A foundation run by Assam MP Maulana Badruddin Ajmal has received funds from some foreign agencies allegedly linked to terror groups, a First Information Report (FIR) filed on Friday claimed.
Mr. Ajmal is the chief of the All India United Democratic Front, which has been in talks with the Congress for an alliance before the 2021 Assembly polls. Right-wing leader Satya Ranjan Borah cited a report by an NGO named Legal Rights Observatory in his complaint against Ajmal Foundation at a police station in Guwahati.
“Considering the report, we want proper investigation in this connection under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Ajmal Foundation has misused those foreign funds in several anti-national activities,” Mr. Borah said in the FIR, demanding that the culprits be brought to book.
The NGO had in a tweet said the foundation received ₹69.55 crore received from “Turkish and UK terror groups” for education but used only ₹2.05 crore.
Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hoped that the Centre would investigate the possible Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) violations by the foundation. “There is a perception that Badruddin Ajmal spends from his pocket for humanitarian work but the reality is different,” he said. The Ajmal Foundation trashed the accusation.
“These are serious charges. We too want an investigation. It will make things clear,” the foundation’s director Khasrul Islam said.
“Our foundation receives ₹40-50 crore annually from five-eight U.K.-based agencies under the FCRA, and the money is distributed for relief and education-related activities,” he added. He denied receipt of money from any Saudi Arabia-based agencies.