UP ATS gets 7-day custody of Nadwa ex-student arrested from Delhi
Mohd Abdul Awwal, 37, was arrested from Delhi after his name surfaced in the operation of over 500 ‘suspicious’ bank accounts opened in the names of illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2020
LUCKNOW UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) got seven days’ custody of a former student of Lucknow’s Nadwa, Mohd Abdul Awwal, 37, who was arrested from New Delhi on Monday in connection with alleged operation of over 500 ‘suspicious’ bank accounts registered in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Delhi and receiving funds by a Delhi-based NGO, said officials.
The Lucknow ATS court on Friday allowed Awwal’s seven-day custody from Saturday morning (December 23), which will end on December 29 evening. Investigators will question the accused about other people involved in this activity and whereabouts of the NGO’s operator Abdul Gaffar, said officials.
Awwal was arrested from Delhi after his name surfaced in the operation of over 500 ‘suspicious’ bank accounts that were opened in the names of illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar during Covid outbreak in 2020 taking advantage of relaxed norms for opening accounts online.
Awwal lived in Shram Vihar, Jamia Nagar, Okhla and New Delhi after completing Class 12 under the madrasa education system from Lucknow’s Nadwa in 2017.
Officials said investigations so far revealed that the NGO allegedly diverted ‘donations’ from foreign countries through suspicious bank accounts and then withdrew the same amount to use it for other purposes. Donations worth around ₹20 crore were diverted in three years, the official observed.
“The modus operandi to channelise funds from abroad suggested that a nexus was involved in using this money for anti-national activities by violating FCRA norms,” said a senior ATS official, adding: “The accused will be questioned about this also.”
