through cheques is being done.