A West Bengal resident was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow for allegedly receiving Rs 58 crore under the shield of NGOs from abroad and using it to help “infiltration of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis”, and in anti-national activities, the UP Police said on Monday (January 8). The arrested person was identified as Abu Saleh Mandal (50), a resident of Bhikutiya in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, it said in a statement.
Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) made the arrest from near the Alambagh Inter College in Manak Nagar in Lucknow on Sunday, police said.
The ATS had received information that a syndicate was making “illegal infiltrators" settle in India using fake Indian documents and promoting anti-national activities by extending them financial support, the statement said.
Police bust entire chain
“During interrogation, it came to light that Mandal operated organisations named Haroa-Al Jamia Tul Islamia Darul Uloom Madrasa and Kabir Bagh Millat Academy, and a huge amount of funds, around Rs 58 crore, from abroad -- the Umma Welfare Trust in the UK -- was deposited in the FCRA accounts of these organisations from 2018 to 2022,” the statement said.
“Mandal used a part of these funds for illegal infiltration of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis and for providing them financial assistance,” it added.
Besides making fake Indian documents, he was sending money to various states through Hawala and was also active in anti-national activities.
It said advance legal action will be taken after presenting the accused before a court.
Fake Aadhar cards
Mandal, who had studied at the Madrasa Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, had two Aadhar cards with different dates of birth, the statement said.
Following his arrest, more than Rs 1.16 lakh and two mobile-phones were seized, it said and added that a reward of Rs 50,000 was declared for information leading to his arrest.
The ATS, after receiving the information, had registered an FIR, and before Mandal, six people to Bangladesh, Assam and West Bengal had been arrested.
(With PTI inputs)
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