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Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Police apprehended Abu Saleh Mandal (50), a resident of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, on charges of allegedly receiving approximately ₹ 58 crore for NGOs and utilizing the funds to aid “infiltrators” and engage in anti-national activities. The arrest was made near the Alambagh Inter College in Manak Nagar by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Sunday.
The ATS launched an investigation following intelligence inputs about a syndicate involved in facilitating the illegal settlement of individuals in India based on forged documents and supporting anti-national activities through financial backing. Abu Saleh Mandal was found to be operating organizations such as Haroa-Al Jamia Tul Islamia Darul Uloom Madrasa and Kabir Bagh Millat Academy. The investigation revealed that a substantial sum of ₹ 58 crore was funneled into the FCRA accounts of these organizations from the UK-based Umma Welfare Trust between 2018 and 2022.
Abu Saleh Mandal allegedly utilized a portion of these funds to aid in the illegal infiltration of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis into India. Furthermore, the accused was reportedly involved in Hawala transactions across various states and participated in anti-national activities. Upon his arrest, authorities seized over ₹ 1.16 lakh in cash and two mobile phones from Mandal. Notably, he possessed two Aadhar cards with differing dates of birth.
Following the FIR registered by the ATS, six individuals were previously arrested and linked to this operation, with their affiliations spanning Bangladesh, Assam, and West Bengal. A reward of ₹ 50,000 was announced for any information leading to Mandal’s arrest, highlighting the severity and scale of the ongoing investigation into this network.
