Rs 40 lakh, gold recovered from Bengal madrasa in ED raids across 4 states in ‘terror funding’ case

The findings from the remaining 15 premises are being compiled and will be shared later, the official said, adding that the searches continued till late Thursday night. The agency said it has also seized bank records and digital devices, which are now being examined.

How the investigation began

According to the ED, Thursday’s searches trace their origins to the arrest of an alleged Bangladeshi national in Varanasi four years ago, which investigators say exposed a larger syndicate operating across multiple states.

The searches were conducted by the ED’s Lucknow Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with a case registered in 2024, based on an FIR lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in October 2023.

According to the ATS, the syndicate allegedly facilitated the illegal infiltration of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals into India by arranging forged Indian identity documents, including Aadhaar and PAN cards, and helping them settle in several states.

The ATS alleged that the network operated across West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and several districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Officials said the investigation began after the arrest of Mohammad alias Adil-ur-Rehman, an alleged Bangladeshi national accused of illegally entering India and obtaining forged identity documents. 

During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed that two other Bangladeshi nationals — Sheikh Najib-ul-Haque and Abu Huraira — were living in Saharanpur’s Deoband area after being helped by the same network.

Money trail under scanner

Based on the ATS inputs, the ED is investigating an alleged financial network involving some charitable trusts, organisations, and groups.

These entities, officials claimed, are suspected of having received substantial foreign contributions.

These funds, officials said, were allegedly diverted through multiple bank accounts, mule accounts, and layered transactions to facilitate illegal activities, including terror funding and helping Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals settle in certain areas, find jobs, start businesses, and engage in other trades.

The investigation has also indicated the use of cash withdrawals and small-value bank transfers to suspected beneficiaries, the official said.

ATS investigation and chargesheets

The ATS, in its investigation, found that NGOs in Delhi and Haryana and madrasas in West Bengal and UP were part of the syndicate involved in human trafficking and forging Indian identity documents, posing a threat to national security and helping in a conspiracy to disturb communal harmony.

After lodging an FIR in October 2023 on charges of human trafficking, forgery for the purpose of cheating, conspiracy, and sections under the Foreigners Act & Passport Act, the ATS filed seven chargesheets in the next two years.

The ATS, in its chargesheets, alleged that at least Rs 20 crore were transacted, including foreign funding done by the syndicate using hawala routes and mule bank accounts to facilitate infiltration and settle Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals in different states of India.

While opposing the bail plea of one of the accused, Delhi resident Dr Abdul Ghaffar, earlier this year, the prosecution said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the ATS had been monitoring and the matter after getting inputs in October, 2021.

The investigation found that “anti-national activities” were being carried out by the “so-called” respected persons of the society, and they were allegedly trying to manage to settle Rohingyas and illegal Bangladeshi persons in India to create unrest and disharmony in the country.

The agencies put the telephone numbers of suspected persons under surveillance. “Since the ATS investigation had found various incriminating evidence indicating money laundering, the agency shared the details with Lucknow Zone of Enforcement Directorate, which further initiated the inquiry and registered a case under PMLA sections in 2024,” the official said.