Daijiworld Media Network – Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, Apr 20: In a major breakthrough, Ahmedabad Police have arrested five individuals in connection with an alleged Rs 100 crore Waqf property scam involving fraudulent collection of rent and illegal construction on religious trust land in the Jamalpur area of the city.

The accused — Salim Khan Pathan, Mohammad Yasar Sheikh, Mehmud Khan Pathan, Faiz Mohammad Jobdar, and Shahid Ahmed Sheikh — are alleged to have posed as trustees of the Kanch Ni Masjid (Glass Mosque) and Shah Bada Kasam Trust without any legal authorization from the Gujarat Waqf Board.

Authorities stated that the group had been illegally collecting rent from up to 200 houses, 15 residential properties, and 25 to 30 commercial shops, along with operating two unauthorized six-story buildings. Tenants were reportedly charged between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 monthly, and the accused are also believed to have embezzled Rs 50,000 per month from the trust's donation boxes.

Police investigations revealed that Salim Khan, who has a criminal history including charges of murder and rioting, submitted a forged affidavit to the Waqf Board in July 2024, falsely claiming to be a trustee. This allowed the accused group to run the scam unchecked for nearly two decades.

A complaint at Gaekwad Haveli Police Station triggered the probe, which has now uncovered how trust land originally allotted to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for an Urdu school was misused. The school building, damaged in the 2001 earthquake and demolished in 2009, was never rebuilt. Instead, the accused allegedly constructed 10 shops, including an office for Salim Khan’s Sodagar Construction, and began renting them out privately.

Confirming the arrests, Zone 3 DCP Bharat Rathod stated that a detailed investigation is underway to determine the full extent of the fraud and identify any additional conspirators involved in the large-scale property misappropriation.