Fake Trustees Arrested For Collecting Rent From Waqf Land In Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad police have arrested five individuals for allegedly posing as trustees and illegally collecting rent from properties built on land owned by two religious trusts registered under the Gujarat State Waqf Board. The accused are said to have earned rent from nearly 100 houses and shops for over 17 years, without any legal authority.

The land belongs to the Kaanchni Masjid Trust and Shah Bada Kasam Trust. According to a complaint filed at Gaekwad Haveli police station, the accused falsely presented themselves as trustees and carried out illegal construction on about 5,000 square meters of trust land. It has been alleged that properties were rented out between 2008 and 2025.

The arrested men have been identified as Salim Khan Pathan, Mohammad Yasar Sheikh, Mahmoodkhan Pathan, Faiz Mohammad Chobdar, and Shahid Ahmed Sheikh. Police said that Salim Khan Pathan has a criminal record, including a case under the Arms Act. None of the five are officially connected to either of the trusts. They are also accused of misusing funds from the donation box of the Shah Bada Kasam Trust.

Complainant Mohammad Rafiq Ansari, a tenant of the Kaanchni Masjid Trust land in Jamalpur, said the accused even built 15 shops illegally. Some of these shops were constructed on land previously given to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for an Urdu school. The school was damaged during the 2001 earthquake and later demolished in 2009. The accused allegedly used this opportunity to build shops on the vacant land, renting them out and keeping the money for themselves.

The rent collected was neither deposited into the trusts’ accounts nor handed over to AMC, leading to financial losses for both the religious trusts and the civic body. An FIR has been registered under charges of cheating and forgery. Police are investigating further to determine the total financial damage and whether others were involved in the scam.