Lucknow, July 18 After scanning 22 bank accounts and searching 15 locations of Chhangur Baba, ED investigators have identified Rs 60 crore illegally received by him as part of a multi-state religious conversion racket, an official said on Friday.
The searches revealed that a large amount of funds were received from foreign countries by Jamaluddin Shah, also known as Chhangur Baba, and his associates and the money was used by him to acquire property in the name of his associates.
The evidence collected during the searches revealed that all the immovable assets acquired by Chhangur Baba are in the names of his associates Naveen Rohra and Neetu Rohra to conceal his actual involvement in money laundering, said an Enforcement Department (ED) statement.
The ED investigators on Thursday searched properties and scanned bank accounts of Baba's financial associate Shahzad Sheikh at two places in Mumbai - Bandra and Mahim. The other searches were conducted in Balrampur, Lucknow.
The searches in Mumbai followed indications that Chhangur Baba received funds, including donations, from Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Nepal. The illegal transactions involved up to almost crores of rupees with the help of over 40 bank accounts linked to shell organisations.
The searches also resulted in the recovery of physical records relevant to the investigation, said the statement.
During the searches, several documents were seized, which revealed that funds - Proceeds of Crime - were mainly transferred to different people for purchasing a number of immovable properties worth crores of rupees and carrying out construction activities in these properties, said the statement.
The ED initiated the money laundering investigation against the spiritual leader, who is currently in judicial custody in Uttar Pradesh, based on an FIR registered by ATS, Lucknow, under penal provisions alleging a large-scale conspiracy involving unlawful religious conversions, utilisation of foreign funding, and activities posing a potential threat to national security.
Chhangur Baba and his associates are alleged to have established an extensive network operating from the premises of Chand Auliya Dargah, Balrampur, where he regularly organised large gatherings attended by both Indian and foreign nationals.
He is accused of systematically inducing, coercing, and manipulating individuals of other faiths, particularly Scheduled Castes, and economically disadvantaged persons belonging to the Hindu religion into religious conversion.
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