CBI files supplementary charge sheet in Delhi Waqf Board case

According to CBI, AAP Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan abused his official position as DWB chairman between 2016 and 2021 to orchestrate a series of illegal appointments. Khan also appointed relatives and associates to various contractual and daily-wage positions without following due procedure, it said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a supplementary charge sheet in its ongoing corruption probe involving the Delhi Waqf Board (DWB) in which Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan is the prime accused, officials familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The federal agency has been investigating the case since 2016. (FILE)

“The latest charge sheet provides additional evidence regarding illegal appointments and other irregularities during Khan’s tenure as chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board,” said an officer aware of the probe.

Khan was earlier named along with 10 others in CBI’s main charge sheet filed on August 31, 2022. The federal agency has been investigating the case since 2016.

According to CBI, Khan abused his official position as DWB chairman between 2016 and 2021 to orchestrate a series of illegal appointments -- including naming Mahboob Alam as the Board’s CEO. The agency alleges that Khan also appointed relatives and associates to various contractual and daily-wage positions without following due procedure.

“In total, 41 people were appointed to the Waqf Board under different schemes during Khan’s tenure. The Board incurred a financial loss of ₹27.2 lakh in salaries and emoluments paid to these individuals,” said a second official, also asking to remain anonymous.

The agency’s probe, the person cited above said, revealed that advertisements were published for only 22 of the 41 posts. Of the total appointees, 23 were engaged on a contract or daily-wage basis and were allegedly working unofficially at the “behest of Khan”, the second official said. An advertisement was later published on April 24, 2016, in Urdu newspapers to retroactively regularize some of these appointments, the officer added.

Responding to the new charge sheet, Khan told HT: “CBI has no evidence against me. This latest document is a farce.”

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing Khan’s alleged involvement in money laundering linked to these irregularities. In a charge sheet filed in January 2024 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), ED accused Khan of acquiring large sums of cash from criminal activities related to illegal recruitment, misappropriation of DWB funds, and leasing out Board properties unlawfully.

ED further claimed that Khan laundered the proceeds of crime by investing in real estate through associates Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir, and others. It cited a 1,200-square-yard property in Jamia Nagar worth ₹36 crore, for which Khan allegedly paid a substantial amount in cash.