Income tax department conducted raids on the premises linked to pastor Ankur Narula, who runs a ministry church under Pentecostal churches under the name ‘Church of Signs and Wonders’ at Khambra village on Jalandhar-Nakodar road on Tuesday.
The raids are still ongoing till the filing of this report. The IT sleuths are also simultaneously conducting raids at more than a dozen locations in Phillaur and Kapurthala districts linked to Narula.
The IT sleuths, accompanied by paramilitary forces, reached the church headquarters in Khambra village in the wee hours on Monday to investigate the alleged complaints of money laundering and fraudulent cash transactions against Narula. The parliamentary forces cordoned off the church headquarters in Khambra village and restricted entry and exit from its premises.
Born in a Hindu Khatri family, Narula chose to opt out of his family business of marble and tiles and to follow his faith. From battling drug abuse in college and attempting suicide, he set up the “Church of Sign and Wonders” at Khambra village in 2008, which is now spread over 60 acres. In an interaction with HT in February this year, Narula claimed that he has three lakh followers and 12.3 lakh subscribers on YouTube.
Similar raids were conducted in January also when the IT sleuths cross-verified the financial records for consecutive days.
{{/usCountry}}Similar raids were conducted in January also when the IT sleuths cross-verified the financial records for consecutive days.
{{/usCountry}}Upset over IT raids, the consortium of Pentecostal churches had formed a new political party named United Punjab Party and declared Surjit Thapar as its candidate. However, on April 20, they extended their support to AAP candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku and withdrew their nomination.
The raid is still on till the filing of the report. While the IT sleuths refused to divulge any details about the raids, Narula couldn’t be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Narula holds regular prayers and delivers sermons on Sundays and Thursdays with about 30,000 followers in attendance. He also runs a free coaching academy for civil service aspirants. In his interaction with HT, Narula said his church has 15 branches, including one being built to accommodate 1 lakh followers, in Punjab. The other branches are in Bihar and West Bengal, he claimed, besides a few abroad in Germany, Canada, England, and the US.