Staff Reporter
Former City Congress chief Sheikh Hussain Abdul Jabbar was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of Nagpur Police on Sunday for his alleged involvement in a scam of Rs 1.5 crore in Tajbagh Trust. A case was registered against him at Sakkardara police station in connection with embezzlement of funds. He was accused of using the funds of the trust without obtaining the permission of the Charity Commissioner or conducting an audit during his tenure as the Chairman of the trust from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016.
A police official said that Sheikh Hussain and former Secretary Iqbal Ismail Velji were accused of embezzling Rs 1.5 crore in a span of five years during their tenure. Taj Ahmed Ali Ahmed Syed, who took over as Secretary after their tenure, discovered the alleged scam during an audit. The complaint was filed by Taj Ahmed Ali Ahmed Syed with the Sakkardara police on September 22, 2022, which led to the registration of a case of fraud against both Sheikh Hussain and Iqbal IsmailVelji. Both of them had applied for anticipatory bail in the Nagpur bench of the High Court, which was rejected by the court. Later, they applied for anticipatory bail in the Supreme Court, which was also rejected and the court directed Hussain and Velji to appear before the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class. The JMFC court remanded them to EoW custody till Wednesday.
The arrest of Sheikh Hussain has caused a stir in political circles. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) EoW Archit Chandak told ‘The Hitavada’ that the documentary and technical evidence would be collected during the course of investigation. He has assured that the police would conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and take appropriate action against those found guilty. It is noteworthy that Sheikh Hussain had made offensive remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an event a few months ago.This had led to the officebearers of BJP submitting a complaint against him at the Sadar police station, demanding his arrest. Subsequently, a scam complaint was filed against him in the Taj Bagh Trust case.