A file photo of absconding Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad
Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, the head of Islamic missionary movement Tablighi Jamaat, has come under the scanner of the Income Tax Department for allegedly hiding his real income from authorities at the time of filing his returns, official sources said. Sources said they initiated an investigation against the Jamaat chief after they suspected that he didn't furnish information about the properties he owned as well his income sources.
Sources further revealed that Saad's returns over the last five years were being scrutinised by authorities. They also said that it was being tried to ascertain as to who was paying for the lodging costs of thousands of Tablighi followers who used to put up at Jamaat headquarters at Nizamuddin Markaz. Further, the costs incurred in the travels of Tablighi followers throughout the country is another subject of the probe, sources said.
Saad, who has been untraceable since the religious congregation organised at Markaz last month triggered India's largest cluster of coronavirus cases, is already facing charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also investigating several trusts linked to the preacher for allegedly flouting financial laws.
Almost a third of the coronavirus infections in India have been traced to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering last month, authorities say.
