The ATS, which monitors social media platforms to detect suspicious activity and gather intelligence, recently discovered that the head of the NGO was collecting donations in his personal bank account using a UPI QR code linked to it, an officer said
Instead of depositing money in the official account of the NGO, the funds went to the chairman's PayTM wallet, said officers. Representational pic
The chairman of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Maharashtra's Beed district has come on the radar of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly cheating donors after raising funds on the pretext of helping people in Palestine and Gaza, police said on Sunday.
The ATS, which monitors social media platforms to detect suspicious activity and gather intelligence, recently discovered that the head of the NGO was collecting donations in his personal bank account using a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Quick Response (QR) code linked to it, an officer said.
Based on a complaint by officers from the agency's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar unit, a case of criminal breach of trust and cheating has been registered at Georai Police Station on Friday, he said.
The accused, Qureshi Shah Rukh Qureshi Chhote Miyan, who is a resident of Georai, runs a non-profit named Himayat Foundation, he added.
The foundation, registered with the charity commissioner, works on 70 different mottos, and Qureshi is its founder and chairman, he said.
The organisation has a strong presence on social media, including Facebook and Instagram, he said.
Through videos and posts, the NGO had appealed to the public to donate money for the people of Palestine and the Gaza Strip.
However, instead of depositing money in the official account of the NGO, the funds went to Qureshi's PayTm wallet, he said.
As it was the case of criminal breach of trust and amounted to cheating the donors, the Maharashtra ATS approached the police and got an FIR registered against Qureshi under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act, he said.
The ATS Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar unit is also carrying out a further probe, he added.
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