Mumbai, July 17 The ED investigators on Thursday scanned and seized bank accounts, property documents and digital records at Bandra and Mahim properties of Chhangur Baba's financial associate Shahzad Sheikh in Mumbai.
The operation was a part of a probe into money laundering through shell companies linked to members of an alleged multi-state religious conversion racket headed by spiritual leader Jamaluddin Shah, also known as Chhangur Babas.
The searches in Mumbai follow indications that Chhangur Baba received funds, including donations, from Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Nepal. The illegal transactions involved up to almost Rs 200-300 crore.
Members of Chhangur Baba’s network reportedly travelled to Islamic countries nearly forty times and opened over 40 bank accounts linked to shell organisations.
The search conducted at dawn in Mahim was conducted at Rizvi Heights in the presence of Sheikh, suspected of offering hawala services to handle funds of the controversial spiritual leader.
During Thursday’s operation, Sheikh was questioned about the funds received in his bank account and their intended use.
The ED suspects that Sheikh received the funds for unlawful activities, including religious conversions and the disruption of public order.
The searches in Mahim were specifically in connection with Rs one crore transferred to Sheikh’s bank accounts from Chhangur Baba's accounts by the spiritual leader’s associate Naveen Ghanshyam Rohra.
As security guards of the high-rise building, Rizvi Heights, stood guard at the entrance of the building, the ED officials carried out searches for several hours in the upscale neighbourhood.
The mobile phone records and bank account transactions of Sheikh were also scanned by ED investigators, said sources
The multi-city ED operations on Thursday were aimed at finding out if the spiritual leader’s outfit was being used as a front to conduct a hawala racket under the garb of donations for promoting religious activities.
On Thursday, apart from Mumbai, 12 locations in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur were also searched by the ED in connection with money laundering linked to the alleged religious conversion racket.
During the searches at the 14 locations, the ED reportedly recovered a substantial quantity of land documents, luxury vehicles, gold, and unaccounted cash.
Changur Baba was apprehended by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Madhpur village of Balrampur district after evading capture for several months. He was sent to judicial custody after his police remand ended on Thursday.
Investigators continue to pursue the remaining suspects, including individuals identified as Mehboob, Pinky Harijan, Hazira Shankar, Sagir, and a person claiming to be a journalist, Amen Rizvi.
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