Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) revoked the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) license of the Vadodara-based American Federation of Muslims Of Indian Origin (AFMI) in December 2021. The motion was taken by MHA primarily based on a report despatched by the Vadodara Police by which it was alleged that the NGO had been siphoning off international funds for “illegal Islamic activities”. It was first reported in July 2021 that AFMI had allegedly used the international funds acquired primarily from the United Kingdom for mass conversion practices.
The Vadodara Police has additionally begun the method of issuing a pink nook discover in opposition to two of the alleged benefactors of the NGO named Abdullah Fefdawala and Mustafa Thanawala. These two had despatched hawala funds to Salahuddin Sheikh, the managing trustee of the NGO, between 2016 and 2021.
In July 2021, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Vadodara Police initiated a probe in opposition to the NGO for alleged misuse of international funds that got here to gentle following a case of unlawful conversions in opposition to Sheikh booked by Anti-Terrorist Squad of Uttar Pradesh Police. During the investigation, SIT discovered that the NGO siphoned off near 19 crores of the international funds acquired primarily from Al-Falah Trust of the UK together with another benefactors.
During the investigation, SIT summoned Fefdawala of Al-Falah Trust. He was co-accused within the case of hawala transactions of about Rs 60 crore routed through Dubai. Another accused Thanawala from Dubai was additionally summoned. Neither of them responded to the summons, after which the Police initiated the method of issuing a pink nook discover.
DS Chauhan, Assistant Vadodara metropolis Commissioner of Police, Crime, was quoted by the Indian Express saying that the Police had submitted the report within the case associated to the misuse of international funds to the Central Government. He stated, “We have informed the MHA as well as the Intelligence Bureau (IB) about the investigation findings into the misuse of the foreign funds that were meant for the specific purpose of the trust. However, the money was routed to fund various Islamic activities, including illegal religious conversions, construction of mosques, funding individuals for various activities in Kashmir and the areas of the Indo-Nepal border… The IB also must have submitted a second report to the MHA, as is the process, which could have led to the cancellation of their FCRA Registration.”
He additional added, “The two accused did not respond to the summons. They have also disabled their email addresses and phone numbers… Our investigation has revealed that Sheikh also facilitated money to two persons in Bharuch district to execute illegal religious conversions to Islam.”
On November 24, SIT filed a 1,860-page cost sheet within the case. They named Fefdawala and Thanawala as two wished accused within the case and talked about quite a few actions of AFMI Trust the place the NGO misused the funds acquired below FCRA. The cost sheet stated AFMI Trust, in collusion with IH Kasuwala Firm, siphoned Rs 1.65 crore utilizing faux invoices. It added, “AFMI Trust knowingly presented accounts of expenditure of Rs 94.65 lakh (of the Rs 1.65 crore) to the government agencies.”
Involvement in Delhi Riots of 2020
The NGO has additionally been accused of offering funds to assist the Delhi Riots of 2020 and CAA protests together with different legal actions geared toward strengthening Islam. The Police alleged the NGO was concerned in unlawful conversions of individuals of the Hindu neighborhood to Islam.
The Uttar Pradesh mass conversion racket
The Uttar Pradesh police filed a case in June 2020 in opposition to Umar Gautam of Dawah Centre. Gautam was accused of the unlawful conversion of a Hindu lady. During the investigation, it was revealed that Umar Gautam, who himself was a convert, ran a racket to transform Hindus to Islam. He lured poor and marginalized individuals within the Hindu neighborhood and didn’t even spare listening to and speech impaired college students of an institute in Noida.
The Bharuch mass conversion case
On November 15 2021, a case was registered at Amod Police Station Part A below Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act below sections 4, 5, 4-G together with Indian Penal Code part 120 (B), 153 (B) (C), 506(2), 153A (1), 295 (Ok), 466, 467, 468, 471, Atrocities Act part 3 (2) (5-a), 3 (2)(5) and Information Technology Act, 2000 part 84-C in opposition to 9 accused. The 9 accused have been: Shabbir Bakerywala (Amod), Samaj Bakerywala (Amod), Abdul Aziz Patel (Kankaria, Amod), Yusuf Patel (Kankaria, Amod), Ayub Barkat Patel (Kankaria, Amod), Hasan Tisli (Achhod, Amod), Fefdawala Haji Abdullah (Nabipur, presently, London, UK), Ismail Achhodwala alias Delawala (maulvi) (Achhod, Amod) and Ibrahim Patel (Kankaria, Amod).
As per the FIR filed, the accused had promised jobs and cash to Hindu Vasava tribal households within the space and bought them to transform to Islam in 2018. The complainant has accused them of a nationwide racket of non secular conversion and alleged that they got demise threats in the event that they complained in opposition to the non secular conversion. The accused had threatened that they’re effectively linked from Kashmir to Pakistan, the FIR states.
In December 2020, Bharuch Police issued an arrest warrant in opposition to Abdulsamad Mohammad alias Dawood Suleiman Patel (Bakerywala), Shabbir Mohammad Patel (Bakerywala), Hasan Isha Patel (Hasan Titli), Ismail Yakub alias Ismail Achhodwala (maulvi), all residents of Amod in addition to Abdullah Aadam Fefdawala from Nabipur, Bharuch, who’s presently residing in London, UK.
