CBI kicks off probe of Tablighi funding

nNEWDELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) to investigate “international linkages” and foreign funding of Tablighi Jamaat that has been in the news since a congregation it organised in Delhi in March was blamed for a jump in the Covid-19 infections, two officials familiar with the matter said. PE is the first step in CBI’S investigations and involves verifying irregularities to determine whether there is a need for filing a First Information Report.

The officials said the initial probe will primarily focus on whether the Jamaat violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) while receiving donations from individuals or entities abroad. They added CBI has collected relevant probe documents from the Delhi police and is analysing the same. “We will look into financial operations of Tablighi Jamaat and people behind its funding here in India and abroad; antecedents of people associated with it and its sister organisations,” said one officers on condition of anonymity.

CBI will also take copies of 47 charge sheets that the Delhi police filed this week against over 900 foreign members of the Jamaat, who attended the congregation at the group’s Nizamuddin

headquarters in March, for violating visa conditions and Covid-19 lockdown rules. The Delhi police have also filed a criminal case against Jamaat chief Maulana Saad and its six other top officials for defying government directives that curbed religious and large gatherings to contain the spread of Covid-19.

“CBI has registered a PE against organisers of Tablighi Jamaat and others on a complaint alleging that organisers and trustees of Jamaat were indulging in dubious cash transactions by using illegal/unfair means and in non-disclosure of the receipts of foreign funds to the authorities,” said a CBI spokesperson.

Another official said CBI is likely to summon Jamaat’s officebearers in Delhi and other cities, including Saad, after studying all the documents. The official added if required, CBI may even take the help of foreign agencies at a later stage.

The Enforcement Directorate is probing money laundering charges against the Jamaat and Saad and whether they used hawala networks to receive funds. Terrorists of the Indian Mujahideen and Is-inspired operatives are believed to have attended Jamaat’s events but the organisation has never been named in any terror cases in India.

Jamaat’s lawyer Fuzail Ayyubi did not respond to calls for his comments.